Head of Presidential Administration outlines demands on domestic policy

(Interfax – November 13, 2013) The head of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Ivanov, on 13 November addressed a meeting with deputy governors who are in charge of internal policy issues. He criticized the regional and local authorities for not sorting out petty local problems so people have to turn to the federal authorities for help, told regional authorities to be strict with NGOs that receive foreign funding and asked them to listen to “political newcomers”. He also called for pro-active approach to ethnic issues, offered guidance on regional information policy, complained that the Presidential Administration’s advice was often ignored and called for the revival of the Soviet-style cadre policy.

Local authorities, not the Kremlin, needs to sort out petty local problems

Ivanov suggested the imposing of additional accountability for regional managers who fail to solve the problems of residents, Russian state-controlled Channel One TV reported. He said that often people turn to federal authorities with issues that are a matter for the local authorities and stressed that the regions have sufficient resources to deal with most of the problems that emerge there, the TV said.

Channel One TV showed Ivanov saying: “Citizens place more faith in federal authorities. This is demonstrated by the analysis of the letters to the president of Russia. At the same time, a significant part of the questions raised in them are within the remit of regional or local authorities. However, the barrage, literally a barrage, believe you me, thousands of letters, addressed to the president and the Presidential Administration demonstrates that people do not get a response locally. Help us to refurbish a block of flats, help to find accommodation for people in a temporary housing. Why should everything in our country be decided in the Kremlin or in the White House, up to changing a light bulb in a communal area in a block of flats? One cannot live like this.”

Interfax news agency quoted him as saying: “You have sufficient powers to solve most of the issues and not force citizens to constantly bring local problems to the level of the state. Possibly in this situation one should think of instituting additional responsibility for the heads of municipal formations who exist ‘in isolation’ from the rest of the population.”

NGOs with foreign financing

Ivanov called on regional authorities to ensure that all NGOs that receive funding from abroad would either register as foreign agents or cease their work.

“The forces that under the cover of NGOs receive foreign financing and serve foreign interests must either openly declare that they carry out the function of a foreign agent or end their activities on the territory of our country,” Ivanov said.

He asked “to attentively follow these processes, including at the local level, because many non-governmental organizations work actively mainly or primarily at the local level”.

Listening to “political newcomers”

Ivanov also called for listening to the ideas of “political newcomers”.

“I will stress once again that we should listen to any constructive ideas from any parties and movements provided that their activities are in keeping with the Constitution and the legislation and aimed at developing Russia,” Interfax quoted him as saying.

Ivanov said that the state should also respond to concerns of politically active citizens who are trying to carry out their political activities using legitimate methods and not ignore proposals from “political newcomers”, the agency said.

He added that regional authorities should more often talk to residents, representatives of parties and non-governmental organizations because contacts of this kind help to solve many problems and open possibilities for receiving information about most varied issues that people are concerned about.

“It is important to establish a dialogue with new political parties, particularly with those whose representatives entered a number of parliaments of territories and regions after the last elections,” Ivanov said.

The elections in September showed that part of the citizens trust “political newcomers”. “This is also a fact that we cannot ignore. And people connect with them their expectations that have still not been fulfilled. Therefore one should listen to their criticism, it also contains constructive elements,” he said

He said that regional authorities should here have patience and positive attitude. “One cannot simply stupidly push them aside or pretend that they do not exist. This has no future,” Ivanov said.

In this case, if one was to ignore the opinion of others, he added, one could lose contact with significant groups of population whereas “illiterate blunt or crude actions in the sphere of domestic policy could lead to a result that is unacceptable for us”.

“When criticism and discussion of social and other acute essential problems does not find any natural outlet and is driven deep, eventually they will break through in the shape of a harsh political confrontation and destabilizing conflicts,” Ivanov said.

According to Ivanov, the authorities’ open position and their commitment to a dialogue with the society are “a guarantee of stable development of the country, without various destructive upheavals”. “The greater the number of public opinion leaders you gather next to yourself at the same table, the fewer reasons there would be to solve issues using ‘street democracy’,” Sergey Ivanov said.

