| We now have some confirmation of President Vladimir Putin's
statement in December that the losers in the parliamentary campaign should
not despair, as jobs in the executive branch will be found for them. Economic
Development Minister German Gref is expected to have a new deputy minister
soon: YABLOKO deputy leader Igor
Artemyev. This piece of news has not been officially confirmed yet,
but everyone at the ministry is confident that Artemyev will be there soon,
and so are sources in YABLOKO itself.
Sergei Mitrokhin said: "We
know that Artemyev will be appointed. Moreover, he has the approval of
the YABLOKO presidium.”
According to Mitrokhin, the party intends to promote some program provisions
in this manner. Mitrokhin believes that a number of YABLOKO experts will
take jobs with the Economic Development Ministry after Artemyev.
It is not surprising that liberal Economic Development Minister German
Gref has issued an invitation to Artemyev, known for his free market views
(according to our sources, the initiative was Gref's). Back in 1997 and
1998, both were deputy governors of St. Petersburg. They even came to
Moscow almost simultaneously, in 1999.
All the same, there is more to this than shared liberal views. Gref,
for one, frequently disagrees with YABLOKO on various issues. Artemyev's
appointment is in line with the recent changes in the presidential administration.
The St. Petersburg team is consolidating its positions.
See also:
Igor Artemyev. Biography.
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