Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STPETERSBURG32
2009-03-24 10:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate St Petersburg
Cable title:  

PSKOV OBLAST - VERTICAL OF POWER WITHOUT APOLOGY

Tags:  RS PGOV PREL ECON EN LG 
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R 241029Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2733
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
AMEMBASSY RIGA 
AMEMBASSY TALLINN
UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000032 


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: RS PGOV PREL ECON EN LG
SUBJECT: PSKOV OBLAST - VERTICAL OF POWER WITHOUT APOLOGY

UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000032


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: RS PGOV PREL ECON EN LG
SUBJECT: PSKOV OBLAST - VERTICAL OF POWER WITHOUT APOLOGY


1. (SBU) Summary. Pskov Oblast and City has a new political
hierarchy with strong Kremlin ties -political and financial.
The opposition sees these personnel moves as an effort to
consolidate Muscovite control over the region. Local
authorities say the oblast's and city's economies have not
suffered severely from the economic crisis, but they are working
to minimize any potential negative impact. Regional cooperation
between the oblast and Latvia and Estonia is potentially an
important factor for the economy, though international political
considerations have interfered with increased integration. End
Summary.

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New Leadership, Old Friends
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2. (SBU) On February 27 presidential appointee Andrey Turchak
was inaugurated as Pskov's Governor. He replaces Mikhail
Kuznetsov, the last popularly elected regional head in Russia's
Northwest who has not been re-appointed by the president.
Kuznetsov had been removed by President Medvedev ten days
earlier. On their March 3 - 4 visit to the region, DPO and
Pol/Econ Officer met with Turchak's three deputies: Acting First
Deputy Governor Sergey Pernikov, Deputy Governor of
Administrative Issues Maksim Zhavoronkov, and Deputy Governor
for Property and Investment Gennadiy Bezlobenko. It was the new
team's first meeting with foreign government representatives.
As young or younger than the new boss (33),the three admitted
they were still mastering the details of their respective
positions, but assured us that they were moving forward to
stimulate the economy and develop Pskov.


3. (SBU) Governor Turchak is the son of Anatoliy Turchak, a
close personal friend of Prime Minister Putin and president of
Leninets Holding Company, which produces hi-tech equipment for
the defense industry. In 2005, Turchak Junior joined United
Russia, where he was tasked to reorganize the party's
ineffective youth wing into a new political movement - the Young
Guards. Since then, Young Guards has been closely associated
with Leninets.


4. (SBU) Ivan Tsetserskiy, the current deputy City Head, praised
the new governor, and believes that the long-standing conflict
between the oblast and the city administration is now
conclusively ended. He also underscored that the relationship

with federal authorities will improve, and that the region
should receive access to more federal funding. He was
optimistic about U.S.-Pskov contacts, citing exchange programs
sponsored by the Consulate and the Library of Congress and the
dynamic relationship Pskov has with its sister city Roanoke,
Massachusetts. A large group of Pskov official civil servants
are planning to travel there this April.

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But, Not Everyone is So Pleased
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5. (SBU) A regional opposition leader expressed to us his
concern over the appointment of the new Governor. According our
contact, the best explanation for the Turchaks' interest in
Pskov Oblast is that it furthers the Leninets clan business
interests by establishing administrative control in the region,
enabling them to influence legislation, particularly with
respect to customs duties and the forestry industry. He was
pessimistic about the new governor, believing him to be "a
cynical young man," and compared the militantly pro-Kremlin
Young Guards to Mao's Red Guards.


6. (SBU) Our interlocutor also decried the 2006 municipal
reforms in Pskov which replaced the elected Mayor with a "City
Manager" (Russian: "siti-menedzher"),with the more ceremonial
of the mayor's previous functions transferred to the Speaker of
the Oblast Assembly, now to be known as the "City Head." This
model, our contact claimed, was created in Pskov to facilitate
removal of the popular Mayor Mikhail Khoronen, who feuded
continuously with then Governor Mikhail Kuznetsov. Khoronen is
still technically mayor, and his term of office is expiring
March 31.) Governor Turchak has reportedly offered the job of
city manager to the current City Head Yan Luzhin. The veteran
Estonian Consul in Pskov noted that although Luzhin is not
really interested in the new position, he will find it difficult
to decline the Governor's offer. Formally, Luzhin cannot just
be appointed, but will have to be selected by a special
committee from a roster of several candidates. The timing of
when this will happen is still uncertain, as the composition of
the special committee is still in flux (Luzhin himself was head
of the committee, but has recently withdrawn from it).

-------------- --------------
Economic Crisis - Potentially a Problem, but Not Yet.
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) Speaking about the economic crisis, Tsetserskiy noted
that the situation in the city has so far been stable and that
there has been no need for municipal budget cuts yet. He
expects that the city will be able to implement its main social
programs with support of the new governor. The most important
social programs in his opinion include support for pensioners,
housing loans, low prices for hot water and heating, and
construction of several new preschools. Although unemployment
has recently increased from a low of 0.3% last year to 1.5% now,
Tsetserskiy does not believe it has become a serious problem.
The city has a special crisis monitoring group, which meets
weekly to analyze the impact of the crisis.

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Cross Border Relations - Important but Difficult
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) All interlocutors with whom we met during our visit -
including a local, high profile NGO Director and the Estonian
and Latvian Consuls - noted that Pskov Oblast is continuing to
cooperate with its Baltic neighbors at the local levels. They
noted several joint projects in the fields of education, art,
and water treatment which have been mutually beneficial for all
parties. Cooperation with Estonia, however, has been
problematic ever since the controversy surrounding the Bronze
Soldier statue in Tallinn in the spring of 2007. Our NGO
Director contact told us that it was difficult to organize
Russian-Estonian high-level events because Russian officials
refuse to attend conferences at which their Estonian
counterparts are present. As an example of the ongoing
difficulties, the Estonian Consul mentioned that Estonians had
been ready to join in the Days of Pskov Oblast festivities since
2007, but that the oblast administration has shunned Estonian
participation and instead has cultivated its relationship with
the Latvians.


9. (SBU) Comment. Pskov Oblast and City are clear examples of
the Russian power vertical in action - a political elite,
previously unaffiliated with the region but with strong Kremlin
ties, super-imposed over the indigenous polity. The current
system of having a city manager and "city head" instead of a
popularly elected mayor ensures that there is no independent
political base around which opposition forces can coalesce.
That the region seems to be firmly onboard with the Kremlin's
current anti-Estonian bias, despite the oblast's own local
interest in better relations with Estonia, shows the lack of
real decision-making authority at the regional level. Though
the economic crisis does not appear to be a major factor in the
region at this time, even a major economic downturn would be
unlikely to challenge United Russia's overwhelming dominance in
the region. End Comment.


GWALTNEY