Medvedev's government has 16 new ministers. In particular, the head of the Moscow Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, became head of the Interior Ministry. The head of the newly formed agency — the Ministry for Open Government Liaison — is billionaire and presidential adviser Mikhail Abyzov. Political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky discussed the new cabinet with host Margarita Polyanskaya on Kommersant FM.
Responding to a question about the most unexpected appointments, Belkovsky said there were no surprises: the candidates had been discussed, and the government's philosophy was clear. In his view, it is an attempt to show the active part of Russian society, 'the educated Russian city dwellers who came out on Sakharov Avenue and Bolotnaya Square,' that their demands have been taken into account to some degree, that young technocrats have arrived and the most odious figures like Nurgaliyev have been dismissed. However, according to the analyst, this is 'a fake and a bluff,' since the government's philosophy is not changing. He named as the cabinet's main functions the management of financial flows without a clear reform program and political-economic creation.
Speaking of the balance between Putin's and Medvedev's people, Belkovsky estimated it at 60% to 40% respectively, but called this estimate conditional. He noted that there is no ideological difference between Putin and Medvedev, so there is a single 'Medveput' or 'Putomedved,' and there is no point in speculating about who belongs to whom. Moreover, a flow of people from one team to another is possible, and there are power centers linked to financial-industrial groups for which it does not matter who is in charge, as long as officials loyal to them solve their tasks. Therefore, the very posing of the question about balance seems excessive to him; what matters is the government's ideology, and in his opinion it does not differ much from that of previous cabinets.
About those who left the cabinet — Nurgaliyev, Golikova, Fursenko — Belkovsky said they had all become dollar multimillionaires, so he does not worry about their economic status. A significant portion will find places in the presidential administration or receive an alternative sinecure. From the point of view of the state and society, this is unimportant, since 'a awl was replaced by a soap'; the active part of society should have no illusions. The bone thrown to society, he said, is plastic, not real.
At the end of the broadcast, the host reminded listeners that Kommersant FM is conducting a poll on its Facebook page: whether listeners liked the composition of the new government.
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