VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMO #0870 0910610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 310610Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7397
INFO RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHII/VIENNA IAEA POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MOSCOW 000870 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KNNP ENRG PREL PARM RS
 
SUBJECT: ROSATOM TRANSITION UPDATE 
 
REF: Moscow 0408 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified, Protect Accordingly 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The transition of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency 
to the Rosatom State Corporation is moving forward.  The uncertainty 
surrounding the retention of staff has brought anxiety and 
bureaucratic paralysis as employees wait to learn their fate in the 
new organization.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 26, we met with Natalya Klishina, Deputy Head of 
the Rosatom Office of Bilateral Cooperation, to get an update on the 
ongoing transformation of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) 
into the Rosatom State Corporation (RSC)(Reftel).  She reported that 
Prime Minister Zubkov is expected to soon sign the executive order 
transferring Rosatom's authority to the RSC.  The day Zubkov signs 
the order will be the official starting date of the reorganization. 
Every Rosatom employee will receive a "notice letter" informing them 
that over the following two months, the RSC will make a decision 
regarding whether they will be retained by the new organization or 
dismissed. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Presently, only four or five top-level staff have been 
officially assigned to the RSC.  These include Director General 
Sergey Kiriyenko and Deputy Director General Nikolay Spasskiy. 
Klishina reports that the uncertainty regarding future employment is 
negatively impacting morale and productivity.  Repeating what we 
have heard from other Rosatom officials, she speculated that many 
"newcomers" may be hired by the RSC, implying that significant 
numbers of Rosatom staff may be let go. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Comment:  This period of uncertainty is not unusual in 
Russian government agency reorganizations.  It may take about six 
months for the new Rosatom Corporation structure to find its groove. 
 
 
BURNS