Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1628

March 24:

In a throwback to Soviet times, Russian law enforcement agencies are increasingly enlisting the services of "druzhniki," or civilian law enforcement, to maintain order in Moscow. The International Herald Tribune reports that the growing prominence of these volunteers is the result of a Kremlin plan to augment the resources and reach of the capital's police in the face of mounting lawlessness and public unrest. The Russian parliament is currently said to be drafting legislation that would expand the authority of these private patrols.


March 25:

The West's relationship with Russia is entering a period of "uncertainty" driven by increasing Kremlin assertiveness, America's top military officer in Europe has said. "The relationship with Russia is likely to be more difficult to manage in coming years than any time since the end of the Cold War," General John Craddock has told lawmakers in Congress in written remarks carried by ABS-CBN News. Russia's recent foreign policy initiatives, Craddock said, "suggest that their overall intent may be to weaken European solidarity and systematically reduce US influence." Craddock, who serves simultaneously as the head of the U.S. military's European Command and the Supreme Allied Commander-Europe (SACEUR), the top military liaison post between the U.S. and NATO, was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.


March 27:

For the past decade, the Kremlin has enforced strict martial law in Chechnya, complete with curfews, roadblocks and an invasive security presence. But now, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has signaled that he is willing to contemplate a new, friendlier line toward the restive republic. "The situation in Chechnya has normalised to a large degree," the BBC reports Medvedev announcing in a state television broadcast in the first public indicator that official policy toward Chechnya could be on the cusp of change. "We must create new possibilities for investment and employment."

Russia's oligarchs should not count on a quick bailout by the federal government, the Russian government's accountability czar has said. Russian billionaires who now find themselves in financial trouble should "sell your dachas, planes, villas" and "settle your accounts" rather than seeking assistance from the state, Audit Chamber chairman Sergey Stepashin has said in comments before the the State Duma. Stepashin's remarks were carried by RBK TV and translated by BBC Monitoring.


March 30:

The Kremlin is angling for a more active role in Afghanistan, the Moscow Times reports. "Afghan drug traffic has become a most serious threat to the security of Russia and countries of Central Asia," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told other members of the Moscow- and Beijing-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the security bloc's latest summit, held in the Russian capital. "The efforts being taken to fight this evil so far are insufficient." In response, Moscow has proposed that the security grouping - which encompasses Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - expand their cooperation with the Coalition pursuant to an "action plan" recently drafted in coordination with the Afghan government. "Russia is ready for active joint steps aimed at normalizing the situation in this country," Lavrov has said.