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 MOSCOW 00012609 001.2 OF 003 ¶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. -------------- Political Influences -------------- ¶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. -------------- The Adroit Governor -------------- ¶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. -------------- Top-Down Decision Making -------------- ¶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 MOSCOW 00012609 002.2 OF 003 housing, low wages, and growing unemployment and noted that Russians wanted a change. -------------- A Cutting-Edge University -------------- ¶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. -------------- The Governor's Role -------------- ¶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. -------------- Economy Strong -------------- ¶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 MOSCOW 00012609 003.2 OF 003 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. -------------- Corruption Disputed -------------- ¶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. -------------- Compulsory "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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