A Russian Diary (6 page)

Yavlinsky stood apart from everyone else, as always alone. He was morose and taciturn. What was there to applaud? The destruction of Russian parliamentary democracy has been accomplished on the tenth anniversary of the First Duma under Yeltsin's presidency. Tomorrow, December 12, is also the tenth anniversary of Russia's new, “Yeltsin,” Constitution.

Nemtsov is trying to give as many interviews as possible while people are still interested in him. He explains. “The Union of Right Forces and Yabloko are doing the impossible, something that before December 7 seemed a fantasy: we are trying to unite.” People do not entirely believe him. All the pro-democracy voters were praying they would merge before December 7 in order to have an impact in the elections, but they just were not interested.

Gennadii Seleznyov, the speaker of the Duma, makes a farewell speech to which nobody listens. He knows his days as speaker are over, because in future the speaker will not be elected by Parliament, but appointed by the Kremlin. Everybody also knows who it is going to be: Boris Gryzlov, Putin's friend and one of his most loyal henchmen, the leader of United Russia and minister of the interior. It is unquestionably a historic moment. As we bid farewell to the Third Duma, we are bidding farewell to a political epoch. Putin has crushed our argumentative Parliament.

The exigencies of politics have not caused the Kremlin to neglect money matters. The attack on Yukos continues, with our business world trying to get its teeth into parts of it while everything is still up for grabs. The arbitration court of Yakutia has found in favor of Surgutneftegaz, a company that had lost out to Sakhaneftegaz, subsequently part of Yukos, in an auction of oil and gas rights held in March 2002. The verdict strips Yukos of the Talakan field with its oil reserves of 120 million tons and 60 billion cubic meters of gas, and awards its rival a license to exploit the central concession of the field in perpetuity.

Tsentrobank reports another record in replenishing the gold and foreign currency reserves. To December 5 these are $70.6 billion. But is this a triumph? One of the main reasons that companies are dumping their foreign currency profits on the market is the predicament of Yukos, with claims by the state that it concealed its earnings for tax evasion purposes. The others are not tempting providence and are converting their profits into rubles. The hullabaloo over Yukos is doing the state no harm at all, which is why it can pay off its foreign debt. The Russian people rejoice, without having a clue as to what is going on.

Today is also the ninth anniversary of the start of Russia's latest wars against the Chechens. On December 11, 1994, the first tanks entered Grozny, and we saw the first soldiers and officers burned alive in them. There was no mention of this today on any of the television channels. The anniversary has been removed from Russia's calendar.

The unanimity of the television stations cannot be coincidental and must reflect instructions from the presidential administration, which means we can be sure that Putin's presidential campaign will exclude all mention of Chechnya. That's the way he operates: since he doesn't know what to do about Chechnya, Chechnya will not be on the agenda.

In the evening there was a televised debate between Valeriya Novo-dvorskaya, a democrat to the marrow of her bones, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky. She talked about the monstrous irresponsibility of the war in Chechnya, the blood and the genocide. Zhirinovsky's response was to shriek hysterically, “Get out of this country! We will never give in to them!” In the vote at the end of the program, viewers cast 40,000 votes in favor of Zhirinovsky to 16,000 for Novodvorskaya.

December 12

Constitution Day. A holiday. Moscow is flooded with militiamen and agents in plain clothes. There are dogs everywhere, searching for explosives. The president held a grand reception in the Kremlin for the political and oligarchic elite and made a speech about human rights, predicated on the notion that they had triumphed in Russia. Yeltsin was there, looking
fitter and younger, but with mental problems written all over his face. He was there because the Constitution was adopted during his presidency. He is not usually invited to Putin's Kremlin.

A survey revealed that only 2 percent of Russians have much idea of what the Constitution actually says. Forty-five percent thought its main guarantee was of the “right to work,” and only 6 percent mentioned free speech as something fundamental to their way of life.

December 18

A television phone-in. A big occasion as Putin meets the people. It was announced that more than a million questions had been submitted. The president's virtual dialogue with the country was hosted by his favorite television presenters, Sergey Brilev from the Rossiya channel and Yekat-erina Andreyeva from Channel One.

