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FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
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INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 000325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2020 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PMAR PHUM PINR ECON EFIN RS
SUBJECT: KRASNOYARSK: A REGION ENJOYING THE STATUS QUO OR 
BENEFITS OF REFORM? 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan M. Elliott; reasons 1 
.4(b/d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Krasnoyarsk government officials are 
confident that their management of the region's substantial 
energy and mineral wealth ensures political and economic 
stability. Opposition political figures and independent 
journalists give kray authorities high marks for their 
constructive engagement with all elements of civil society, 
but they dislike the close ties kray officials have with big 
business.  President Medvedev's innovation and modernization 
strategy is viewed by Krasnoyarsk residents as having greater 
relevance in other regions.  The kray's inter-party dialogue 
and relatively high standard of living based on energy 
related industries obviate the need to aggressively pursue 
political and economic reform.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Emboff's two-day visit to frigid Krasnoyarsk coincided 
with President Medvedev's nomination of Deputy Governor Lev 
Kuznetsov to replace Aleksandr Khloponin as governor of the 
kray.  President Medvedev's choice of popular Governor 
Khloponin as Presidential Representative and DPM responsible 
for the North Caucasus has focused attention on Krasnoyarsk. 
The recent attention on the region gave us the perfect 
opportunity to visit and discuss how local officials and 
residents perceive the Moscow-generated national debate on 
political and economic modernization. 
 
Political Participation and Economic Stability 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (C) Both President Medvedev and PM Putin remain extremely 
popular among Krasnoyarsk citizens and most elite groups. 
Former governor Khloponin enjoyed enormous support and most 
observers expect the same for Kuznetsov. A good deal of 
Khloponin's popularity related to his inclusive style, which 
differed significantly from his predecessor, former General 
Aleksandr Lebedev. 
 
¶4. (C) Kray Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Aleksandr 
Kleshko (United Russia) stated bluntly that the kray was far 
ahead of Moscow when it came to broad political pluralism and 
participation.  Khloponin nurtured this environment by 
listening to opposition views and proposals and occasionally 
supporting them. That attitude is reflected in the Kray 
Assembly, where five parties (United Russia, Communists, 
LDPR, Just Russia and Right Cause) all have deputies and each 
faction has the chairmanship of at least one major Assembly 
committee.  A local state-owned media committee, compromised 
of equal numbers of representatives appointed by the Governor 
and by the Assembly (including reps from all parties) meets 
regularly to ensure that all parties are receiving equal air 
time. Communist (KPRF), Just Russia (SR) and Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDPR) reps all told us that Khloponin 
adeptly managed the Krasnoyarsk political scene.  He produced 
revenue and stability and reminded Moscow that Krasnoyarsk 
Kray generated a significant portion of Russia's GDP. 
 
¶5. (C) Kleshko said that President Medvedev's calls for 
modernization have been a boom for Khloponin. Medvedev's 
poslaniye and his "Russia, Forward" article have been used by 
the regional United Russia organization to claim "victory and 
fulfillment of the plan" because they already constructed a 
pluralist structure.  Their "forward thinking" has obviated 
the need for any additional changes and ensured United 
Russia's continued regional leadership.  Even Just Russia 
party leader (and Kray Assembly Deputy Speaker) Anatoliy 
Romashkov told us that due to wise and popular regional 
United Russia (ER) party leaders and the party's national 
dominance, no party would be able to challenge ER's regional 
control for the next 10-15 years. 
 
¶6. (C) KPRF regional leader Pyotr Medvedev railed against 
ER's dominance and its use of administrative resources 
throughout the vast kray (area of more than 2 million square 
kilometers) to perpetuate its lock on power.  He blasted 
elections, not for irregularities perpetrated on voting day, 
but for the imbalanced circumstances under which they are 
held.  He said that KPRF would be able to field candidates in 
approximately 2000 of the 5000 kray-wide positions being to 
be filled through elections March 14.  LDPR leader Artem 
Chernykh told us that his party was only able to run in 800 
elections.  United Russia, on the other hand, has the 
personnel reserves to run a candidate in every election. 
Pyotr Medvedev complained that voter turnout for 
non-contested seats would be scant, but that United Russia 
 
MOSCOW 00000325  002 OF 003 
 
 
would exploit the kray-wide totals for the personal 
aggrandizement of leaders in the eyes of senior party leaders 
in Moscow, especially Andrey Vorobyev, Chairman of ER's 
Central Executive Committee and State Duma deputy from 
Krasnoyarsk. 
 
Status Quo will prevail 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) First deputy Mayor of Krasnoyarsk Vitaliy Borbrov told 
us that Kransoyarsk, by virtue of its political and social 
stability and its strong economy based on extractive 
industries, represented an important economic engine in 
Siberia. He touted efforts over the past five years to expand 
investment opportunities, focusing on the city's high-tech 
park, the Siberian Federal University, and considerable 
German interest in expanding high-tech commercial ties. 
Siberian University attracts students from throughout the 
region, many of whom remain in Kransoyarsk after graduation. 
The retention of graduates working in high-tech fields 
(including defense, space and aspects of extraction 
industries) demonstrates the success of leaders in building a 
diversified regional economy.  Major changes to existing 
economic structures were not needed, he said. 
 
