Translated material
Medvedev: Kudrin is not an oppositionist
President Dmitry Medvedev does not believe in the liberal beliefs of the former Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin. As Gazeta.ru reports, he stated this at a meeting with his supporters. Medvedev also did not agree that Kudrin could play the role of an intermediary between the authorities and the opposition. “There is a myth that he was some oppositionist in the government. Those who worked in the government know that the Minister of Finance is a serious figure, but there is also a prime minister and there is still a president. It is impossible to work against a team. True, this was not: under any documents there is a signature of the Minister of Finance,” Medvedev said.
“The image of an irreconcilable fighter for liberal values does not fully correspond to reality, because he is fully responsible for everything that happened in the country. Therefore, he is not an oppositionist, he is a person who was put out of the government at one time. Medvedev also added that, in his opinion, it would be good if the State Duma would represent a liberal party,“ all political forces were represented ”.
On January 23, Kudrin said that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is distrustful of those who call themselves leaders of the protest movement. According to Kudrin, after the December rally on Sakharov Avenue in Moscow, he met twice with Putin. “There is a great distrust of the group that is trying to present itself to the expressions of the interests of the protesters. Well, in the end, there is a misunderstanding: what the protesters are ... Of course, this problem was as it was before the New Year,” said Kudrin.
He noted that the authorities are now in a situation that is non -standard for itself and is not quite ready to comprehend what is happening. "All this was overwhelmed: elections, falsification of elections, discontent. As a result, the elections became such a detonator, a trigger," he added. “We need to find a non -standard solution, you need to find representatives of this group and talk to them now. This is a nascent new middle class, this is partly a class of businessmen, partly a new, more creative population of the country,” Kudrin explained.
Kudrin claims that for the first time he and the Prime Minister have a position on the situation in the country. "Putin is a very pragmatic person. He has a very powerful political instinct. He always feels new things ... Now I first met with the fact that our positions on socio -political problems are significantly different ... from the point of view of vision of the situation, worldview, understanding what is happening, positions are distinguished for the first time," Kudrin said.
Kudrin also said that Putin’s decision to nominate his candidacy for the presidential post was a surprise for him. Answering the question why, in his opinion, Putin made such a decision, Kudrin noted that it was dictated by "a high level of authority of the head of government."
He also stated that in the future he sees the possibility of the appearance of several right -wing parties, adding that fragmentation can weaken the right flank of the political spectrum. “The opposition is being formed, the opposition is being formed on key issues. If new parties are created, even before the parliamentary elections, they will already declare themselves. I even think that we will have many parties at the first stage. And that I saw several right parties. This will bother me because this fragmentation will greatly weaken the right -wing spectrum and weaken the pressure on the reforms,” Kudrin said.
In his opinion, the right party will be able to have significant weight in parliament in 3-5 years, if it begins to form now. "I see the need for consolidation. Then in the future parliament - after 3 years, after 5 years - such a group, if it begins to form now, will take a decent position: the second or third place. It will be a new driver of reforms. Now we have a left -wing parliament. All four parties - this means that it does not have to expect a serious flow of reforms. It bothers me, but the transformation of the political space, but the transformation of the political space, it is. I think it will significantly change the prospects of Russia, ”Kudrin added.
Speaking at a rally on Sakharov Avenue on December 24, Kudrin proposed his candidacy as an intermediary in negotiations between the authorities and society. On January 6, he stated that in negotiations with the authorities it was necessary to first put forward the requirement of early parliamentary elections according to the new rules. The past elections must be recognized as unfair and a wide public discussion of the proposed election reform, Kudrin believes. The preparation of new Duma elections, according to his calculations, will take a year and a half.