Russia’s ‘tandem’ govt era over – Primakov

File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin with Heads Bowed Over Microphone

MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) – The “tandem” government era in Russia is over, argued former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, president of the Mercury Club and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Today Russia has some new characteristics that distinguish it from the previous period. One of them is the end of the tandem era. This does not at all mean that the members of the tandem now have to be on different sides of the barricades. But the end of the tandem era primarily shows that, both de facto and de jure, the Russian head of state is the same person, (President Vladimir) Putin. Simultaneously, the mutual rotation of the two leaders has ceased to be a necessary practice, something that should help democratize society,” Primakov said at an annual session of Mercury Club.

“A new situation is taking shape, a situation that gives rise to a dilemma: either political stabilization on a new basis or social destabilization. The chief way of avoiding destabilization is to pay much more attention to public opinion in decision making than before, namely it is intolerable to ignore not only the opinion of broad social strata but also those of minorities – quite often minorities have creative ideas bringing them together,” he said.

He also called for revising the Skolkovo project.

“It would ensure a decisive boost to research activities in Russia if the tremendous sums that are chiefly designated for the construction of a new city were invested in current research centers in the country, and if the privileges that are guaranteed to Skolkovo were extended to them. I think that the initial version of the Skolkovo project can be adjusted and its principles can be extended to the entire territory of Russia,” he said.

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