#9 - JRL 7271
Vremya MN
July 31, 2003
FOUL PLAY
A public relations war is underway in Russia
Author: Andrei Kolesnikov
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
SEVERAL DAYS AGO AN OBSCURE OFFICIAL OF THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE ISSUED A PUBLIC REPRIMAND TO PRIME MINISTER MIKHAIL KASIANOV. IN TERMS OF PR TECHNIQUES, THIS WAS A BRILLIANT MOVE BY THE PROSECUTORS; BUT IT WAS STILL FOUL PLAY.
Several days ago an obscure official of the Prosecutor General's Office issued a public reprimand to Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov. This was quite unprecedented, but Kasianov did not respond.
In terms of PR techniques, this was a brilliant move by the prosecutors; but it was still foul play.
The Menatep press service responded, saying that Platon Lebedev's detention was initiated by "members of the criminal part of the law enforcement system." The public relations war incited by the obscure official did not end here. Members of the National Strategy Council joined the fracas, denying accusations of involvement in the attack against YUKOS and saying the oligarchs are to blame for their corporations not being socially responsible enough.
This public relations war may be compared to the media battles over Svyazinvest in summer 1997. At the same time, this clash exceeds anything we have ever seen before in the tone of accusations and the rank of the state officials involved.
Why is that? The answer is simple. The regime is so commercialized, or business is so "governmentalized", that we are not witnessing a war between state institutions (the Prosecutor General's Office and the Cabinet, for instance). This is a war between different clans in the upper echelons of government.
That is why the Prosecutor General's Office does not view Kasianov as a prime minister. It sees him as a member of one of the clans in the power-struggle. The insolent accusation that the prime minister is putting pressure on the courts includes a hidden message: we will go after you whenever necessary. No one is beyond our reach.
There is a distinct flaw in all this public relations activity of the Prosecutor General's Office. By using foul play, the prosecutors present themselves as members of one of the clans. The "independence" of the Prosecutor General's Office deteriorates into dependence on the political situation.
Otherwise, public relations strategists at the Prosecutor General's Office would not have gone as far as making such a serious accusation against the prime minister.
The Prosecutor General's Office spokeswoman who made the accusation against Kasianov got carried away. By saying that Lebedev's case concerned "outright theft and fraud", the spokeswoman violated the principle of presumption of innocence. Only a court can determine whether the Menatep executive is a criminal.
In short, the YUKOS case has done damage to the Russian stock market, affected Russia's image in general and investment climate in particular, and hurt the government as well.
Had we not grown accustomed to the idea that absolutely anything is possible in Russia, the accusations against the prime minister would have been absolutely preposterous. The clash between the Prosecutor General's Office and the Cabinet undermines respect for the authorities. Law enforcement agencies are being transformed into omnipotent security structures.
The president remains uninvolved, as always. The messages he sends down from the political Olympus every now and then are not very clear. Each side of the conflict can and does interpret them to suit its own needs.
On the one hand, economic crime must be fought. On the other, the president objects to clumsy campaigns and overly harsh measures. According to the reasoning of the Prosecutor General's Office, the president must also be putting pressure on it by saying that.
The conflict is not over. It means tension and insecurity in Russia. That is bad from the point of view of investors' assessment of economic and political risks. That is bad for Russia's image. How can Russia strive for membership of the World Trade Organization, the European Union, or the Schengen zone when its Prosecutor General's Office is so rude to the prime minister?
The public relations war is going to continue. We will see a lot more foul play yet.
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