Translated material
Personnel test
Drug control strengthened by assistant to the former president
This morning, a new director is expected to be introduced to the leadership of the Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN). As it was announced yesterday, by his decree, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed 58-year-old Viktor Petrovich Ivanov to this post.Under Vladimir Putin, he held the position of assistant to the president and in his administration was actually the country’s main “personnel officer”, who oversaw issues of personnel placement and appointments in all federal government bodies. Rumors about his influence and capabilities almost always accompanied publications devoted to the balance of power in the Kremlin offices. And recently, the first deputy chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, Elena Valyavina, who was recently summoned as a witness to the court, sensationally stated about the pressure that Mr. Ivanov’s subordinate Valery Boev put on her. Like the former deputy head of the presidential administration Igor Sechin, the former head of the FSB Nikolai Patrushev and the former Minister of Justice Vladimir Ustinov, Viktor Ivanov was considered one of the most important figures among the so-called “Kremlin security officials.” When the new government and the new Kremlin administration were formed, they all lost their positions and received new appointments. Including Viktor Ivanov, who has now been transferred to another area of work, which cannot be called simple and easy.
In the chair of the director of the Federal Drug Control Service, Mr. Ivanov replaced Viktor Cherkesov, who, on the very first day of the formation of the new cabinet of ministers, received a new appointment, heading the Federal Agency for the Supply of Arms, Military, and Special Equipment (Rosoboronpostavka).
Rumors about an upcoming serious shake-up of the “anti-drug” department among the FSKN employees spread immediately after the news of Mr. Cherkesov’s departure. After all, this structure appeared in 2003 on the initiative of Viktor Cherkesov himself and, accordingly, in all senses - political, structural and personnel - “for him.” Thus, almost the entire leadership of the Federal Drug Control Service constituted Mr. Cherkesov’s “team,” and its members could expect to keep their jobs only if one of them became the new director. But this did not happen.
The rumors intensified further after no one was immediately appointed to the vacant position. Although in the FSB, for example, Nikolai Patrushev, who left for the Security Council, was, by presidential decree, replaced on the same day by career counterintelligence officer Alexander Bortnikov. Some observers did not rule out that in such a situation there could be talk of disbanding the service altogether or reassigning it to other law enforcement agencies (for example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was previously responsible for the fight against drugs). The service was created only five years ago, and on the personnel and material base of another disbanded department - the tax police. And the Federal Drug Control Service has managed to make enough enemies in a short period of time, not only in other “security” and civilian government agencies, but also among human rights activists.
Already in the first year of its work, drug control found itself at the center of a scandal due to attempts to criminally prosecute veterinarians who were accused of drug trafficking (by this the drug police understood injections of anesthetics into cats and dogs ). Then the Federal Drug Control Service came under fire due to attempts to “expose” doctors (surgeons, gynecologists) and representatives of the chemical industry . And last fall, Viktor Cherkesov himself announced in the media the beginning of a “special services war.” The reason for it was the arrest by officers of the FSB and the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office (SKP) of FSKN General Alexander Bulbov and several other department employees, who were accused of organizing illegal wiretapping of private telephone conversations. The leadership of the Federal Drug Control Service openly stated that the arrest of General Bulbov was revenge on the part of FSB officials for the fact that, based on the materials of the drug police, a number of responsible security officers had previously been fired.
In addition, the service could not boast of any particular successes in its assigned area of law enforcement work - the fight against drugs itself. She reported that the number of exposed drug dealers in the country is growing, and the number of drug addicts is decreasing. However, her opponents pointed out that the drug police were too free with statistics, taking advantage of the fact that drugs are a rather specific topic. And recently, according to unofficial information, the Presidential Control Directorate conducted an inspection of the Federal Drug Control Service and, as far as is known, assessed its work quite harshly.
Against this background, even the appointment of a new head of the department did not remove questions regarding the future of the Federal Drug Control Service. Some observers do not rule out that Mr. Ivanov could play the same role for drug police that Mikhail Fradkov once played for tax police - this department was disbanded shortly after his appointment. However, even if the Federal Drug Control Service remains in its current form, its employees will most likely face turbulent times. Viktor Ivanov was considered a member of the team of “Kremlin security officials” who were believed to be behind Mr Cherkesov’s opponents in the “special services war”. Accordingly, with a high degree of probability we can expect a serious personnel purge in the Federal Drug Control Service.
As for Viktor Ivanov himself, although this appointment is not formally considered a demotion, his capabilities are unlikely to be comparable to those that he had while working in the Kremlin. He will be responsible for a much more modest and specialized, although undoubtedly important, area of government work.