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Viewing cable 09STPETERSBURG32, PSKOV OBLAST - VERTICAL OF POWER WITHOUT APOLOGY

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09STPETERSBURG32 2009-03-24 10:29 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate St Petersburg
R 241029Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2733
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
AMEMBASSY RIGA 
AMEMBASSY TALLINN
UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000032 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: RS PGOV PREL ECON EN LG
SUBJECT: PSKOV OBLAST - VERTICAL OF POWER WITHOUT APOLOGY 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Pskov Oblast and City has a new political 
hierarchy with strong Kremlin ties -political and financial. 
The opposition sees these personnel moves as an effort to 
consolidate Muscovite control over the region.  Local 
authorities say the oblast's and city's economies have not 
suffered severely from the economic crisis, but they are working 
to minimize any potential negative impact.  Regional cooperation 
between the oblast and Latvia and Estonia is potentially an 
important factor for the economy, though international political 
considerations have interfered with increased integration.  End 
Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
New Leadership, Old Friends 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
2. (SBU) On February 27 presidential appointee Andrey Turchak 
was inaugurated as Pskov's Governor.  He replaces Mikhail 
Kuznetsov, the last popularly elected regional head in Russia's 
Northwest who has not been re-appointed by the president. 
Kuznetsov had been removed by President Medvedev ten days 
earlier.  On their March 3 - 4 visit to the region, DPO and 
Pol/Econ Officer met with Turchak's three deputies: Acting First 
Deputy Governor Sergey Pernikov, Deputy Governor of 
Administrative Issues Maksim Zhavoronkov, and Deputy Governor 
for Property and Investment Gennadiy Bezlobenko.  It was the new 
team's first meeting with foreign government representatives. 
As young or younger than the new boss (33), the three admitted 
they were still mastering the details of their respective 
positions, but assured us that they were moving forward to 
stimulate the economy and develop Pskov. 
 
3. (SBU)  Governor Turchak is the son of Anatoliy Turchak, a 
close personal friend of Prime Minister Putin and president of 
Leninets Holding Company, which produces hi-tech equipment for 
the defense industry.  In 2005, Turchak Junior joined United 
Russia, where he was tasked to reorganize the party's 
ineffective youth wing into a new political movement - the Young 
Guards.  Since then, Young Guards has been closely associated 
with Leninets. 
 
4. (SBU) Ivan Tsetserskiy, the current deputy City Head, praised 
the new governor, and believes that the long-standing conflict 
between the oblast and the city administration is now 
conclusively ended.  He also underscored that the relationship 
with federal authorities will improve, and that the region 
should receive access to more federal funding.  He was 
optimistic about U.S.-Pskov contacts, citing exchange programs 
sponsored by the Consulate and the Library of Congress and the 
dynamic relationship Pskov has with its sister city Roanoke, 
Massachusetts.  A large group of Pskov official civil servants 
are planning to travel there this April. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
But, Not Everyone is So Pleased 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
5. (SBU) A regional opposition leader expressed to us his 
concern over the appointment of the new Governor.  According our 
contact, the best explanation for the Turchaks' interest in 
Pskov Oblast is that it furthers the Leninets clan business 
interests by establishing administrative control in the region, 
enabling them to influence legislation, particularly with 
respect to customs duties and the forestry industry.  He was 
pessimistic about the new governor, believing him to be "a 
cynical young man," and compared the militantly pro-Kremlin 
Young Guards to Mao's Red Guards. 
 
6. (SBU) Our interlocutor also decried the 2006 municipal 
reforms in Pskov which replaced the elected Mayor with a "City 
Manager" (Russian: "siti-menedzher"), with the more ceremonial 
of the mayor's previous functions transferred to the Speaker of 
the Oblast Assembly, now to be known as the "City Head."  This 
model, our contact claimed, was created in Pskov to facilitate 
removal of the popular Mayor Mikhail Khoronen, who feuded 
continuously with then Governor Mikhail Kuznetsov.  Khoronen is 
still technically mayor, and his term of office is expiring 
March 31.)   Governor Turchak has reportedly offered the job of 
city manager to the current City Head Yan Luzhin.  The veteran 
Estonian Consul in Pskov noted that although Luzhin is not 
really interested in the new position, he will find it difficult 
to decline the Governor's offer.  Formally, Luzhin cannot just 
be appointed, but will have to be selected by a special 
committee from a roster of several candidates.  The timing of 
when this will happen is still uncertain, as the composition of 
the special committee is still in flux (Luzhin himself was head 
of the committee, but has recently withdrawn from it). 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Economic Crisis - Potentially a Problem, but Not Yet. 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
7. (SBU) Speaking about the economic crisis, Tsetserskiy noted 
that the situation in the city has so far been stable and that 
there has been no need for municipal budget cuts yet.  He 
expects that the city will be able to implement its main social 
programs with support of the new governor.  The most important 
social programs in his opinion include support for pensioners, 
housing loans, low prices for hot water and heating, and 
construction of several new preschools.  Although unemployment 
has recently increased from a low of 0.3% last year to 1.5% now, 
Tsetserskiy does not believe it has become a serious problem. 
The city has a special crisis monitoring group, which meets 
weekly to analyze the impact of the crisis. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Cross Border Relations - Important but Difficult 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
8. (SBU) All interlocutors with whom we met during our visit - 
including a local, high profile NGO Director and the Estonian 
and Latvian Consuls - noted that Pskov Oblast is continuing to 
cooperate with its Baltic neighbors at the local levels.  They 
noted several joint projects in the fields of education, art, 
and water treatment which have been mutually beneficial for all 
parties.  Cooperation with Estonia, however, has been 
problematic ever since the controversy surrounding the Bronze 
Soldier statue in Tallinn in the spring of 2007.  Our NGO 
Director contact told us that it was difficult to organize 
Russian-Estonian high-level events because Russian officials 
refuse to attend conferences at which their Estonian 
counterparts are present.  As an example of the ongoing 
difficulties, the Estonian Consul mentioned that Estonians had 
been ready to join in the Days of Pskov Oblast festivities since 
2007, but that the oblast administration has shunned Estonian 
participation and instead has cultivated its relationship with 
the Latvians. 
 
9. (SBU) Comment.  Pskov Oblast and City are clear examples of 
the Russian power vertical in action - a political elite, 
previously unaffiliated with the region but with strong Kremlin 
ties, super-imposed over the indigenous polity.  The current 
system of having a city manager and "city head" instead of a 
popularly elected mayor ensures that there is no independent 
political base around which opposition forces can coalesce. 
That the region seems to be firmly onboard with the Kremlin's 
current anti-Estonian bias, despite the oblast's own local 
interest in better relations with Estonia, shows the lack of 
real decision-making authority at the regional level.  Though 
the economic crisis does not appear to be a major factor in the 
region at this time, even a major economic downturn would be 
unlikely to challenge United Russia's overwhelming dominance in 
the region.  End Comment. 
 
 
GWALTNEY