MOSCOW'S LEVELS - AND LEVERS - OF POWER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002046 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KDEM KCOR RS SUBJECT: MOSCOW'S LEVELS - AND LEVERS - OF POWER REF: MOSCOW 1743 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Moscow City government is unique to Russia in that Moscow's Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov exercises near complete control over all aspects of official life, including directly instructing many of the 1000 officials under him, and, by the accounts of some observers, taking the law into his own hands. End Summary. Background on Moscow City -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Moscow operates in different capacities: as a federal city and subject of the Russian Federation, the center of the Moscow Region, the capital of Russia, and as a megalopolis, as Europe's largest city. The city of Moscow has an official population of 11.5 million. It is part of the greater Moscow Region, which stretches 200-300 km from the city of Moscow in all directions, and has an additional 14 million inhabitants. Given the enormous territory and the large population, Moscow is larger than some countries. Russia's main economic and political actors and apparati are concentrated within the city of Moscow. ¶3. (SBU) There are three branches of power in Moscow City. The Moscow City government, or City Hall, is the highest executive authority. The Moscow City Duma is the legislative branch. Moscow's local court system is the city's judicial branch. The three branches mirror the federal structure, and the city and federal laws are, at least in theory, in sync. The Moscow City Duma - Elections and the City Budget -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Moscow City Duma is responsible for enacting Moscow's laws, approving Moscow's General Development Plan, and establishing working procedures for the Administrative Regions and Districts. There are 35 Deputies in the Moscow City Duma, including its Chairman, Vladimir Platonov. The Moscow City Duma is divided into a number of working groups and committees. It has the power to vote on the performance of the city government and can pass motions of no confidence in relation to the city government or particular individuals, including the mayor. ¶5. (SBU) The Moscow City Duma's central legal tasks are to conduct elections and to pass the city's budget. The next elections will take place on October 11, 2009 (reftel). The Moscow City Duma's most important annual legislation concerns the budget, which it typically reviews in the fall. However, �A;Acting Head of the Moscow City Government's Department for External Economic and International Relations Vadim Danilin told us July 23 that, due to the economic crisis, this year the Moscow Duma will not begin to look at the 2010 budget until November 2009. According to Danilin, the Moscow City budget is currently the second largest city budget in the world, after Tokyo, just ahead of New York City. The Moscow City Government -------------- ¶6. (SBU) There are three levels of power within the executive branch of Moscow's city government. The highest ranking official in the Moscow City Government is the mayor, the senior, and in many cases, the main decisionmaker. While the official mayoral term is four years, Luzhkov has been Mayor since 1992, having been re-elected in 1996, 1999, and 2003 under Putin. (Note: Direct election of heads of federal regions was abolished under Putin; the President now appoints those leaders subject to local legislative concurrence.) In 2007, Putin submitted Luzhkov's candidature for approval as mayor to the Moscow City Duma. Danilin characterized Luzhkov as "mayor for life" and said that he has no knowledge of any plans for Luzhkov to leave his position. According to a July 2-13 Levada Center public opinion poll among 800 Muscovites, 56 percent of the respondents preferred to have Luzhkov remain mayor of Moscow after the October elections. The Mayor appoints 25 senior officials of the Moscow City government, including First Deputy Mayors, each responsible for substantial spheres of activity; Deputy Mayors; and Ministers. The Executive Office of the Moscow City Government comprises various departments, committees, and directorates which undertake various projects. ¶7. (SBU) One level below, at the Administrative Region level, is the city-wide power. There are ten administrative regions in Moscow City: Central, North-Western, Northern, MOSCOW 00002046 002 OF 002 North-Eastern, Eastern, South-Eastern, Southern, South-Western, Western, and the City of Zelenograd, which is not physically linked to the rest of Moscow City. Zelenograd, "Green City," was created as a science center, and has one of the highest concentrations of educated residents in the world. Each of the ten regions is headed by a prefect. The third level of authority is within the 125 districts in Moscow. These Districts formally have the status of municipalities and their own local governments. The voters directly elect a government leader in each of these districts. ¶8. (SBU) The Moscow City Government also has its own international department. Mr. Georgiy Muradov is the chief of the Moscow City Government Department for External Economic and International Relations, and Danilin is his deputy. This department has five sections focused each on Moscow's relations with: the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),Africa, the Russian diaspora, the Americas, and Europe/Asia. The Moscow City Government has 160 partners around the globe; it is most active in Europe and least active in Africa. In North America, Moscow is linked to Chicago, Houston, New York City, Washington, DC, and the state of Ohio through various joint projects. A Critic's View -------------- ¶9. (SBU) While the above outline is the official story, Boris Kosarev, who runs the political website www.pismo-vlasti.ru, told us earlier this year that the Moscow City Government functions like a hierarchy. In his view, Luzhkov is the absolute center of power and he has encircled himself with his own loyal staff. According to Kosarev, "the longer someone is in one position in Moscow, the stronger that leader becomes." He told us that oligarchs often buy a place in the Moscow City Government, but that they also require Luzhkov's blessing. Kosarev said, "Nobody can become a Moscow City Government or Duma deputy without Luzhkov's help." He maintained that Luzhkov rigs the elections, but allows a few opposition figures, such as Yabloko's Sergei Mitrokhin, to be in the Moscow City Duma. In terms of the Communists, Kosarev told us that Gennadiy Zyuganov and Luzhkov had also made an agreement for Sergey Nikitin to be in the Moscow City Duma. Kosarev explained that Vladimir Resin, the Minister for the Moscow City town-planning policy and development complex, is himself an oligarch and oversees all of the construction companies in Moscow. Kosarev contended that even though Resin is old and sick, he still manages to work and would need Luzhkov's permission to leave his current position. ¶10. (SBU) Kosarev told us that laws and elections do not work in Moscow. In his view, the Russian system became westernized and imported its laws, but "the Russian government operates above the law." He cited mass falsification during voting on the Moscow City Government level and told us that the general government sentiment was akin to Stalin's attitude that, "it does not matter how people vote, but it matters who counts the votes." According to Kosarev, the general government sentiment is that it is not important what happens, but it matters that the government controls it. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In the view of some Moscow observers, until city officials begin making more transparent use of their government structure and laws, effective citizen oversight and participation in local government will not take root. Instead, these officials will maintain their ability to manipulate average Muscovites, such as through elections that are not free and fair, using tax money for their own devices, and extracting bribes from the citizens for performing their jobs. Instead of the government focusing on the requirements of its citizens, critics argue that it is only the wealthy elite who thrive in Moscow at the expense of average Muscovites. RUBIN