By the end of 2011 Russian Prime-Minister V. Putin has begun campaign for fight against corruption in the Russian energy sector. Experts underline, that recent anti-corruption “struggle” in Russia will be prolonged for two-three months period, and will probably, “victoriously to be come to the end” just by the Russian presidential election, i.e. by the early March 2012.
BY Dr. ZURAB GARAKANIDZE | APRIL 20, 2012
At a session of the Russian Governmental Commission on the Electric Energy Development, Putin has attacked upon management of the state-run energy companies, with affiliated private firms, as a rule, which have deduced state assets from the country. However, many experts believe that “small fries” will suffer, and Putin’s “elite” remains untouched, i.e. “struggle” isn’t directed against powerful elite corruption.
In the Russian media this campaign is widely discussed at an average and a lowest level of the energy sector, on the one hand, but with another — there is no information on high level “elite”. Statements of officials are considered as an element of the pre-election company.
The Russian energy market not trusts in a reality of anti-corruption campaign. Managers of state-run energy companies try their best to move from the state-run firms to the private companies, established earlier.
According to many experts, the Russian energy-market also not so trusts in a fight against corruption reality, statements of officials are faster considered as an element of the pre-election company. The sounded data don’t make impression of serious investigation. On the other hand, Vladimir Putin has generated new risks in sector — resignations will lead to delay of consideration of fundamental questions, such as updating of investment programs and development of tariff decisions.
From the beginning of this year the expert community smartly discussed the information that five key persons in the Russian power have received new positions during the last days of 2011: Sergey Ivanov – in the Kremlin, Sergey Naryshkin – in the Duma, Dmitry Rogozin (defense) with Vladyslav Surkov (modernization) – in the government, and Igor Sergun – in the Military Intelligence. But for some reasons all have missed the fact that in a heat of fighting against corruption in the energy sector, initiated by the prime minister on the threshold of March’s presidential election in the Russian Federation, changes haven’t concerned tops of this most opaque branch of the Russian government. It reminds badly staged pre-election PR…
- No news good news
Despite the sharp criticism of energy sector from V. Putin, the minister S. Shmatko with his “command”, and the first “energy” vice-premiers – V. Zubkov and I.Sechin, remained on their own places. Moreover, one of the “energy-heavyweights” of Russian government, – V. Zubkov even “has put on promotion”, – after December 4, 2011 parliamentary elections of the Russian Federation, premier V. Putin has presented him a few new spheres of supervision. The prime-minister has charged, apart from his ususal functions, also to supervise issues of social security, public health services, culture and building of accessible habitation, in addition.
The above-stated proves our assumptions of clan character the relation in the Russian energy sector, stated by us in the summer of last year. Then we wrote, that begun form March of last year president D.Medvedev’s order to withdrow of state-officials from boards of directors of the state-run companies had «campainian character» and the Putin’s “elite” “was raised” in the state-run companies (see NewsBaseFSUOGM 2011; Issues 638, 639, 640). Igor Sechin, for example, the first vice premier-minister, supervisor the oil-gas extracting industry, long time was the chairman of the board of directors of state-run oil company NK “Rosneft”. In the time of Putin’s presidential power the state-run energy companies became great strength of economy at expense of oppression of the private business.
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Published in Political Reflection Magazine (PR) Vol. 3 No. 2