A diverse variety of informal political groups emerged during the presidency of
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. They include remnants of the
Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
family,
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
lawyers and economists, and security-intelligence elements called the
siloviki
In the Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силови́к, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики́, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works in the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian national police, ...
.
Background
When Putin came to power, he had few protégés or long-term associates, and had to balance various competitive elements as he crafted his team. In contrast to the Yeltsin years, Putin's regime was marked by personnel stability, a gradual elevation of trusted associates and coalition-building across competing interests both within the presidential administration and with other political actors.
Overview
As
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Vladimir Putin, former employee of the
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 194 ...
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
Directorate and former Chief of the Committee for External Relations of
Saint Petersburg Mayor's Office, had come to the presidency in 2000, many political observers noticed quick career promotion of bureaucracy and businesspeople from
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to the federal power bodies (especially the
Presidential Executive Office, a very influential institution that has always been totally controlled by the presidential authority) and large state-controlled companies (such as
Gazprom and
Rosneft) and their struggle against old Moscow elites loyal to
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
's family, known as ''Family group'', as well as against influential media tycoon
Boris Berezovsky and his allies, who helped Putin on his way to power in 1999–2000.
According to Associate Professor of Political Science John P. Willerton, it is difficult to make general judgements about the various informal groups, their backgrounds and political preferences.
Major groups
St. Petersburg economists and lawyers
According to Associate Professor of Political Science
John P. Willerton of the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, reformist St. Petersburg economists and lawyers constitute a prominent group in the Putin team. Many of them have career and personal ties to Putin dating back to the early 1990s.
Many of the members of the economic reform team, both in the presidential administration and the government, are drawn from the St Petersburg group. They are academically qualified, have significant administrative experience, and are often focused on the technical complexities of the country's system transformation. They are - in general - committed to market development, privatization and the continued diminution of the state's role in the country's socioeconomic life. The liberal economists contend that the consolidation of democracy comes with improving the population's standard of living and developing the private sector. Prominent St Petersburg economists include
Alexei Kudrin
Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin ( rus, Алексе́й Леони́дович Ку́дрин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ˈkudrʲɪn; born 12 October 1960) is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the C ...
,
Herman Gref
Hermann Gräf (russian: Герман Оскарович Греф, translit=German Oskarovich Gref, born February 8, 1964), better known as Herman Gref, is a Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Economics and Trade of Russi ...
and Putin's economic adviser
Andrey Illarionov
Andrey Nikolayevich Illarionov (russian: Андре́й Никола́евич Илларио́нов, born 16 September 1961) is a Russian economist and former senior policy advisor to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, from April 2000 ...
.
The St Petersburg lawyers focus on constitutional-legal-administrative arrangements to bolster an efficient democratic system, favouring reforms that strengthen simultaneously the market economy and political stability. Prominent members included the former presidential administration head
Dmitry Medvedev and
Dmitry Kozak
Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak ( rus, Дмитрий Николаевич Кóзак, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ kˈozak, uk, Дмитро Миколайович Козак; born 7 November 1958) is a Russian politician who has served ...
.
Siloviki
Much foreign attention has been given to the security-intelligence elements, what Russians refer to as the
silovik
In the Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силови́к, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики́, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works in the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian national police, ...
i. They began coming to power under Yeltsin, but this accelerated during Putin's premiership and presidency. A common view in Russia is that these siloviki are generally non-ideological, are corrupt, have a pragmatic law and order focus and have Russian national interests at heart. They do not form a cohesive group.
It is worth noting that Putin himself is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
.
Remnants of the Yeltsin family
Another identifiable group are the remnants of the so-called "Family" - a term which originally referred to relatives and associates of the former president Yeltsin. Most senior members of the group have left the highest corridors of power, but some have been able to survive and secure influential positions.
Ozero
Ozero
Ozero (russian: О́зеро, lit. ''lake'') (full name: дачный потребительский кооператив «Озеро», Dacha consumer cooperative "Ozero") is a dacha cooperative associated with Vladimir Putin's inner circl ...
is the name of a co-operative society headed, ''
inter alia'', by Putin. The co-operative administers Putin's substantial personal wealth generated over the course of his presidency. The immense financial power of members of the co-operative fundamentally creates a wealthy clique of new oligarchs capable of replacing the financial power of Yeltsin era oligarchs.
Outside opinion
According to a ''
The Washington Quarterly
''The Washington Quarterly'' (abbreviated as ''TWQ'') is a magazine of international affairs covering topics and issues concerning global security, diplomatic relations, and policy implications. Founded by prestigious think tank, Center for Strate ...
'' article written by
Ian Bremmer
Ian Arthur Bremmer (born November 12, 1969) is an American political scientist and author with a focus on global political risk. He is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm with principal offi ...
and Samuel Charap in 2006–2007, at the start of his presidency,
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
announced that he would consolidate political powers in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
into the so-called ''power vertical''. However, despite being considered successful by many, this controversial endeavour partially backfired and led to the increasing factionalism within the president's inner circle. Although other institutions now became largely irrelevant, disputes and clashes between Kremlin factions, rather than the president's will, are getting more and more important in determining major policy outcomes, Bremmer and Charap write.