¶8. (C) Many of our interlocutors recalled that Khloponin had 
also built Krasnoyarsk the old-fashioned way - through pork. 
Massive infrastructure projects, such as railways, roads and 
hydroelectric plants brought jobs to the kray, but were also 
of national significance.  Funds for construction and 
maintenance have been assured by Moscow, giving the kray a 
stable source of revenue from the center, but also putting in 
place assets, especially power generation facilities, that 
enable big business, especially aluminum processing 
facilities, to function.  Khloponin reportedly used his 
connections with regional business leaders, such as RusAl's 
Oleg Deripaska and Norilsk Nickel's Mikhail Prokhorov, to 
extract legitimate tax assessments that their subordinates 
had been reluctant to pay. 
 
¶9. (C) Independent journalist Leonid Zhvanov told us he 
doubted that President Medvedev's modernization rhetoric 
would make much of an impression on local and regional 
leaders in the short to medium term.  Too many senior 
political leaders owed their current positions (and their 
personal wealth) to the extractive industries, he noted. 
Public support for increased oil and gas exploration in the 
north of the kray means less support for reform.  He and KPRF 
leader Medvedev argued that political and business leaders 
could care less about the environment, especially in northern 
parts of the kray where wealthy business people hunt for 
recreation on lands that belong to native peoples. "It 
sometimes feels like Krasnoyarsk is treated like a rich 
colony, with Moscow the distant metropolis that remains quiet 
as long as money is flowing and regional oligarchs are 
happy," Zhvanov said. 
 
¶10. (C) President Medvedev February 8 nominated Krasnoyarsk 
Kray Deputy Governor Lev Kuznetsov to replace former Governor 
Aleksandr Khloponin.  Local government and party officials 
expected that Kuznetsov will win easy approval from the Kray 
Legislative Assembly when it reviews his nomination February 
¶16. United Russia (ER) officials praised him for his energy, 
his understanding of business (he worked for Norilsk Nickel 
with Khloponin), and his sound judgment.  KPRF, SR and LDPR 
officials, however, told us Kuznetsov would be too closely 
tied to big business.  They all said they would have much 
preferred Kray Assembly Speaker Uss. Independent journalists 
lamented that the new governor would not have the political 
weight of Khloponin.  State Duma Deputy from Krasnoyarsk 
Aleksandr Klyukin (ER), himself an Uss supporter, told us 
that Kuznetsov got the job thanks to his close personal ties 
with Khloponin.  According to Klyukin, Kuznetsov's 
appointment means that Khloponin's team of ministers and 
advisors, as well as ER regional party leaders, will all 
likely stay on.  In other words, said Klyukin, "status quo 
stability will prevail - just what Moscow wants." 
 
An Alarming Trend 
----------------- 
 
¶11. (C) KPRF leader Medvedev noted that steadily sinking 
faith in elections, and pervasive bureaucratic corruption was 
turning young and middle aged citizens in a more nationalist 
direction.  KPRF in Krasnoyarsk is trying to pick up some of 
these "patriotic yet disillusioned" people, but voters 
 
MOSCOW 00000325  003 OF 003 
 
 
harboring more radical views were prime targets for dangerous 
extremist groups. Kray Human Rights Ombudsman Mark Denisov 
confirmed this, linking growing nationalist sentiment to 
concerns over Chinese immigration into the region.  He said 
kray authorities are carefully monitoring the involvement of 
the Chinese government in this wave of immigration.  He 
charged this was part of a "deliberate policy by the Chinese 
government to change the demographics of the region.  Denisov 
said he is responsible for ensuring that Chinese laborers who 
come to Russia legally to work (mainly on projects proposed, 
funded and overseen by Chinese managers) were not abused or 
exploited.  He blamed Beijing for these abuses and noted that 
young Russians in the kray were concerned that some 
industrial enterprises and agricultural projects were now 
being overseen by Chinese, not Russian, managers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (C) Krasnoyarsk's new governor Kuznetsov has big shoes to 
fill. The March 14 regional elections throughout the kray 
will be his first opportunity to demonstrate to Moscow that 
he can continue Khloponin's record of delivering for United 
Russia while still being able to peacefully work with 
opposition political parties and other elites.  Although the 
energy sector remains its major economic producer, 
Krasnoyarsk also has a high-tech foundation on which to 
promote greater investment. United Russia's successful 
leadership in Krasnoyarsk allows President Medvedev to take 
credit for a regional economic and political modernization 
victory, especially since it was there in 2008 that he, as a 
candidate for the presidency, called for economic reform. 
Beyrle