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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Boris Yeltsin Fires General Prosecutor

9 February, 1999 - 00:00

By Vitaly PORTNYKOV, The Day
Events in Moscow last Tuesday looked like a film thriller. In the morning
a team of investigators from the General Prosecutor's Office, reinforced
by an Alpha elite commando squad, burst into the office of Sibneft (Siberian
Oil), an oil company heavily involved with noted Russian businessman and
CIS Executive Secretary Boris Berezovsky, conducted a search, and confiscated
documents.

Meanwhile, President Yeltsin suddenly appeared in the Kremlin and after
an extraordinary meeting with Nikolai Bordiuzha, head of his Presidential
Administration, the presidential press service announced the retirement
of Russian General Prosecutor Yuri Skuratov.

Mr. Yeltsin forwarded a referral to the upper house, the Council of
the Federation, requesting Skuratov's dismissal. The General Prosecutor
was signed into the Central Clinic Tuesday. According to GP officers, their
boss was suddenly gripped by "cardiac pain."

The announcement of Skuratov's removal was followed by the news of the
search at Sibneft. The search warrant was signed by Deputy General Prosecutor
Mikhail Katyshev and the search, ending late in the evening, was in conjunction
with an investigation launched after the Moskovsky Komsomolets's
expose accusing Berezovsky of bugging the Yeltsin's telephone conversations
(allegedly with the professional aid of Atol, an obscure firm also reportedly
connected with Sibneft and other Berezovsky structures).

It looks like we have witnessed quite a conflict in the upper Russian
echelons. In fact, the Berezovsky-Primakov confrontation had been apparent
for quite some time; Berezovsky had lobbied for Chernomyrdin and was, of
course, chagrined by Primakov's appointment. He had on more than one occasion
voiced criticism of the Russian Cabinet's performance. And a real war broke
out when the government tried to reduce Berezovsky's influence on ORT (Moscow's
leading television company). Sergei Dorenko, "Vremia" news anchorman, known
for being one of Berezovsky's cronies, once again went on the air January
30, after a period of absence, accusing Primakov of trying to usurp the
President's power with the aid of a joint statement by power structures.
The Premier presented its draft to the Federal Assembly recently. Berezovsky
spoke of the document rather skeptically at the Davos forum and Primakov
could not refrain from a sharp remark in his address. And now this move,
if not authored by Primakov then by certain figures siding with him (the
fact that there are quite a few in Russia's power structures ready to help
the former chief of the foreign intelligence service against Berezovsky
is generally known).

There is one aspect to the whole affair that remains unclear: how Yuri
Skuratov fits into the pattern and the reason for his retirement. Reasons
of health are not worth considering, because he appeared on NTV's "Man
of the Day" January 27, dwelling on a new program to combat crime. On February
3 he was supposed to preside over an extended board meeting of the GPO.
Apparently, resignation was the last thing on his mind. Presumably his
resignation was "accepted" during Boris Yeltsin's birthday celebrations
when Primakov and Burdiuzha visited him at Barvikha. That same evening
Skuratov supposedly tendered his resignation. However, Operation Sibneft
had been decided upon by the time. Was Russia's former top lawman against
the search or was the confiscation of incriminating documents his parting
gesture? Who was interested in replacing the General Prosecutor? Was it
Yeltsin, wishing to have a more convenient figure at this post? Primakov
counting on the appointment of someone he could rely upon, or Berezovsky
trying to neutralize or at least cushion the GPO's action? Or maybe Skuratov's
ousting is to be linked to the demonstrative strengthening of extremist
organizations like the neofascist Russian National Unity and its march,
which stunned many Muscovites, with law enforcement authorities keeping
an equally stunning low profile?

There is a possibility that some of these questions will remain unanswered.
It is not often that the Russian political arena becomes so strikingly
like a movie thriller, and the same is true of leading politicians venting
their emotions in public and not worrying about the means. Someone must
have surely touched a couple of sore spots in rival political groups, and
the stakes in the game were so high they decided wash their dirty linen
in public, in front of television cameras, using public prosecutors and
masked commandos.

Moscow

 

Prosecutors seek dirt on Berezovsky
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