#8 - JRL 7300
NOVAYA GAZETA DIGEST
No. 62, Monday, August 25, 2003
Translated by Luba Schwartzman
ISSUES SUBJECT -- Forgiven sins are a political resource. In “Time in the Government,” Novaya Gazeta correspondent Roman Shleinov tells some interesting stories about various ministries and administrations. “Managed democracy” is when there is a criminal case against every official. Those ministers, members of the presidential administration, prosecutors and regional leaders who escape punishment end up as marionettes in the hands of the regime. If one strays from the main political line, the General Prosecutor’s Office opens the corresponding file. Without knowing the background, one might think the government was going schizo with the onset of autumn. There are loud investigations of some officials, while others, who are equally guilty, are left alone. The ranks of the MVD are being cleansed -- another group of active and former police officers was detained recently. But Ministry of Internal Affairs Major General Nikolai Mamontov kept his position, despite a letter from the presidential administration and two from the General Prosecutor’s Office questioning his activity. It’s the phenomenon of “forgiven sins.’ The list of forgiven officials is long. It is hard to say how many sluggish or suspended cases only the law enforcement organs and the presidential administration know about. Forgiven sins are a great political resource for election campaigns and administrative purposes. In Russia, this resource is virtually inexhaustible. And any forgiven general, prosecutor or minor official serves those who forgave him, and not the law.
CIRCUMSTANCES -- “Guskinsky’s Arrest: Take Three,” by Aleksandr Mineev. Vladimir Gusinsky was detained at the Athens airport on Thursday. According to Greek police officials, the arrest followed an Interpol request. But Interpol officials had once stated that the Russian businessman is not on their “blacklist.” And the Spanish court previously refused to extradite Gusinaky. Europe isn’t Russia -- someone cannot be tried twice for the same crime. So, who asked Interpol for the arrest? The answer is obvious -- the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office. This means that a different request had to be sent in, instead of the one that already embarrassed Russian officials. A lot has happened since the “uncompromising war” against Vladimir Gusinsky. There were rumors that he now has nothing to fear, and might come to Moscow by December. So what is the Prosecutor’s Office doing? We believe this is a result of carelessness – it simply forgot to retract its earlier complaints. Our sources in the law enforcement structure agree.
NOVAYA GAZETA EVENT -- Starting a business from scratch. “You’re Not a Legal Entity!” by Marina Maslova and Lilia Fetisova. The Novaya Gazeta correspondents have been watching a private company recently founded by computer programmer Aleksandr Grebenshchikov and two of his friends. This article describes the way the businessmen managed to solve their tax problems.
DETAILS -- The fate of democracy depends on whether the private or the state defense industry wins. “New Ruler -- Better Weather,” by Yulia Latynina. The MAKS-2003 International Air Show was held over the past week at the Zhukovsky Airport in the suburbs of Moscow. President Putin visited it on his way to Kursk. Military officials went on television, eagerly stating that this year the salon rivaled Le Bourge and Farnborough. Actually, the main difference between this air show and the previous ones was the arrival of the American delegation. It brought the B-52, a forty-year veteran of American aviation, which remained on the ground the whole time. Sadly, all of the “innovations” were, at best, modernizations. The main goal of design bureaus in Russia and in the United States is creating a fifth-generation fighter jet. A supersonic fighter with a vectored-thrust engine. MAKS-2003 demonstrated we are nowhere near achieving this task.
ALSO IN THE ISSUE
:: Preparations are underway for a third Chechen War. Hopeless elections: another president and another war. “Ballot Boxes or Funeral Urns?” by Anna Politkovskaya.
:: Novaya Gazeta continues studying the making of terrorists. “‘Hovel Patriots,’ Part 2. Africa. East Congo.” by Sergei Mikhalych.
:: Party officials decided the fate of a brilliant film director. “Giving Tarkovsky Another Chance to Return,” by Aleksandr Melenberg.
:: There’s a zoo where tigers celebrate birthdays and zookeepers can be caged. “New Arc,” by Natalya Chernova.
:: “Akunin’s Co-Author Discovered.” Natalya Savoskina interviews Albert Filozov.
Contact Information for Novaya Gazeta
(095) 923-9485
www.novayagazeta.ru
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