Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10MOSCOW325
2010-02-15 15:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Moscow
Cable title:  

KRASNOYARSK: A REGION ENJOYING THE STATUS QUO OR

Tags:  PREL PGOV PMAR PHUM PINR ECON EFIN RS 
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FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6235
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 000325 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV PMAR PHUM PINR ECON EFIN RS
SUBJECT: KRASNOYARSK: A REGION ENJOYING THE STATUS QUO OR
BENEFITS OF REFORM?

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan M. Elliott; reasons 1
.4(b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 000325

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV PMAR PHUM PINR ECON EFIN RS
SUBJECT: KRASNOYARSK: A REGION ENJOYING THE STATUS QUO OR
BENEFITS OF REFORM?

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan M. Elliott; reasons 1
.4(b/d).


1. (C) Summary: Krasnoyarsk government officials are
confident that their management of the region's substantial
energy and mineral wealth ensures political and economic
stability. Opposition political figures and independent
journalists give kray authorities high marks for their
constructive engagement with all elements of civil society,
but they dislike the close ties kray officials have with big
business. President Medvedev's innovation and modernization
strategy is viewed by Krasnoyarsk residents as having greater
relevance in other regions. The kray's inter-party dialogue
and relatively high standard of living based on energy
related industries obviate the need to aggressively pursue
political and economic reform. End Summary.


2. (C) Emboff's two-day visit to frigid Krasnoyarsk coincided
with President Medvedev's nomination of Deputy Governor Lev
Kuznetsov to replace Aleksandr Khloponin as governor of the
kray. President Medvedev's choice of popular Governor
Khloponin as Presidential Representative and DPM responsible
for the North Caucasus has focused attention on Krasnoyarsk.
The recent attention on the region gave us the perfect
opportunity to visit and discuss how local officials and
residents perceive the Moscow-generated national debate on
political and economic modernization.

Political Participation and Economic Stability
-------------- -


3. (C) Both President Medvedev and PM Putin remain extremely
popular among Krasnoyarsk citizens and most elite groups.
Former governor Khloponin enjoyed enormous support and most
observers expect the same for Kuznetsov. A good deal of
Khloponin's popularity related to his inclusive style, which
differed significantly from his predecessor, former General
Aleksandr Lebedev.


4. (C) Kray Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Aleksandr
Kleshko (United Russia) stated bluntly that the kray was far

ahead of Moscow when it came to broad political pluralism and
participation. Khloponin nurtured this environment by
listening to opposition views and proposals and occasionally
supporting them. That attitude is reflected in the Kray
Assembly, where five parties (United Russia, Communists,
LDPR, Just Russia and Right Cause) all have deputies and each
faction has the chairmanship of at least one major Assembly
committee. A local state-owned media committee, compromised
of equal numbers of representatives appointed by the Governor
and by the Assembly (including reps from all parties) meets
regularly to ensure that all parties are receiving equal air
time. Communist (KPRF),Just Russia (SR) and Liberal
Democratic Party (LDPR) reps all told us that Khloponin
adeptly managed the Krasnoyarsk political scene. He produced
revenue and stability and reminded Moscow that Krasnoyarsk
Kray generated a significant portion of Russia's GDP.


5. (C) Kleshko said that President Medvedev's calls for
modernization have been a boom for Khloponin. Medvedev's
poslaniye and his "Russia, Forward" article have been used by
the regional United Russia organization to claim "victory and
fulfillment of the plan" because they already constructed a
pluralist structure. Their "forward thinking" has obviated
the need for any additional changes and ensured United
Russia's continued regional leadership. Even Just Russia
party leader (and Kray Assembly Deputy Speaker) Anatoliy
Romashkov told us that due to wise and popular regional
United Russia (ER) party leaders and the party's national
dominance, no party would be able to challenge ER's regional
control for the next 10-15 years.


6. (C) KPRF regional leader Pyotr Medvedev railed against
ER's dominance and its use of administrative resources
throughout the vast kray (area of more than 2 million square
kilometers) to perpetuate its lock on power. He blasted
elections, not for irregularities perpetrated on voting day,
but for the imbalanced circumstances under which they are
held. He said that KPRF would be able to field candidates in
approximately 2000 of the 5000 kray-wide positions being to
be filled through elections March 14. LDPR leader Artem
Chernykh told us that his party was only able to run in 800
elections. United Russia, on the other hand, has the
personnel reserves to run a candidate in every election.
Pyotr Medvedev complained that voter turnout for
non-contested seats would be scant, but that United Russia

MOSCOW 00000325 002 OF 003


would exploit the kray-wide totals for the personal
aggrandizement of leaders in the eyes of senior party leaders
in Moscow, especially Andrey Vorobyev, Chairman of ER's
Central Executive Committee and State Duma deputy from
Krasnoyarsk.