Ethnic relations

Ivanov announced that it was unacceptable to take a wait-and-see position in conflicts on ethnic grounds and called on the regional authorities to be tougher in these cases with employers who employ foreign citizens.

“As a rule, conflicts of this kind result from unsolved social problems, unsatisfactory work of law-enforcement bodies and weak educational work. Lack of attention to the potential areas of tension – this is a sign of lack of professionalism of the authorities, which attests to the fact that they badly know the situation or in confusion take a wait-and-see position,” Interfax quoted Ivanov as saying.

He added that in cases like this the regional authorities rely on the principle “hopefully it will go away”. “It will not go away. This kind of attitude toward the most complicated and extremely sensitive problems of inter-ethnic relations is impermissible, of course. Here one needs to work at prevention, dissipate the acuteness of social problems and skilfully organize the labour market. And, by the way, one needs to be much harsher at asking from the employer who uses foreign labour,” Ivanov said.

He stressed that it is necessary to impose demands on employers and not on the workforce, “because profits go to the owners and not to subordinates, not to the workers at markets and all sort of construction sites, where this problem exists”.

According to Ivanov, regional authorities must be constantly in contact with law-enforcement bodies, with ethnic communities and youth organizations. “One needs to set up special councils on inter-ethnic relations. To attract to preventive work representatives of Russia’s traditional religions, who have credibility and who command respect, to conduct a pro-active information policy and counter the spread of materials of extremist nature,” he said.

Presidential Administration’s advice not always followed

Ivanov said that the recommendations of the Russian Presidential Administration are not always adhered to in the regions regarding the issues of domestic policy.

“As a whole, it is necessary for regional administrations to pay heightened attention to socio-political processes. Unfortunately, far from everywhere the domestic policy has been built in accordance with the recommendations that you receive from the Presidential Administration,” Interfax quoted Ivanov as saying.

He noted that as a result, this work has often fragmentary nature and is only reactive. “Something happened – let’s fight a fire. And, unfortunately, often this already belated reaction helps very little,” he noted.

Information policy

Ivanov also criticized governors for information policy in the constituent parts of the federation. According to Ivanov, “instead of systemic implementation of the course aimed at developing the country, propaganda of its aims and prospects, often one observes only the desire to support the positive image of the regional leadership at any cost”.

He noted that one needs to pay close attention to the information policy of regions. “Unfortunately, it is often reduced only to reporting on the activities of the highest official of a constituent part of the federation or a regional authority. Here the governor got up in the morning, visited a construction site, then looked at something, then paid a visit to a kindergarten – end of news. This is not news. I am serious about this,” Interfax quoted him as saying.

At the same time he noted that it is certainly necessary to report on the activities of the highest authorities of the constituent parts and municipalities but this should not be an aim in itself. “One needs to broadly and in detail inform residents about how the region lives, including about problems, about how problems facing the country are being solved there, what is being planned at the level of a region and when. With some things one may admit that it is impossible to do this now. One must not deceive people, one cannot do everything,” Ivanov noted.

It is necessary to identify acute issues and put forward ways of resolving them, otherwise others will offer these solutions, he said.

Personnel policy

Ivanov called for the revival of the best Soviet practices for developing cadres.

“In the Soviet Union the personnel policy was quite well organized, there were certain filters and steps through which people went. I will not hide this, they were being watched – in the good sense of this word – by mentors and people were guided – in the good sense of the word,” Interfax quoted Ivanov as saying.

He noted that if a specialist who was being prepared proved that he was successful, he was transferred to Moscow and appointed to a higher post.

“This is a normal practice but it was in essence destroyed in the recent times. It needs to be revived. I don’t see anything shameful in this. No-one has invented or will invent anything better,” Ivanov said.

He also criticized the practice when formally there are cadre reserve lists but in practice they are not being used. “Everyone in the reserve should have real and understandable prospects,” Ivanov said.