September 28:
Rossiiskaya Gazeta reports that Sergei Klimantov, chief inspector for the Audit Chamber, Russia’s federal budget watchdog agency, and Sergei Dubovitsky, first deputy mayor of Vladivostok, were arrested in Moscow for attempting to extract a $120,000 bribe from a local businessman. Separately, Nazim Kaziakhmedov, a senior prosecutor from Dagestan recently assigned to the federal Prosecutor General’s Office’s newly formed Investigative Committee, was shot to death in central Moscow in an apparent contract killing. Kommersant reports that Kaziakhmedov was working on a major fraud case involving the Finvest investment group.
Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has promised that a federal anti-corruption law will be passed in the near future, NEWSru.com reports. Zubkov previously headed the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, which is responsible for coordinating all of Russia’s anti-money laundering efforts. According to NEWSru.com, Zubkov’s actions since becoming prime minister earlier this month – putting forward an image as an uncompromising fighter against bribery, ordering increases in salaries and pensions, dressing down subordinates – are the kind taken by a presidential successor and aimed at “capturing the population’s trust.”
Vedomosti reports that a poll which two economists, Andrei Yakovlev of the Higher School of Economics and Timothy Frye of Columbia University, have taken of 500 Russian businesses seven years after their first such survey has found that Russian business is less worried about such things as high tax rates – only 57.7 percent were seriously concerned about this, compared with 81.7 percent in 2000 – and tight credit. On the other hand, while 25.1 percent of the companies polled seven years ago said the problem of corruption was “serious” or “very serious,” 32.8 percent answered that way in the recent poll.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told reporters in Sochi that Britain’s requests that former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi be extradited for the radiation poisoning murder of former Federal Security Service officer Alexander Litvinenko “are not supported by any documents indicating the commission of any illegal act.” According to the Kremlin’s website, Putin added that if Britain provides such documents, Russian prosecutors “will work with our British colleagues constructively.” Putin also claimed that there are around 20 Russian citizens hiding in Britain who, according to Russian law-enforcement, committed serious crimes. “Despite repeated requests by the Russian Federation to extradite these people, there they sit,” Putin said. “No one is surrendering anyone to us.”
September 30:
The Other Russia opposition movement has chosen Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion who heads the Civil Front opposition group, as its candidate for the 2008 presidential election, NEWSru.com reports. Kasparov beat out Mikhail Kasyanov, the former prime minister, and Viktor Gerashchenko, the former Central Bank chairman.
October 1:
The Rossiya state television channel has broadcast a documentary claiming that CIA is backing Russia’s opposition movements in order to foment a Ukrainian-style “Orange Revolution,” Ekho Moskvy reports. According to the radio station, the documentary’s author, Rossiya special correspondent Arkady Mamontov, is known for reportage that “always coincides with the opinion of the official powers.”
President Putin has told a congress of the United Russia that he has agreed to head the pro-Kremlin party’s list in December parliamentary elections and might serve as prime minister, Reuters reports. “As far as heading the government is concerned, this is a quite realistic suggestion but it is still too early to think about it,” Putin said. “Two conditions must be met first. United Russia must win the election and a decent, capable and modern person with whom I work as a team should be elected president.” According to Reuters, Kremlin officials, ministers, deputies and members of United Russia “roared with applause” and gave a Putin a standing ovation.
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