History
During the final years of
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
's presidency,
Alexander Voloshin
Alexander Stalyevich Voloshin (russian: link=no, Александр Стальевич Волóшин; born 3 March 1956, Moscow) is a Russian politician who briefly was chairman of the board of directors of RAO UES, the former Russian state p ...
, chief of the
Presidential Executive Office, was considered to be the most influential figure within the Family group. Despite his obvious connections to Russian commerce, he was dominating Russia's politics of that time.
In 1999, the Family group, Vladimir Putin, Boris Berezovsky and their allies united their efforts in order to prevent coming to power of the
Fatherland-All Russia political alliance of former Prime Minister
Yevgeny Primakov
Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Foreign Minister, Speaker of the Supreme ...
and
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
Mayor
Yury Luzhkov
Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov ( rus, Ю́рий Миха́йлович Лужко́в, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ lʊˈʂkof; 21 September 1936 – 10 December 2019) was a Russian politician who served as mayor of Moscow from 1992 to 2010 ...
that was supported by media tycoon
Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky (russian: Владимир Александрович Гусинский, ; born 6 October 1952) is a Russian media tycoon. He founded the Media-Most holding company that included the NTV free-to-air channel, ...
and to some extent by the public opinion. The efforts were successful, but as soon as Putin had won the
2000 presidential election, an acute conflict with Boris Berezovsky developed, and in 2002 Berezovsky fled to London. As a result, Russian authorities consolidated their power over Russian TV companies
NTV NTV may refer to:
Television
* NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh
* NTV (India), Telugu regional channel
* NTV (Kenya)
* NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia
* NTV (Newport Televis ...
and
ORT previously controlled by Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky, respectively.
The Family group has also almost entirely lost its influence by 2004 after the dismissals of Alexander Voloshin (October 2003), Prime Minister
Mikhail Kasyanov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov ( rus, link=no, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Касья́нов, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsʲjanəf; born 8 December 1957) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia fr ...
(February 2004) and some key figures of
his Cabinet, but some of the group's members secured their political survival.
Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (russian: Владислав Юрьевич Сурков; born 21 September 1962 or 1964) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 20 ...
, initially being an aide to Voloshin, gained much influence, as well as Prosecutor General
Vladimir Ustinov
Vladimir Vasilyevich Ustinov (russian: Владимир Васильевич Устинов; born 25 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He currently is the Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District. Until 2008, he was Russia's ...
, who had leaned towards new Saint Petersburg elites and whose son had become
Igor Sechin
Igor Ivanovich Sechin (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Се́чин; born 7 September 1960) is a Russian oligarch and a government official, considered a close ally and "de facto deputy" of Vladimir Putin.
Sechin has been a confidant ...
's
son-in-law
Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses.
The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this co ...
. Tycoon
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the ...
, who had leaned towards the Family group in the 1990s, also remained influential, as well as former Mass Media Minister
Mikhail Lesin
Mikhail Yuryevich Lesin (russian: Михаил Юрьевич Лесин; 11 July 1958 – 5 November 2015) was a Russian political figure, media executive and advisor to president Vladimir Putin. In 2006, he was awarded the Order "For Mer ...
. Each of them, however, had already distanced away from the Family group by that time.
As the Family group had lost its influence, especially during Vladimir Putin's second four-year presidential term (since 7 May 2004), some conflicts between parts of the new elites of Saint Petersburg origin became evident, as witnessed e.g. by the disputes over the fate of
YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkov ...
, failed project of merging
Rosneft and
Gazprom, struggle for
Sibneft
Gazprom Neft (russian: Газпром Нефть; formerly Sibneft, russian: Сибнефть, link=no), is the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about ...
and upcoming 2008
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
, some appointments and dismissals in
Mikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet and consequences of the
Three Whales Corruption Scandal
The Three Whales Corruption Scandal is a major corruption scandal in Russia involving several furniture companies and federal government bodies which has unfolded since 2000.
2000 smuggling investigation
Three Whales (Tri kita/Три кита) i ...
, but the exact configuration of these new groups still remains unclear. However, it is widely acknowledged that
Igor Sechin
Igor Ivanovich Sechin (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Се́чин; born 7 September 1960) is a Russian oligarch and a government official, considered a close ally and "de facto deputy" of Vladimir Putin.
Sechin has been a confidant ...
and
Dmitry Medvedev are key figures heading their own factions and opposed to each other but both very close to Putin. Former Prime Minister
Mikhail Fradkov is considered a close ally of Sechin.
See also
*
Russian oligarchs
Russian oligarchs ( Russian: олигархи, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet ...
*
Silovik
In the Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силови́к, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики́, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works in the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian national police, ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Vladimir Putin
Politics of Russia
Vladimir Putin