BELGOROD: UNITED RUSSIA, THE GOVERNOR, AND THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 012609

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM RS
SUBJECT: BELGOROD: UNITED RUSSIA, THE GOVERNOR, AND THE
ORTHODOX CHURCH

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Major local business owners, who are
United Russia regional deputies, in conjunction with the
Russian Orthodox Church, dominate all spheres of activity in
Belgorod Oblast, which Embassy visited recently. Governor
Savchenko is a strong leader who combines a flair for
populist social initiatives with a socially conservative
worldview and realpolitik. He and President Putin are very
popular and receive credit for Belgorod's strong economy,
active civil society, and vibrant academia. A largely
apathetic electorate has witnessed the introduction of the
compulsory "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" in its public
schools and the abolishment of direct mayoral elections. The
Russian Orthodox Church permeates life in the oblast and is
the exclusive provider of religious life. END SUMMARY.

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Political Influences
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2. (U) United Russia is the dominant political force in the
35-seat regional legislature, elected in October 2005. All
but three of the deputies are owners of major local
businesses. United Russia won 53% of the vote in regional
legislative elections in October 2005 and captured 11 party
list seats and 17 single mandate seats. The Communist Party
of the Russian Federation (KPRF) won 18.5% of the vote and
has four deputies in the legislature. LDPR has two and
Rodina one. This high-level of KPRF support is a legacy of
Belgorod's "red belt" status: it is an agrarian, conservative
region that remained devoutly Communist throughout the 1990s.

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The Adroit Governor
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3. (SBU) Governor Yevgeniy Savchenko has been in power since
1993, when he was appointed by President Boris Yeltsin. At
the time, he was a member of the Agrarian Party, which was
affiliated with the KPRF. Savchenko's switch of allegiance
to United Russia was not unusual according to Valentina
Milyukina, a human rights activist and former Yabloko
candidate, who told us in a November 7 meeting that a
majority of former KPRF members have done the same.

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Top-Down Decision Making
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4. (SBU) United Russia also controls the City Council,
elected in 2003, and the "Head" (Mayor) of the city, Vasiliy
Potryasayev. Potryasayev is rumored to be close to Savchenko
and was originally appointed acting Mayor in 2001. He won
the mayoral election in 2002. In 2005, the regional
legislature amended the election law so that mayors or
"heads" of the city are appointed by the City Council.
Prospective mayors submit plans on governing the city and the
Council chooses the best plan, the author of which becomes
mayor. Potryasayev was appointed again in March 2005.
Milyukina told us that he was not liked by Belgorodians and
asserted that he only won the 2002 election with the help of
administrative resources.


5. (U) Unlike Samara, where a 350,000 signature petition was
submitted to the Supreme Court and a rally that drew more
than 20,000 people was held protesting the removal of direct
mayoral elections, the Belgorod amendment to appoint the
mayor passed with little protest on the basis of Federal Law
131, which covers the principles of local self-government.


6. (SBU) Competition among the parties is somewhat desultory.
Gennadiy Bukhalin of Rodina mistakenly thought the next City
Council election would be in March 2008 (Note: it will be
held in 2007),although he spoke confidently of A Just Russia
gaining 20 - 30% of the vote. United Russia Regional
Secretary Ivan Kulabukhov scorned the idea that A Just Russia

SIPDIS
was a competitor, claiming that both United Russia and A Just
Russia were working in the interests of the people.


7. (SBU) Sergei Demchenko of the KPRF, fresh from November 7
celebrations, maintained that support for the party remained
strong and claimed that over 100 supporters, many of them
young, had turned out to commemorate the October Revolution
anniversary. (NOTE: Because Embassy's meeting with Rodina
was interrupted by an elderly Rodina party member who wanted
to know who would accompany him to the rally, it is not clear
how many of Demchenko's crowd might have been actual KPRF
voters.) Demchenko spoke at length about the difficulties of

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housing, low wages, and growing unemployment and noted that
Russians wanted a change.

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A Cutting-Edge University
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8. (SBU) Now that Kharkhiv University, the region's former
academic magnet, is on the other side of the Ukrainian
border, Belgorod State University is vying to be a premier
institution, both locally and nationally. Rector Leonid
Dyatchenko told us of the University's nanotechnology program
and his agreement with Putin's assessment of the science as a
future engine of the economy. Further, to attract the best
and the brightest information technology students, a
state-of-the-art dormitory has been built across the road
from the new chapel. Belgorod State University is also
unique in having a theological program, strongly supported by
the Governor and the Russian Orthodox Church. Dyatchenko was
vague about the sources of funding for these improvements.

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The Governor's Role
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9. (SBU) Although Embassy was not able to meet with him
personally, Governor Savchenko is popular, but reputed to be
somewhat puritanical. For example, Belgorod has a curfew for
under 18-year olds. Yelena Baturina, Moscow City Mayor Yuriy
Luzhkov's wife, has come into conflict with Savchenko.
(NOTE: In 2004, Baturina's company Inteko-Agro, an
agribusiness conglomerate run by her brother, Victor Baturin,
began buying thousands of acres of land in Belgorod. Her
appearance in the region, with Vladimir Zhirinovsky at her
side, was not welcome. The resulting conflict, which is
ongoing, has involved both violence, including one murder,
and the courts.)


