Country Begins to Tire of Putin's Reign
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Bride fever Western craze for elaborate weddings is RUSSIA big business FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL REPORT | Thursday June 21 2012 Page 4 www.ft.com/reports/russia-2012 | twitter.com/ftreports On the march: tax paying, private sector, internet savvy workers account for a growing percentage of Russia’s population and it is chiefly from this group that the protest movement is drawn Getty Country begins to tire of Putin’s reign Last September, the political rights among an emerging Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the respected support for “liberal values” is low. (campaign pledges total 1 per cent of elections for provincial governors and middle class. Moscow daily newspaper. The public distrusts much of the Russia’s GDP for the next five years, fairer registration rules for political president’s days as Marchers seem to feel a new rush of “They pay taxes, they made it opposition which is too closely associ- not including a massive defence parties were watered down by parlia- leader seemed limited energy following the return to power through two economic crises without ated with the Yeltsin years, known spending hike), as well as with an ment before they were passed. of Mr Putin on May 7, and on June 12, the state’s help and they have decided colloquially as the “era of seven bank- assertive foreign policy which has In one of his first acts as president, only by his lifespan. They 50,000 to 70,000 demonstrated in cen- that they want the state to work for ers”, when oligarchs were massively seen Russia play a spoiler role in the Mr Putin then rushed through parlia- now seem numbered, tral Moscow for democratic change. them now. They are fed up with being enriched by an insider-driven privati- midst of the Syria crisis. ment a law levelling draconian fines Mr Putin’s days as leader, which humiliated,” he says. sation process and private property While Russia’s refusal to endorse on protest violations. Some believe he reports Charles Clover seemed limited only by his lifespan Some find it ironic that the so-called ended up concentrated into a few UN sanctions against Damascus has may have miscalculated and the law last September when he announced middle class, who owe their relative hands. been met with international bewilder- will backfire, further aggravating he movement of nations,” his return to the presidency, now prosperity to the Putin era – most Many see only two options: the ment and outrage, it has played well political instability. Leo Tolstoy wrote, “is caused seem numbered, unless he can rein- were impoverished by economic liber- political system in the hands of a cor- in Russia, where voters like to see The June 12 demonstration, which not by power, nor by intellec- vent himself as a leader of the newly alisation in the 1990s, but saw their rupt state bureaucracy, or in the pri- their leaders standing up to the west. saw a large uptick in numbers from tual activity, nor even by a emerging elite who have suddenly incomes nearly triple in the decade of vate hands of an oligarchy. The president’s stance on Syria, previous protests, is the first evidence Tcombination of the two as historians found their political voice. his rule – are leading the mutiny Neither of these inspires confidence defending embattled autocrat Bashar that the regime’s hard line attitude have supposed.” Tax paying, private sector, internet- against the Kremlin. in an ability to protect basic rights al-Assad from an angry populace, has may be counterproductive. Instead, he said, in one of the most savvy workers account for a growing Even among pro-Kremlin commen- and property – the hallmark of uncomfortable echos for Mr Putin. Roland Nash, chief strategist for overquoted passages from War and percentage of Russia’s population, and tators, there is a growing weariness of demands by a newly politicised mid- Amid signs of an impending crack- Verno Capital, a hedge fund, says the Peace, history is made by “the activity it is chiefly from this group that the Mr Putin’s rule. dle class. down, the Kremlin has backed down worst case scenario feared by inves- of all the people who participate in protest movement is drawn. Maksim Shevchenko, a television Given the choices, Mr Putin may be on political liberalisation promised tors is an overreaction by the Kremlin the events”. They are demanding fair treatment journalist who is a strong critic of the the lesser of two evils. He has been made by former President Dmitry and a crackdown. “So far, however, While perhaps not the most stun- from the state, say observers such as anti-Putin opposition, says: “I con- working to shore up his popularity Medvedev last December. they are handling it better than the ning insight