Personnel boom in the Russian elite: Governor-General appointed to the Caucasus

Personnel boom in the Russian elite: a governor-general has been appointed to the Caucasus...

Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District Alexander Khloponin has been dismissed. Major General Sergei Melikov, Commander of the Joint Group of Forces for Conducting Counter-Terrorist Operations in the North Caucasus, has been appointed in his place. A new ministry for the affairs and development of the North Caucasus is being created within the structure of the government; it is headed by the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Lev Kuznetsov.

Thus, Vladimir Putin finally eliminated Medvedev's "legacy" in the Caucasus.

According to Sergey Ivanov, the head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation: "Lev Kuznetsov will solve the problems of employment, attracting investments and efficient spending of budget funds." Dmitry Medvedev's press secretary, Natalya Timakova, told Novaya Gazeta that Alexander Khloponin "remains in the rank of deputy prime minister of the government and will continue to oversee the North Caucasus." Which is not surprising: the newly minted Minister of the Caucasus Lev Kuznetsov is a close associate of Khloponin, with whom they worked for a long time at Norilsk Nickel. Alexander Khloponin himself has not yet commented. “We must first understand what specific scope of duties will be assigned to Alexander Gennadiyevich in the government,” Natalia Platonova, press secretary of the Deputy Prime Minister, explained to Novaya Gazeta.

Nevertheless, Alexander Khloponin is more likely to be congratulated on his resignation than to sympathize. The appointment to the post of the Caucasian plenipotentiary in 2010 came as a complete surprise to the successful businessman and Krasnoyarsk governor Khloponin, far from the Caucasian problems.

In 2010, as president, Dmitry Medvedev began reforming governance in the Caucasus. By decree, he separated the Caucasian republics from the Southern Federal District together with Stavropol, forming a new district. Medvedev then justified his decision by the need to "eradicate the problems of the region: corruption, terrorism, socio-cultural degradation" not only by force, but also by economic methods. In fact, this was the beginning of a new policy of the federal center in the Caucasus, the logical continuation of which was the statement by the head of the FSB Bortnikov in Makhachkala about the policy of reconciliation and dialogue, which will guide the law enforcement agencies.

The North Caucasus Federal District was given a special status, federal targeted programs were created for it, and Alexander Khloponin was sent to develop the region along with the oligarchs of the Medvedev call, immigrants from the Caucasus: Suleiman Kerimov, the Magomedov brothers and the Bilalov brothers. On the eve of the Sochi Olympics, Khloponin and big business were expected to repeat the “Krasnoyarsk miracle” in the Caucasus: a sharp economic growth and unprecedented investment flows to the region.

But such an ambitious project was not destined to come true.

Before Medvedev's reform, Dmitry Kozak, Plenipotentiary Representative in the Southern Federal District, had been dealing with the problems of the Caucasus for a long time. A tough man, he personally controlled the distribution of budgetary funds in the region and the appointment of key figures up to the heads of the republics. The Commission for the Improvement of the Socio-Economic Situation in the Southern Federal District, created under him, actually replaced the government, dealing mainly with the economic problems of the Caucasus. In addition to economic and personnel powers, Kozak also had influence on the security forces. He was a member of Putin's "Commission for Coordinating the Activities of the Federal Executive Bodies of the Southern Federal District", consisting purely of the heads of law enforcement agencies.

Against this backdrop, the restrained and non-confrontational businessman Khloponin, who did not have most of Kozak's powers, was perceived very skeptically by the local elites. Khloponin made the main bet on improving the image of the Caucasus, developing resort areas in each republic and youth policy.

Although the embassy tried its best, the attitude towards the new “Moscow” government did not change: it does not control the budget, does not influence appointments, is not friends with the security forces, which means that you can respectfully smile and do nothing, the Caucasian elites reasoned. That is why most economic projects to support and develop small and medium-sized businesses bogged down at the very beginning. And the embassy itself simply could not cope with the flow of problems. Although there was one very important effect of Medvedev's new policy: the improvement of the criminogenic situation in the Caucasus, the "dialogue and reconciliation" announced by Bortnikov led to a sharp decrease in the outflow of young people into the forest to join the militants.

