R 151320Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2769
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG

UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000062 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: RS PGOV
SUBJECT: YOUNG GRYZLOV AND PUTINA: LEADING THE FUTURE 
 
REF: ST. PETERSBURG 29 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Dmitriy Gryzlov , the son of the Russian 
State Duma Chairman,  and Vera Putina, cousin of the Prime 
Minister, are aiming to reshape youth policies in St. Petersburg 
by establishing and heading the city's Youth Parliament and 
Youth Government.  Though the St. Petersburg branch of United 
Russia supports the initiative, non-government affiliated youth 
movement activists in the city have not yet been convinced to 
participate, though it is likely many will in the end.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Confirming earlier speculation (reftel), Dmitriy 
Gryzlov, son of the State Duma Speaker, was elected to be the 
new chairman of the 60 member St. Petersburg Youth Council. 
Gryzlov has promised to breathe new life into the Council, which 
has been inactive since it was established in 2006 to be a 
consultative body for the city's Legislative Assembly.  The 
Youth Council has also tasked its member Vera Putina, a relative 
of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (Ms. Putina is purportedly 
Putin's cousin once removed), to assist in revitalizing the 
Council.  Gryzlov and Putina plan to convert the Youth Council 
into a St. Petersburg Youth Parliament, which will be headed by 
Gryzlov.  They then plan to establish a St. Petersburg Youth 
Government, which will be headed by Vera Putina.  They hope to 
have their new organizations up and running as early as 
September this year. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Both 29-year-old Gryzlov and 24-year-old Putina are 
members of the St. Peterburg branch of United Russia.  In the 
city's March elections, Putina was elected a municipal 
councilor; whereas Gryzlov was unsuccessful in his independent 
bid.  Gryzlov initially blamed his election loss on United 
Russia's intrigues against him, but he quickly softened his 
criticisms, and joined United Russia and was put in charge of 
the branch's Youth Policies Commission.  Putina is the editor of 
a little known periodical "Russia United," which is published by 
United Russia in St. Petersburg.  Gryzlov and Putina claim that 
they are developing their youth organization projects 
independently from their powerful relatives. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Gryzlov and Putina are hoping to make their youth 
organizations "links between youths and the authorities."  They 
envision that the Youth Parliament will eventually draft 
legislative suggestions for the City Assembly and even for the 
State Duma.  Gryzlov would also like the Parliament to join the 
ongoing national anti-corruption campaign and help clean up 
United Russia's image.  Gryzlov has been unhappy with the 
ineffectiveness of the St. Petersburg branch of the 
pro-government youth movement "Young Guards of United Russia," 
and derides its leader and the branch's activities as "jokes." 
Gryzlov promises to invite all reasonable youth activists, 
including opposition members, into the Parliament, and he 
believes that the Parliament would be able to encompass a wide 
diversity of youth concerns.  Putina, for her part, says that in 
Russia today there are few ways for young people to get 
organized, unlike in the Soviet era when Komsomol existed.  She 
hopes to fill that gap by fostering the development of various 
youth associations and clubs in St. Petersburg.  At earlier 
sessions of the Youth Council, Putina urged youth activists to 
focus on propaganda and to help improve Russia's image abroad. 
 
¶5. (SBU) St. Peterburg opposition figures are generally very 
skeptical about Gryzlov and Putina's efforts, and are not 
rushing to cooperate with the new youth organizations.  Andrey 
Dmitriyev, the leader of St. Petersburg National-Bolsheviks 
(NBP), refuses to cooperate with Gryzlov's Youth Council 
because, as Dmitriyev says, the NBP is a serious political party 
and will not become a "doll for political games."  Leader of the 
local youth branch of Yabloko Aleksandr Gudimov views the new 
youth organizations as purely decorative and designed solely to 
offer managerial jobs to pro-government activists.  The 
Communists in both St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast have 
issued a statement railing against the idea of local youth 
organizations being led by relatives of major national leaders. 
A local, normally pro-government analyst has sarcastically 
suggested that the Youth Parliament should have two chambers, 
because that way the upper chamber could be run by a nephew of 
Federation Council Chairman Sergey Mironov.  Mikhail Borzykin, 
the politically engaged leader of the popular rock group 
"Televisor", views the initiatives as an attempt to restore 
Komsomol and to ensure the political reliability of youth as was 
done in Soviet times. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment.  Despite their misgivings, the city's 
parliamentary parties (A Just Russia, the Communists, and the 
Liberal Democrats) are all likely to eventually send 
representatives to the Youth Council (or Parliament as the case 
may be).  Yabloko's youth branch, or at least some of its 
members, might also join if they believe that Gryzlov's 
organization would give them a chance to legitimately promote 
their agenda.  Within United Russia itself, there will probably 
be some low-level infighting between various factions as they 
jockey for position, patronage, and perks if this youth 
initiative does successfully take off.  Overall, the initiative 
is unlikely to cause any real upheaval in the City's political 
landscape, either within United Russia or in how various 
youth-oriented issues are resolved.  What this initiative will 
do, though, is to provide a political base for both Gryzlov Jr. 
and Putina in the future.  End Comment. 
 
 
GREENBERG