into the human condi- Konstantin Remchukov, editor of sider Putin to be an effective crisis with additional government spending Mr Medvedev’s pledges to return market feared.” tion, it goes some way towards manager who pulled the country out explaining a shift that has taken place of a crisis in which we were threat- in Russian society over the past six ened by the collapse of the state. How- months: the people, after a decade- Inside this issue ever, I do not consider him to be irre- long hiatus, have once again become a Stock market placeable. He is not the only leader factor in running the country. Mixed messages there is.” While most Russian revolutions are leaving Many, including Mr Shevchenko, tend to be “meaningless and merci- investors sitting think it unlikely that Mr Putin will less”, as the saying goes, this one has on the sidelines seek a fourth term as president. If he for the most part been impressive for Page 2 ran again in 2018 “I think he would its peacefulness (with the exception of lose”. a May 6 clash between protesters and Economy His current term, says Mr police where dozens were injured). The country may Shevchenko, should be devoted to It is unlikely to take on the propor- be less vulnerable to external shocks guaranteeing a democratic process tions of the Arab spring or sweep the but it has become ever more and transition to real elections. ruling elite from power in the manner dependent on oil prices Page 2 He adds: “Putin needs to be the of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, father of the nation, like [John] but it has nonetheless had a profound Rail freight Privately owned Adams or [Ben] Franklin. In the next operators in the newly liberalised effect on political life. six years, he needs to formulate the market are racing to buy and sell For more than a decade since assets Page 2 principles of a democratic, free devel- Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, opment of this nation. He needs to three factors have dominated Russia’s Politics find a balance between managing the politics. Critics say Mr country and allowing it to develop.” First, there is Mr Putin, with his Putin’s isolation There are too many examples, he strongman style; second the group of has begun to says, of Russian rulers standing in the ex-spies and security men he brought affect his way of history. “The Romanov empire with him into the Kremlin in 2000, decisions’ Page 3 collapsed because it was not ready for known as the siloviki (“strong men”); change”. and third, the oil price, which has Efficiency However, he says anti-Putin opposi- behaved as a sort of deus ex machina, The good news tion leaders such as Boris Nemtsov occasionally intervening from offstage about Russia’s inefficiency is that and Alexei Navalny, have not man- to rain down fabulous wealth or crash there is room for relatively aged to present an attractive alterna- the rouble. Mostly the former. inexpensive improvement Page 3 tive. However, that all changed last “The only alternative they suggest December, when, following gratui- Retail When the going gets tough, is a restoration of the Yeltsin era, tously rigged parliamentary elections, Russians go shopping Page 4 which is completely unacceptable to a the largest anti-Kremlin demonstra- majority of the population.” Space Last year was a public tions since the early 1990s gathered relations disaster for the industry but Indeed, opinion polls show that, 100,000 protesters. the performance of one company while people care about property The size of the marches has shrunk, may help restore its reputation rights, criticise election fraud and but the causes of the protests have Page 4 corruption, and have ceased to see not – a palpable tiredness with Mr the Putin Kremlin as sacred Putin’s rule and a new demand for repository of the Russian nation, In-fighting casts doubt on privatisation government to first sell its Energy energy stakes to Rosnefte- gaz, the state investment Catherine Belton vehicle. looks at the power The order sowed confu- sion about the new govern- Igor Sechin (left), with Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister struggle worrying ment’s privatisation foreign investors agenda, an important test of biggest foreign investors. appointed chief executive of Mr Putin’s resolve for BP swiftly announced it Rosneft, the state oil cham- reform. Though a Putin wanted to sell its 50 per pion, and was elevated to When Vladimir Putin spokesman later insisted cent stake in TNK-BP, the the Rosneftegaz board, indi- unveiled his new cabinet on the decree did not mean troubled Russian oil ven- cating he was going to be in May 21, after nearly a Russia was cancelling pri- ture, potentially plunging charge of a power structure month of deliberations, it vatisation plans for the the UK oil group into the of his own.