END OF THE ROSSEL ERA IN SVERDLOVSK OBLAST: NEW GOVERNOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEKATERINBURG 000075 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR RS SUBJECT: END OF THE ROSSEL ERA IN SVERDLOVSK OBLAST: NEW GOVERNOR APPOINTED Sensitive But Unclassified. Not for Internet Distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Rampant speculation swirling around the delayed announcement of the appointment of the Sverdlovsk oblast governor ended late November 10 Urals time with the news that President Medvedev had appointed Aleksandr Misharin to a four-year term as governor. Misharin is scheduled to arrive in Yekaterinburg on November 17 and will meet with the oblast duma at 09:00; at 12:00, the joint session will meet to confirm his appointment as governor. Although KPRF deputies have said they will vote against his appointment as a matter of principle (because they oppose the abolition of gubernatorial elections), United Russia has a sufficiently large majority so that swift confirmation is expected. Although Rossel's term expires on November 21, it was extended over the weekend to allow Misharin to take the oath of office on November 23, a weekday. Urals Federal District PolPred Vinnichenko said on TV that he approves of the president's decision: "The decision was made with due account of all individual qualities and personal and business characteristics of the candidate." ¶2. (SBU) According to the Oblast Charter, the new governor should propose a new Prime Minister. If the oblast duma does not approve the suggested candidate, the governor has the power to dissolve parliament. In turn, the new Prime Minister will name a new Cabinet of Ministers and all incumbent ministers and the head of the governor's office will submit their resignations. Local observers believe that the current Minister of Industry and Science, Anatoliy Gredin, who previously worked with Misharin at Sverdlovsk Railway, might become the Prime Minister. Several ministers who have either reached their pension age or will reach it in the near future will probably also be changed. ¶3. (SBU) The local political elite called the change in oblast leadership the end of an era (Rossel has been in power for 19 years) and compare it to Yeltsin's resignation in 2000. Much is made of the November 10 date of the announcement - in 1993 on November 10 Yeltsin dismissed Rossel from the governor's post. Although his desire for independence from Moscow (the Urals Republic) was reduced by Putin's administration, Rossel remained a supporter of democratic practices. He was also one of the first governors to set up a human rights ombudsman's office, and has allowed more media freedom than in some neighboring regions. Rossel was a tireless promoter of Sverdlovsk oblast and skillfully navigated between the interests of the local elite and the Kremlin. He persuaded the Kremlin to hold the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRIC summits in Yekaterinburg and traveled widely to attract investors to the region. Supporters point out that Rossel did not appoint family members to government-controlled positions and that he does not appear to have gained economic privileges during his administration. Rossel has said that he wants the senate seat on the Federation Council vacated by Yuri Osintsev, an appointment that requires the new governor's approval. Political observers believe that if his appointment is approved, Rossel could end up as First Deputy Chairman of the Upper House. ¶4. (SBU) Bio Note: Aleksandr Sergeyevich Misharin was born on January 21, 1959 in Artyomovskiy, Sverdlovsk oblast. His father worked for Sverdlovsk Railway and his mother in the local medical clinic. He has a younger brother, Vladimir. His classmates from secondary school remember him as an excellent student who also played guitar and sang. They say he enjoyed listening to records and liked the British group Smokie and the Beatles. He also played soccer and basketball. He graduated from the Urals Electromechanical Institute of Railway Engineers in 1981 and completed a degree in economics in 1997. Misharin worked as the Chief Electrical Engineer for the Yekaterinburg Metro from 1989-1991, returning to the Sverdlovsk Railway as Deputy Chief Energy Engineer in 1991. Later in 1991 he was promoted to Chief Energy Engineer, and in 1996 was appointed the Chief Engineer of Sverdlovsk Railway. In 1998 he became the Deputy Minister of Railway Transport of Russia and in 2000 was promoted to First Deputy Minister of Russian Railways. In 2002, Misharin was appointed Director of Sverdlovsk Railway and returned to Yekaterinburg where he initiated construction of the first modern railway management unit in the Urals-Siberian region, equipped with the high technology and equipment allowing electronic control of the vast Sverdlovsk Railway network. In 2004 he became Russian deputy transport minister and in January 2009, director of the presidential administration's industry and infrastructure department. He is a United Russia member and sits on the party's General Council. He has received numerous government and public awards. He has been married twice and has two children. Unofficially, his former colleagues say that Misharin is a reasonable person, not prone to conflict or authoritarian actions, and open to suggestions. He is known for spending long hours in the office. YEKATERINB 00000075 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Rossel's departure seems to mark the beginning of a change of regional heads who took office in the Yeltsin era. Consulate contacts admit that the era of aging governors has come to an end, but no one is sure that Misharin is the right choice for the oblast. They question whether he is strong enough to maintain the balance of interest between federal power and local elites, and wonder whether he will follow the Kremlin line more strictly than Rossel, which might adversely impact the regional economy. Heads of oblast financial-industrial groups know Misharin from negotiating rail contracts with him, but they are not talking; he is otherwise viewed as a "black box." We will see whether Sverdlovsk becomes more integrated into the vertical of power or retains some independence. TRIMBLE