It should be noted that the embassy was not so much to blame for the economic failure as the changed political situation in the country. In 2012, Vladimir Putin again became president, and all the undertakings of the Medvedev era began to be curtailed as "excessive liberalism." The policy of reconciliation and dialogue began to change dramatically in favor of forceful methods, most of Khloponin's associates, young and intelligent professionals, on whom he could rely, left the embassy for Moscow. Big business is also in trouble. As a result, the oligarchs were forced to curtail all their projects in the Caucasus, including image projects (suffice it to recall the story of Kerimov and the Anji football club), and some, for example, “comrade Bilalov”, the ex-head of the North Caucasus Resorts, accused in embezzlement, and completely go into exile. The North Caucasus itself, on the eve of the approaching Olympics, was literally and figuratively mothballed under martial law. And the meaning of the activity of the embassy was finally reduced to zero. The Olympics are over, it's the turn of the Caucasus.

With his personnel changes, Vladimir Putin is actually putting the Caucasus back into manual control. Economic issues and budget distribution are at the mercy of the newly formed ministry. Although it is not yet clear who, after the disgraced oligarchs, will want to invest in the Caucasian republics. The post of plenipotentiary was taken by Interior Ministry General Sergei Melikov. The 49-year-old general is an ethnic Dagestani, although he was born and raised in the Moscow region. He came to the Caucasus to serve back in 1994, after graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, fought in the first Chechen, then headed a separate operational division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and since 2011 led the combined grouping of the Internal Troops in the North Caucasus, has an honorary distinction - maroon beret . And although the post of plenipotentiary still does not imply the presence of force powers, with such a biography it is difficult to imagine that the new plenipotentiary will remain aloof from decisions made by law enforcement agencies in the Caucasus. Moreover, according to Novaya Gazeta, Melikov will have the opportunity to directly influence the appointment and dismissal of heads of federal structures throughout the North Caucasus.

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The heads of Dagestan and Ingushetia commented on personnel changes in the embassy especially for Novaya Gazeta.

Ramazan Abdulatipov: It's good that not only a plenipotentiary representation in a new capacity headed by Sergei Alimovich is being formed, but also a parallel ministry for the affairs and development of the North Caucasus. This will allow us to deal not only with military-political issues, but also with the economic and cultural development of our region. For the North Caucasus, it is necessary to gradually move away from forceful methods of regulating the situation to economic and cultural ones. It is necessary that this work be organized jointly with other regions and the entire state. In my view, the plenipotentiary representation and the ministry should move to a different management model - to effective development. Maybe we need less subsidies, subsidies, and give an opportunity for independent and effective development. The Caucasus reacts even to the slightest organizational and managerial efforts that are being made. The Caucasus is ready for a new stage of its revival.

Yunus-Bek Yevkurov: The change of the plenipotentiary and the creation of the Ministry for the North Caucasus is the second stage of the new management policy of Vladimir Putin. The appointment of Sergei Melikov as plenipotentiary suggests that management is moving into a political plane, that now the emphasis will be on the socio-economic component of the region's development. I personally know Sergei Alimovich, he is a military officer, a good manager and a fair person with a straightforward character. He is well versed not only in military subtleties, but also in the political situation in the Caucasus and has good relations with the heads of all republics. He understands that problems cannot be solved by military methods alone; order must be restored by raising the standard of living of people and raising the economy.

Ramzan Kadyrov thanked Vladimir Putin for his wise decisions on the website of the government of the Chechen Republic: “Our ‘friends’ — the West and Europe — will still try to undermine the situation in the Caucasus and in Russia as a whole. Therefore, a big plus is that the district was headed by a military man. I think the main emphasis will be placed on addressing issues of security and economic development of the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District,” Kadyrov said. “We have nothing more to add,” his spokesman Alvi Karimov told Novaya Gazeta.