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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

Russian Premier Appointed: For How Long?

13 November, 2012 - 00:00
Yevhen Primakov

The Russian Duma confirmed Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov’s premiership Friday night. And thus Ukraine’s northern neighbor started the new week with a new government. However, one must not ignore the fact that Mr. Primakov is a politician first and foremost.

Now the main issue is the formation of a Cabinet and its membership. Most observers agree that the Left’s position will be enhanced and that those championing overall command of the economy will be key Cabinet figures. This assumption is based primarily on the possibility of Viktor Gerashchenko taking over the Central Bank, and he is known as one of the most experienced professionals in the banking sphere (he was at the head of the USSR State Bank and then Russia’s Central Bank). To prove the old truth that he who is lifeless is faultless, Mr. Gerashchenko was at one time closely associated and very much involved in Pavlov’s smash-and-grab monetary reform and the ill-famed Black Tuesday which actually caused his retirement. Another likely Cabinet figure is Yuri Masliukov, ex-Chairman of the USSR Gosplan [State Planning Committee] and member of the geriatric Politburo, now to be placed in charge of the economic bloc. By contrast, current Deputy Premier Boris Fedorov and two economic ministers, Mikhail Zadornov and Yakov Urinson, do not seem to stand much of a chance. The Duma grapevine has it that the instigator of Primakov’s appointment, Grigory Yavlinsky, has not even been discussed for inclusion in the new government. In a word, even an inexperienced observer will realize that a Cabinet made up of such political has-beens will not last long in the present severe financial and economic crisis. The situation is paradoxical in that Mr. Primakov could form a new reform government in a matter of months and prove an ideal figure for the transition period.

In fact, all the Russian political elite has to do is understand who and what this transition is for.

 

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