VZCZCXRO5748
PP RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #5868/01 3531501
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191501Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5922
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 005868 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM RS
SUBJECT: FIFTH RUSSIAN DUMA TO BEGIN WORK DECEMBER 24 
 
REF: MOSCOW 5682 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) The fifth Russian Duma will begin its work December 
¶24.  Taking seats in the new Duma on behalf of the four 
winning parties -- United Russia, Communist Party (KPRF), 
Just Russia, and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) -- will 
be veteran politicians, youth movement leaders, businessmen 
and former Olympic athletes.  More than a hundred United 
Russia candidates, including governors and mayors, who are 
entitled to seats have opted out, choosing instead to remain 
in their current positions.  Their seats will be filled by 
candidates whose names appeared lower on the regional lists. 
Among the Duma's first tasks will be electing its leaders and 
determining the composition of committees.  End summary. 
 
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TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE 
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¶2. (U) When the Duma begins its work on December 24, its 450 
party-list seats will be filled by candidates who won their 
seats because of their position on regional lists or who have 
benefited from a candidate higher on the list opting not to 
serve in the Duma.  Candidates who were eligible for a seat 
in the Duma were notified by the Central Election Commission 
(CEC) via telegram that they had won a seat and had five days 
to inform the CEC of their intention to serve.  One hundred 
thirteen candidates who were entitled to a seat in the Duma 
waived this right.  One hundred and one were representatives 
of United Russia.  Seven winning candidates on Just Russia's 
list, two on LDPR's and three on KPRF's also have opted not 
to serve. 
 
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LOCOMOTIVES STAY PUT 
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¶3. (U) Many of those who decided not to take up their Duma 
"mandates" are governors, mayors and government ministers; 
the so-called "locomotives" who headed regional party lists 
in order to garner support for United Russia.  Most of these 
candidates had no intention of serving and the expectation 
was always that they would be replaced by others whose names 
appeared lower on the party's list.  One exception is the 
now-former governor of Yaroslavl, Aleksandr Lisitsyn, who was 
"convinced" into resigning after his region posted a weak 
showing for United Russia.  He will serve in the new Duma. 
 
¶4. (U) The most notable Duma candidate who will not serve is 
Putin.  Although a member of the CEC confirmed in the press 
that he did not officially notify the CEC of his intention 
not to occupy his place in the Duma, his seat will be filled 
by 32-year old Sergey Kapkov of Magadan.  Kapkov is head of 
the National Soccer Academy that is owned by Chukotka 
Governor Roman Abramovich.  The regions of Magadan and 
Chukotka were combined into one electoral district due to 
their small populations.  Others who have opted not to serve 
are Just Russia Chairman Sergey Mironov, who will remain 
speaker of the Federation Council.  Fellow Just Russia member 
and actor Valeriy Zolotukhin also will not serve in the Duma. 
 
 
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OLYMPIANS, POLITICIANS, YOUTH AND BUSINESS LEADERS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (U) United Russia's list of Duma deputies is notable for 
its large number of former Olympic athletes.  Gymnasts Alina 
Kabayeva and Svetlana Khorkina, hockey goalie Vladislav 
Tretyak, speed skater Svetlana Zhurova, bi-athlete Svetlana 
Ishmuratova, and figure skaters Irina Rodnina and Anton 
Sikharulidze will take seats.  They will be joined in the 
United Russia faction by former press secretary of the Nashi 
youth movement Robert Shlegel, Young Russia leader Maksim 
Mishchenko, political expert Sergey Markov and publisher 
Konstantin Rykov.  Business will be represented by former 
AvtoVaz General Director Igor Yesipovskiy and News Outdoor 
Russia Manager Sergey Zheleznyak.  Although it is difficult 
to say with certainty the business interests that will be 
represented in the Duma, the number of business people who 
serve is likely to be lower than in the previous Duma 
following Putin's admonition earlier this year that the Duma 
is not a place for oligarchs.  Billionaire Suleiman Karimov 
took this to heart and withdrew his name from the United 
Russia list.  He has since been given a place in the 
Federation Council. 
 
 
MOSCOW 00005868  002 OF 002 
 
 
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THE FAMOUS AND THE INFAMOUS 
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¶6. (U) LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovskiy at a post-election 
press conference contrasted LDPR's Duma deputies with those 
of other parties, announcing that his party's 40-member 
faction will not include "sportsmen, singers or models." 
Instead, his party will be represented by "businessmen, 
lawyers and economists" and twice as many women as in the 
fourth Duma.  LDPR's faction will include one of the more 
infamous Duma candidates.  Andrey Lugovoy, under indictment 
by the British for his involvement in the Litvinenko case, 
was number two on LDPR's federal list.  He is entitled not 
only to a seat in the new Duma but to the immunity that comes 
with it. 
 
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KPRF PROTESTS ELECTION RESULTS BUT PREPARES TO BE SEATED 
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¶7. (U)  Leaders of KPRF have continued to protest the results 
of the elections.  On December 20, party leader Gennadiy 
Zyuganov plans to meet with Rene van der Linden, president of 
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to 
explain his party's review of violations of election law and 
their plans to have the results overturned.  According to 
news reports, the legal service of KPRF is prepared to 
initiate more than 20 criminal proceedings against members of 
the CEC and regional officials in four regions (Mordovia, 
Dagestan, Samara, Stravropol Kray).  Despite an earlier 
threat not to take their 57 seats in the Duma, party members, 
led by Zyuganov, will join the fifth Duma. 
 
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DUMA TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS 
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¶8. (U) The December 24 Duma session will be opened by its 
oldest member, Zhores Alferov, a member of KPRF. The first 
order of business will be to elect a speaker and 
vice-speakers.  It is all but certain that Fourth Duma 
Speaker Boris Gryzlov will remain in the position.  It is 
expected that the number of vice-speakers will be increased 
from 9 to 10. Oleg Kovalev, leader of the working group that 
is organizing the Duma, announced December 19 that the number 
of committees will increase from 29 to 32 with the addition 
of committees on energy, science and technology, youth, 
construction and land policy, and industry.  The Committee on 
Ecology will be incorporated into the Committee on Natural 
Resources.  Earlier news reports said members of the United 
Russia faction are expected to chair all but six committees, 
which they will leave to the other parties.  (United Russia 
claimed all the committee chair positions in the fourth 
Duma.)  Decisions on committee chairs will be made during the 
first plenary session on December 24.  The second plenary 
will be January 10. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9. (SBU) While the composition of the fifth Duma, its 
members, committees and leaders, has provided fodder for the 
media and political analysts, the fifth Duma is most likely 
to continue to play the role of pliant tool for the Kremlin, 
given United Russia's constitutional majority. 
BURNS