President reappoints Komi leader

16.12.05

The deputies of the Komi legislature unanimously approved President Putin's appointment of incumbent Vladimir Torlopov as the republic's leader on 7 December in an open vote.

Putin appointed Torlopov at the recommendation of his envoy in the Northwest Ilya Klebanov. Torlopov will now remain in the position for another four years. The session only lasted 20 minutes, a local record. One might think that suddenly an unprecedented unity appeared in the parliament. 

But the same unity has appeared in many other local parliaments that must now vote for their governors at the president's recommendation. None of the deputies want to oppose the popular and influential president. At least, for the time being. 

Nevertheless, the external appearance of unity hides other feelings. After the session, several of the deputies expressed doubt about the expediency of appointing the governor and the effectiveness of the current procedure for choosing regional leaders. Moreover, they expressed hope that the very unity that appears when regional parliaments vote on the president's candidates will serve as a signal to the federal authorities that the situation is artificial. 

Likewise, several local media criticized the procedure of choosing the governor and the process in which the regional legislature must approve the president's decision (Molodezh severa, 8 December). Many of the deputies expressed the hope that since they had voted for the governor, he would do more to take their opinions into account. More likely, though, is that Torlopov will strengthen his efforts to form his own lobby in the parliament. Such a group currently exists, but it was not very stable and has not had decisive influence in the body. 

Now the situation may change and not only because Torlopov has dramatically strengthened his position within the republic. On 28 November the former speaker of the republican legislature Ivan Kulakov unexpectedly passed away. Kulakov was an experienced and reasonably independent politician and, under his leadership, the parliament began gaining some independence as well. Most likely, the new speaker will be Aleksei Beznosikov, who is a strong Torlopov supporter. 

One of the main consequences of the new political situation in Komi will be the further alienation of the public from the political process. Feelings that public sentiment matters little could lead to more protest votes in 2007 and hurt the showing of the pro-Kremlin United Russia. In the October 2005 local elections, the party won only 11 percent of the vote. 

Many of the republic's problems went unresolved as republican political leaders waged a major political struggle on the eve of Putin's appointment of the new governor. Among other issues, the region's agriculture is in chronic crisis; many northern residents should be moved to more hospitable southern climates to improve the social situation in the republic; and there are few resources to establish effective local government. Now, with a newly empowered leader, is the time to address the accumulated problems. 

However, once the authorities again demonstrate that they are ineffective, the political battle will start again. 

Yurii Shabaev

Source: ISN