The appointment of the government just happened to coincide with an exhibition of election posters, most of them dedicated to Vladimir Putin (in the reproduction). The inscription reads: "Vertical of Authority"
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// The Country Meets Its Ministers
Kommersant special correspondent was at a meeting of the new cabinet of ministers held yesterday in the Kremlin and spent the whole time trying to figure out from its members’ faces what kind of country we’re going to be living in for the next four years.
Everything happened suddenly, as is the case more and more often these days. The fact that there would be a grand event in the Kremlin at three o’clock in the afternoon was already known in the morning. However, it was apparently decided only at the very last minute to admit journalists. Still, they made the only right decision and we found ourselves in the meeting room, where President Vladimir Putin customarily meets with members of the government on Mondays.
The long table where there are usually no vacant seats was half empty this time. Everyone who had been called to the meeting sat closer to the president’s empty chair. Who was there and who wasn’t? The first one to catch the eye was acting Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu, who was sitting a long way from that chair. He looked neither at his colleagues nor at the journalists, but was staring at the table. Maybe he wanted to look like he was thinking.
Acting Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko, on the other hand, was scrutinizing the journalists in a strangely cheerful way. This was unlike him; it gave the impression that the man had finally relaxed. But the main thing was that I didn’t notice any downcast faces or looks among those present. Come to think of it, why should there be? The people seated in this room, frankly speaking, had no reason to be upset. Those who had a reason stayed home.
In the meantime, I searched avidly for familiar faces, but several were missing. Neither acting Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoi nor acting Minister of Labor Aleksandr Pochinok was present. Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov wasn’t there! Neither was acting Minister of Energy Igor Yusufov. But then for a moment I thought I saw Mr. Yusufov after all. Of course, in all this confusion, when you try to take in the immensity of the situation in one glance and remember the expression on everyone’s face at once, not for yourself (what for?) but for history…. In this sort of situation, it’s easy to make a mistake.
So I was mistaken. It wasn’t Igor Yusufov, but Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s permanent representative at the UN. But they all looked so much alike! Igor Yusufov looked like Sergei Lavrov; Igor Ivanov, like Mikhail Shvydkoi; Mikhail Shvydkoi, like Mikhail Fradkov…. At some point even they will be confused. Or maybe they already are.
– Who will Trutnev be, do you know? – one member of the presidential administration standing at the doors quietly asked another.
In fact, the governor of Perm Region was among the new group of like-minded associates. He was sitting at the very center of the table.
– You’ll find out now – his colleague answered carefully.
–Do you know, then? – the other asked jealously.
–In my opinion, he could be anyone except minister of defense, – said the colleague with a shrug.
–Look, Kozak’s here. That means he’s leaving the administration.
–And over there…That’s Levitin.
–Who’s he?
–I don’t know. He was some sort of artist!
–You’re confusing him with Levitan.
–No I’m not. There was an artist Levitin!
–He must be really famous: even I’ve never heard of him!
To be honest, I was surprised that people in this situation could talk about art.
Meanwhile, there was one thing that left no doubts: the people in this room were still pretty much in the dark. However, they became much better informed when head of the presidential administration Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, and President Putin quickly entered the room.
The president of Russia reminded everyone why he had fired Mikhail Kasyanov and his entire cabinet. In his words, he had done it in order to present the new head of the government and new cabinet to the country. I thought I was used to a lot of things, but I was still struck by the utter self-assuredness of this statement.
He did not say whether this plan had become a reality. Somehow or other, the result was “a more compact government with one deputy prime minister and about half the number of ministers. There were 30 along with the prime minister; now there are 17.”
The president noted that the new ministers would be more independent.
– However, I especially want to stress to my respected colleagues that this is not being done so that those of us gathered in this room become puffed up with feelings of our own self-importance.
“Then what’s it being done for,” I barely restrained myself from asking.
However, the clue lay on the surface as it turned out. It was done in order to “significantly increase the individual personal responsibility of each minister appointed today for his assigned task.”