Status Quo will prevail
--------------


7. (C) First deputy Mayor of Krasnoyarsk Vitaliy Borbrov told
us that Kransoyarsk, by virtue of its political and social
stability and its strong economy based on extractive
industries, represented an important economic engine in
Siberia. He touted efforts over the past five years to expand
investment opportunities, focusing on the city's high-tech
park, the Siberian Federal University, and considerable
German interest in expanding high-tech commercial ties.
Siberian University attracts students from throughout the
region, many of whom remain in Kransoyarsk after graduation.
The retention of graduates working in high-tech fields
(including defense, space and aspects of extraction
industries) demonstrates the success of leaders in building a
diversified regional economy. Major changes to existing
economic structures were not needed, he said.


8. (C) Many of our interlocutors recalled that Khloponin had
also built Krasnoyarsk the old-fashioned way - through pork.
Massive infrastructure projects, such as railways, roads and
hydroelectric plants brought jobs to the kray, but were also
of national significance. Funds for construction and
maintenance have been assured by Moscow, giving the kray a
stable source of revenue from the center, but also putting in
place assets, especially power generation facilities, that
enable big business, especially aluminum processing
facilities, to function. Khloponin reportedly used his
connections with regional business leaders, such as RusAl's
Oleg Deripaska and Norilsk Nickel's Mikhail Prokhorov, to
extract legitimate tax assessments that their subordinates
had been reluctant to pay.


9. (C) Independent journalist Leonid Zhvanov told us he
doubted that President Medvedev's modernization rhetoric
would make much of an impression on local and regional
leaders in the short to medium term. Too many senior
political leaders owed their current positions (and their
personal wealth) to the extractive industries, he noted.
Public support for increased oil and gas exploration in the
north of the kray means less support for reform. He and KPRF
leader Medvedev argued that political and business leaders
could care less about the environment, especially in northern
parts of the kray where wealthy business people hunt for
recreation on lands that belong to native peoples. "It
sometimes feels like Krasnoyarsk is treated like a rich
colony, with Moscow the distant metropolis that remains quiet
as long as money is flowing and regional oligarchs are
happy," Zhvanov said.


10. (C) President Medvedev February 8 nominated Krasnoyarsk
Kray Deputy Governor Lev Kuznetsov to replace former Governor
Aleksandr Khloponin. Local government and party officials
expected that Kuznetsov will win easy approval from the Kray
Legislative Assembly when it reviews his nomination February

16. United Russia (ER) officials praised him for his energy,
his understanding of business (he worked for Norilsk Nickel
with Khloponin),and his sound judgment. KPRF, SR and LDPR
officials, however, told us Kuznetsov would be too closely
tied to big business. They all said they would have much
preferred Kray Assembly Speaker Uss. Independent journalists
lamented that the new governor would not have the political
weight of Khloponin. State Duma Deputy from Krasnoyarsk
Aleksandr Klyukin (ER),himself an Uss supporter, told us
that Kuznetsov got the job thanks to his close personal ties
with Khloponin. According to Klyukin, Kuznetsov's
appointment means that Khloponin's team of ministers and
advisors, as well as ER regional party leaders, will all
likely stay on. In other words, said Klyukin, "status quo
stability will prevail - just what Moscow wants."

An Alarming Trend
--------------


11. (C) KPRF leader Medvedev noted that steadily sinking
faith in elections, and pervasive bureaucratic corruption was
turning young and middle aged citizens in a more nationalist
direction. KPRF in Krasnoyarsk is trying to pick up some of
these "patriotic yet disillusioned" people, but voters

MOSCOW 00000325 003 OF 003


harboring more radical views were prime targets for dangerous
extremist groups. Kray Human Rights Ombudsman Mark Denisov
confirmed this, linking growing nationalist sentiment to
concerns over Chinese immigration into the region. He said
kray authorities are carefully monitoring the involvement of
the Chinese government in this wave of immigration. He
charged this was part of a "deliberate policy by the Chinese
government to change the demographics of the region. Denisov
said he is responsible for ensuring that Chinese laborers who
come to Russia legally to work (mainly on projects proposed,
funded and overseen by Chinese managers) were not abused or
exploited. He blamed Beijing for these abuses and noted that
young Russians in the kray were concerned that some
industrial enterprises and agricultural projects were now
being overseen by Chinese, not Russian, managers.

Comment
--------------


12. (C) Krasnoyarsk's new governor Kuznetsov has big shoes to
fill. The March 14 regional elections throughout the kray
will be his first opportunity to demonstrate to Moscow that
he can continue Khloponin's record of delivering for United
Russia while still being able to peacefully work with
opposition political parties and other elites. Although the
energy sector remains its major economic producer,
Krasnoyarsk also has a high-tech foundation on which to
promote greater investment. United Russia's successful
leadership in Krasnoyarsk allows President Medvedev to take
credit for a regional economic and political modernization
victory, especially since it was there in 2008 that he, as a
candidate for the presidency, called for economic reform.
Beyrle