10. (SBU) Civil society representatives with whom Embassy met
spoke very highly of the support that they had received from
Governor Savchenko. Red Cross Representative Nina Ushakova,
a USAID grantee, attributed her TB programs' success largely
to oblast administration support. Similarly, Leniza
Umerkina, the Chairman of Vera, an NGO that works with
Russian-speaking refugees from former Soviet Republics,
explained to us that the oblast administration's support
allowed programs such as hers to survive. Specifically, NGOs
that fulfilled the requirements of being "useful programs"
got office space from the oblast, which also covered their
utilities costs.

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Economy Strong
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11. (U) Belgorod oblast, located in the "Black Earth" region,
depends economically on its agricultural and metallurgical
sectors and over the last several years has fared well.
Belgorod oblast's agricultural sector has rebounded since
2000 due to Savchenko's pressure on extraction and food
processing companies to invest in and take over the
management of bankrupt former state and collective farms.
Savchenko, who holds a doctorate in agricultural economics,
was the force behind the creation of Russia's first
"agroholdings" in 2000, and more recently has used National
Priority Project funding for increasing livestock production.
The oblast's iron deposits supply much of the ore used in
nearby regions and the limestone deposits are used in
construction. Projects in the latter are plentiful enough to
attract day laborers from Ukraine.


12. (U) The oblast has in place a number of programs to
improve the quality of life in Belgorod. These range from
business and housing loans to financial support for civil
society organizations that meet certain requirements,
including being "useful programs."


13. (U) Savchenko's popularity may stem from a policy of
providing business loans at below market rates. The oblast
not only subsidizes the 4% difference between its rate of
interest and that of Sberbank's, but also takes on the risk
of default. Tatyana Sharova, Head of the Foundation for
Small Business Development and leader of the United Russia
supporters group, contended that each business loan created
jobs. The housing loan program is aimed at easing pressures
in the housing market by persuading people to move to the
outskirts of Belgorod. Again, the oblast offers low rates

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and ensures that the requisite utility connections and roads
are built. Sharova and Vladimir Zubov, head of the oblast's
international department, were the only people Embassy met
who had taken advantage of the housing loan program.

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Corruption Disputed
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14. (SBU) Oblast and NGO representatives dismissed the notion
that corruption existed in Belgorod. Other interlocutors
were not so sanguine. Mikhail Laptev, an oblast student
leader involved in youth-related issues, told us that
election fixing was rampant, especially in the countryside
where it was harder for observers to be on site. Bribery was
also endemic in the region's universities for admissions and
exams.

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Compulsory "Foundations of Orthodox Culture"
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15. (SBU) In a November 8 meeting with Embassy, Father Oleg
Kobets and other representatives of the oblast's educational
initiative expressed their pride in Belgorod's introduction
of the religious course "Foundations of Orthodox Culture."
The course, as outlined by Father Oleg, is secular and
historical in nature and strictly observes the constitutional
separation of church and state. No mention is made of the
Bible in primary school. The course includes the Bible,
liturgies, iconography, and the need for reverence only in
the middle and upper grades.


16. (SBU) Father Oleg was extraordinarily pleased with the
support that he had received from the oblast administration.
Although none of our interlocutors was able to tell us the
genesis of the legislation, it passed with ease.
"Foundations" had been offered as an optional course in
Belgorod for over a decade and was highly subscribed. Father
Oleg was more disparaging about the federal government,
questioning its lack of financial support. The textbooks for
the course were developed locally under the guidance of the
diocese.


17. (SBU) At a dinner with teachers and a high school
student, support for the course was unanimous. The teachers
described it as a chance to give the next generation the
education that they were denied during the Soviet period. In
sharing the story of her secret baptism in Lipetsk, English
language teacher Yelena Belyaeva expressed relief at now
being able to openly practice her religion. The teachers
argued that "Foundations" was a pathway to discussing
differences and exploring other cultures and religions.
United Russia's Kulabukhov denied that the course was
compulsory stating that parents could choose to remove their
children from the course.


18. (SBU) The Russian Orthodox Church's presence is felt
beyond the public schools. An oblast map in the Rodina party
headquarters marked the locations of all of the churches and
chapels, showing few blank spots. Belgorod oblast has no
mosques, synagogues, or other religious places of worship.
Social programs, such as those run by the Red Cross, also
benefit from the volunteer participation of the Russian
Orthodox Church. Father Oleg saw a strong role for the
Church in providing a bulwark against alcohol and drug use.

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Comment
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19. (SBU) We were struck by Belgorod's political and cultural
homogeneity. The compulsory "Foundations" course reinforces
the message that a great Russia needs a strong Orthodox
Church. Civil society organizations, under the watchful gaze
of the oblast administration, operate within a narrow frame
of reference. Since they are dependent on oblast funding,
these organizations are not likely to expand their missions,
and the trinity of church, Governor, and United Russia appear
to have matters firmly in control.
BURNS