ANDREYEVA
to Putin: “This is the third time you have appeared on this direct line. Me too. Are you nervous?”

PUTIN:
“No. Don't offer what you can't deliver and don't lie, then you have nothing to fear.”

BRILEV,
choking with joy: “Very much like our work…”

PUTIN:
“ Everything that Russia has achieved has been achieved by hard work. There have been many difficulties and setbacks, but Russia has shown herself to be a country that stands firmly on her own feet and is developing rapidly. I have brought some statistics along. In 2002 our rate of growth was 4.3 percent. Five percent was projected for this year, but we shall achieve 6.6, or even 6.9. Payments on our foreign debt have been reduced. We have paid off $17 billion and the country didn't even notice it. The gold and foreign currency reserves in 2000 were $11 billion. In 2003 they rose to $20 billion, and today they are $70 billion. These are not empty statistics. A number of factors are involved here. If we continue with our present economic policy, there will be no more currency defaults. On the other hand, in early 2003 there were 37 million people whose income was beneath the subsistence level. In the third quarter of 2003 that number had fallen to 31 million, but this is still humiliating.
The average subsistence level is 2,121 rubles [$72] a month, which is very low, and 31 million people live below that level.”

A question from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarov Region: “Ours is the third largest city in the Far East of Russia, an enormous industrial center, a city of young people, but a very long way from Moscow. My name is Kirill Borodulin. I work in the Amur shipyard. At present we are working only on export orders. When are we going to see orders from the Russian defense industry? We want to be needed by Russia.”

(The questions do not give the impression of being spontaneous, and the answers appear to have been prepared. Putin reads out statistics from his notes even though the question was asked “live on air.” He will evidently be answering only questions he wants to answer.)

PUTIN:
“The fact that you are working for export is entirely positive. There is a battle being waged for the arms market, and Russia is not doing at all badly. We have an armaments procurement program up to the year 2010 and it is being fully financed. Of course, there are problems; one would always like to allocate more to our armed forces. The priorities for procurement are decided by the Ministry of Defense, which has placed new aircraft only eighth on its list of priorities, even though today's wars are fought using aircraft. You can be entirely sure that your services will be required.”

KATYA USTIMENKO,
student: “ I have voted for the first time. What can we expect from the new Duma?”

PUTIN:
“No civilized state can live without a legislative institution. A great deal depends on the Duma. We expect efficient, systematic work.”

ALEXANDER NIKOLAEVICH:
“I live in Tula, in the house where my father lived before me. The foundations are breaking up. We are in an excavation zone. Why does the state talk so much, but still doesn't resolve the problem of crumbling accommodations?”

PUTIN:
“I have been to Tula. I was surprised at the state of the residential accommodations. There are ways and means. What are they? Only a few years ago the state allocated practically no funds. For the first time we made funds available in 2003: 1.3 billion rubles [$43.3 million]
from the federal budget. The same amount again was to be added from local government budgets. The way out is to develop mortgage lending. If mortgages had been introduced, you would have been able to make use of one. What is your monthly salary? You are working in an efficient region.”

ALEXANDER NIKOLAEVICH:
“Twelve thousand rubles [$410].”

PUTIN:
“You would qualify for a mortgage. We need to make some legislative changes.”

YURY SIDOROV,
Kuzbass: “Working as a miner is dangerous. Why has the miners’ pension been reduced to the statutory rate? What sort of pension is that?”

PUTIN:
“The average salary of miners is 12,000 rubles a month, against a national average salary of 5,700 [$195]. The logic of the pensions reform is for pensions to reflect directly the contributions made from salary. Your pension will differ from the average to your advantage; it will be higher. This change has been introduced. The national pension fund is opening a network of consultation centers around the country and in the workplace. You need to go and talk to them.”

VALENTINA ALEXEYEVNA
from Krasnodar: “You have not so far announced whether you are intending to stand in the presidential election. What are your plans?”

PUTIN:
: “Yes, I shall be standing. I shall make an official announcement in the near future.”

