09.05.09

(Russian Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Urals Federal District) Nikolay Vinnichenko had an interesting and unexpectedly stormy meeting with Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov (a former classmate of his) and Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Mikhail Sukhodolskiy. The official summary of the meeting can be found in the press releases from the Plenipotentiary Representative's Office and on our newswire, but there are some interesting details in this report: a remarkable squabble between four Urals governors and the deputy minister, a secret corruption case in the UFD (Urals Federal District), and the plenipotentiary representative's harsh words for the Urals elite. Happy reading.

No journalist will ever again be able to say that meetings held by the president's plenipotentiary representative in the Urals Federal District are boring and tedious: the latest event at 3 Oktyabrskaya (the plenipotentiary representative's residence in Yekaterinburg) shattered all stereotypes. Russian Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov and First Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Mikhail Sukhodolskiy arrived in Yekaterinburg on Thursday.They discussed two issues at their meeting: measures to rehabilitate former prisoners and the fight against crime amid the crisis. As always, however, the most interesting part took place in between the agenda items.

Urals Governors Vs. Russian Interior Ministry

The hero (or antihero) of the big meeting was First Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Mikhail Sukhodolskiy. He rashly entered into a lively squabble with just about all of the Urals governors. The latter suddenly displayed unprecedented solidarity.

The source of the dispute was the question of using regional budgets to fund various police agencies. As is well known, the work of the Public Safety Police (MOB) is paid for out of the budgets of the constituent parts of the Russian Federation, while the rest of the headquarters are financed by the federation. Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Mikhail Sukhodolskiy took the liberty of pointing out that if the regions are providing money to maintain the MOB, then they should also be jointly responsible for the performance of this police force, along with the leadership of the GUVD (Main Internal Affairs Administration). This provoked a storm of indignation among the governors. The first to show his indignation was Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District head Aleksandr Filipenko, who stated that the whole reason for putting a professional in charge of the GUVD was that he would be able to run the police's operations independently, allocate staff among the headquarters, etc.

"I do not believe that we (the governors) should get involved in such professional nuances," Filipenko grumbled. He was, of course, indignant that the MVD (Internal Affairs Ministry) was shaking him down for money while simultaneously demanding that he answer for the level of street crime.

"Why not? Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov, for example, deals with such matters, as does Krasnodar Governor (Aleksandr) Tkachev," Sukhodolskiy said, shrugging his shoulders, not yet suspecting which chords he had touched within the jealous souls of the Urals governors.

"So that means Luzhkov and Tkachev are carefully examining the situation, and we are not?" Chelyabinsk Governor Petr Sumin indignantly chimed in. Filipenko once again reached for the microphone, but Sumin stopped his colleague in a friendly manner: "Enough, Sasha (diminutive form of Aleksandr), don't get up!..." -- as if to say: they will not understand us here anyway.

(Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Governor) Yuriy Neyelov also supported his colleagues, accusing the MVD leadership of being "stuck in the year 1917." "Which year?" Deputy Minister Sukhodolskiy asked, his eyed widening. But Neyelov was already continuing: "You pay such low travel expenses that they only cover a one-way trip. My UVD (Main Interior Ministry Administration) chief flies to crime scenes by helicopter, but where is he supposed to get the money? We try to help him with money, but the Prosecutor's Office objects: this is a violation of the Budget Code, an improper use of funds."

The squabble continued for over half an hour -- meanwhile, Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov, whom the transpiring events did not directly concern (and he yawned a couple of times in desperation), even managed to pop out for a smoke and a glass of water.

Half an hour later it seemed that passions were beginning to die down, but when it was Aleksandr Filipenko's turn to report, he switched on the microphone and, looking at Sukhodolskiy, bitterly remarked: "I basically gather that we do not know how to work, and that is the thought I will take with me when I leave here today."

And he threw himself back in his chair, displeased.

"Aleksandr Vasilyevich (Filipenko), I hope that is a joke," a perplexed Nikolay Vinnichenko replied.

"I did not at all intend for my remarks to be interpreted as criticism, Aleksandr Vasilyevich," Mikhail Sukhodolskiy said, attempting to smooth over the situation. "I have been to your okrug, I know your GUVD chief, Gudozhnikov, and he is doing a fine job..."

But it was already too late.

Yuriy Zolotov Reports on Secret Corruption Case

Discussing the nuances of the relationship between the regional budgets and the GUVD, the governors ultimately came to the conclusion that the stumbling block was often the Prosecutor's Office, which did not allow them to give direct monetary assistance to police officers. The governors suggested not resorting to prosecutorial actions in such cases, but instead allowing the budgets to support the MVD administrations undisturbed. Nikolay Vinnichenko invited Deputy General Prosecutor for the Urals Federal District Yuriy Zolotov, who happened to be present, to comment on this.

"But we do not interfere in such cases. We interfere in others. For example, we had a situation where... some fairly high-ranking employees of the Internal Affairs Administration in one region had received additional payments from the budget that were several times larger than their salaries. There we interfered."

"I think everyone here knows what we are talking about," Nikolay Vinnichenko enigmatically nodded.

Vinnichenko: "While there are no journalists present, let me tell you..."

But journalists overheard everything Nikolay Vinnichenko clearly turned out not to be completely familiar with the technical capabilities of his administration. Here is a brief clarification for our readers (and for the plenipotentiary representative) as to how these events are typically covered. Only the cameramen and photographers work in the large conference hall, while the journalists sit in a small press center where there is a video broadcast with an audio feed. The cameramen periodically leave the conference hall, but the broadcast continues.

Upon seeing that the cameramen and photographers had left the main hall on Thursday, Nikolay Vinnichenko breathed easier -- in the third hour of the meeting.

"Colleagues, while there are no reporters present, I want to tell you..." he began, provoking wild giggles from the journalists in the hall, where the live broadcast was still continuing.

Taking advantage of the "absence of reporters," Vinnichenko gave his colleagues several reprimands. Most important, he told them off for not addressing the issues but "constantly giving some sort of general reports" and "not even possessing any figures."

"I am not even speaking about the present meeting but am basing this on the experience of previous ones," Vinnichenko explained, making it clear that he was not satisfied with the speakers' level of preparedness.

Photo caption: Over the long years of (former Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Urals Federal District) Petr Latyshev's service, the elite grew accustomed to formalized meetings that would last for hours. The young and energetic Vinnichenko (pictured) is trying to break this tradition and start a dialog on substance.

Presidential Envoy, Parties Decided To Interact To Overcome Crisis Jointly

Russian Presidential Envoy to the Urals Federal District Nikolai Vinnichenko and representatives of political parties and public organisations of the region have signed an agreement on cooperation in the implementation of and support to the anti-crisis measures.

Representatives of the United Russia party, Just Russia party, and Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPR), as well as the Civil Forum of the Urals Federal District, regional organisations of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), and Russia's Independent Trade Union Federation put their signatures to the document on Tuesday.

The agreement envisages a wide range of cooperation spheres - from the monitoring of the anti-crisis steps' efficiency and the participation all sides in their drafting to the prevention of social tensions in municipalities and labour collectives.

"The signing of the document of the kind testifies to the interest of political forces in the increase of their role in the society and in the interaction with the authorities," Vinnichenko said, adding that the agreement does not restrain political activities of the parties.

"It is another matter that they should not allow extremism or provocations during political rallies," he said.

According to Vinnichenko, the agreement is open for other political and public organisations to sign.

"We realise that we are all in the same boat. And we gathered there so that the boat does not overturn," Head of the Urals interregional coordinating council of United Russia Igor Barinov said.

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Source: Ura.ru (Yekaterinburg); Itar-Tass