On hearing these words, I turned to the new ministers. It seems I hadn’t been paying attention. Everyone was smiling, but as far as I could tell, no one was puffed up from feelings of personal self-importance. There was something clearly written on their faces; something new, barely discernible, almost imperceptible, but still something that wasn’t obvious before. But what?
Then I suddenly understood. What was I thinking of! Of course! These people were conscious of their personal individual responsibility for their assigned task!
The president spoke a few more nice words to the members of the new cabinet. Like the rest of the country, they had nothing to worry about now. After March 14, when by law they were supposed to resign, they would simply be reregistered in new positions.
In conclusion, Vladimir Putin asked everyone present to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Mikhail Fradkov was next. The president gave him the floor. The prime minister presented his colleagues and explained the reasoning behind their appointments. Apparently, it was not only professionalism that was important, but also human qualities (which ones?) and “persistence in a given activity.”
Mikhail Fradkov said that Aleksandr Zhukov would be the only deputy prime minister:
– Zhukov is well known in the country and has many positive qualities; he’s balanced, decisive…
There wasn’t a single word about German Gref’s personal qualities. It was enough that his powers were considerably broadened as a result of the reorganization. As Mikhail Fradkov said, he had been handed very substantial ministries. It was unclear whether Mikhail Zurabov was better or worse off. Mikhail Fradkov does not consider his ministry very important (the ministry was formed by the merger of the ministries of health and social development), but it has been loaded with increased responsibilities.
– Sergei Ivanov is well known, – Mikhail Fradkov said with a slight smile (the first one in all this time). – He’s been recommended as minister of defense; and Dmitry Kozak has been recommended as head of the government staff with the rank of federal minister. We thank the president’s administration for delegating him….
–And most importantly, – Vladimir Putin interrupted suddenly, – he’s one of the authors of the new government structure.
The prime minister continued down his list. Aleksei Gordeev, Aleksei Kudrin, Sergei Lavrov (“recommended by Igor Sergeevich Ivanov…”), Rashid Nurgaliev…. I found myself getting bored. Enough already! It can’t be, I told myself. We’re right in the middle of appointing the new cabinet of ministers. It’s an equation with a lot of unknowns…. There are still unanswered questions….But it’s bo-o-o-oring. Maybe it’s supposed to be. What if that’s the main objective of what’s going on in front of us? Why shouldn’t the country dream about politics that is boring even at its stormiest moments? Wasn’t that the point of Mikhail Fradkov’s recall from Brussels—to do just that?
But it seems I was mistaken. Even Mikhail Fradkov seemed bored at that point, but then he went on to Yury Trutnev
– Recommended for the position of minister of natural resources. He knows all about working the land, literally and figuratively, – said the prime minister, smiling again.
The people recommended for ministerial posts also exchanged timid smiles. They were letting it be known that they liked the new prime minister’s jokes, timid as they were.
– Andrei Fursenko – as minister of education and science…He’s knowledgeable about everything relating to the real sector of the economy. Viktor Khristenko – to the Ministry of Industry and Energy….The objectives are clear: place more emphasis on the real sector of the economy….
Someone else was supposed to devote as much attention as possible to the real sector. And someone already had and now had to pay more attention. Mikhail Fradkov referred to the real sector of the economy several times during his presentation. The problems in this sector clearly disturbed him almost as much as the problems in all other sectors combined.
He finally came to Igor Levitin. The former Severstaltrans employee and namesake of the artist who was the subject of controversy among our contemporaries would become minister of transport. As Mikhail Fradkov explained, he would not find it difficult, since he had served in the army and had been involved in business. And here he is, a ready-made minister!
The prime minister called the new minister of culture and information, Aleksandr Sokolov, former rector of the Moscow Conservatory, a good manager and stressed that he would need this quality in his new job…The prime minister spoke simply and clearly. Even I understood just about everything.
Well no, not everything. That would be boring.
Andrei Kolesnikov, The Kremlin
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 10, 2004
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