ALEXEY VIKTOROVICH,
naval repair yard, Murmansk Province: “We have had no salary or vacation pay since August. When is this going to be sorted out?”

PUTIN:
“We have sorted matters out as far as the budget is concerned. Delays must not exceed two days for salaries. As far as industry is concerned, there are a number of variations here. There are state enterprises, some of which are being reclassified as budget-financed enterprises. A number are in a parlous financial state. In other cases it is the owners and management who are responsible.”

Question from
BRILEV:
“How do you feel about having your portrait in government offices?”

PUTIN:
“The president is a symbol of the state, so there is nothing terrible about that. Everything is good in moderation. When that is forgotten, it gives rise to concern.”

SGT. SERGEY SERGEYEVICH,
Russian military base in Kant, Kirghizia:* “The Americans have managed to capture Saddam Hussein, but there is going to be a second Vietnam in Iraq. Everybody will run away. The chaos there will affect everyone.”

PUTIN:
“ Sergey Sergeyevich, it is not in our national interest to see the USA defeated in its struggle against international terrorism. As far as Iraq is concerned, that is a separate issue. There were no international terrorists there under Saddam Hussein. Without the sanction of the United Nations Security Council the invasion cannot be regarded as legal, to put it mildly. In all ages, however, great empires have had delusions regarding their invulnerability, a sense of their grandeur and infallibility. This has invariably caused them a great deal of trouble. I hope this will not happen to our American partners.”

VITALII POTAPOV,
electrician, Borovichi, Novgorod Province: “ Before the Duma elections your dog had puppies. How are they getting on?”

PUTIN:
“They are doing well. They are very lively, but haven't opened their eyes yet. As to their future, we have had many requests from people wanting to adopt them. I and my children and my wife have to think about that. We have to make sure the puppies go to good homes. We need to know who we are giving them to.”

BALKAROV,
a Kabardinian, Nalchik: “ I work in the Russian theater. The Abkhazians [from a disputed part of Georgia] are related to the Kabardinians [who are citizens of Russia]. Perhaps we should bring Abkhazia into the Russian Federation* and avert a new war?”

PUTIN:
“This is a very acute question, for Russia as a whole, and especially for the south of our country. Maintaining the territorial integrity of the state was recently one of our own main problems and priorities. By and large that task has been accomplished. Following these principles, we cannot refuse to apply them to our neighbors. We are a member of the United Nations and we will fulfill our international obligations. There are peculiarities to do with the fact that the family of hill-dwelling peoples
are a special community, with links of kinship between them that go back many centuries. We are far from indifferent to the fate of these peoples. After the collapse of the USSR many conflicts broke out, in South Ossetia, Karabakh, Abkhazia. It would be a mistake to suppose they can all be resolved by Russia. I say, agree matters between yourselves and we will act as an honest guarantor. We will keep a close eye on the Abkhaz problem, but we respect the territorial integrity of Georgia.”

AKHMAD SAZAEV,
Balkarian writer: “ Inflaming ethnic strife is forbidden by law, but during the election campaign certain parties campaigned under the slogan, ‘Russia for the Russians.’ Why were these parties allowed to broadcast such sentiments on television?”

PUTIN:
“Anyone who says ‘Russia for the Russians’ is either an idiot or a troublemaker. Russia is a multinational country. What do they want, partition? The dismemberment of Russia? Most likely these are mischief makers looking for easy gains, who want to show how radical they are. As regards the election campaign, I didn't see this on television. If it did happen, I shall talk to the procurator general. Action should be taken.”

NATALIA KOTENKOVA,
Krasnoyarsk: “ Is it not time to end privatization and begin renationalization?”

PUTIN:
“This is not a new question and I have my own views on the matter. When the country began privatization, it was assumed that the new property owners would be more efficient. That was quite right. Developed economies, however, have a well-established system of administration. By receiving taxation revenue from private enterprises, the state resolves social problems for its citizens. We ran into a snag. The administrative apparatus was not in place and the necessary resources did not flow into the treasury. I am quite certain that what is needed is to strengthen the state's institutions and legislation and improve our system of administration. Not to stop privatization.”