Formation of a new structure of supreme power has been completed in Russia. Now the country has new parliament, President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the government.

For the first time in the Russian statehood, countyЎЇs President did not retire, as his predecessors used to do ever since the times of the Soviet Union, but has become the chief executive authority.

For the first ever time in Russia, not simply an informal leader, but the official chairman of the United Russia party has become the chairman of the government.

 For the first time in the countryЎЇs modern history, the center of power has been transferred from the Kremlin to the White House, the government headquarters.

 

 

 First of all, the power has to implement a strategy of RussiaЎЇs social and economic development till 2020. The government headed by Vladimir Putin has been renewed even in terms of the age of its members. A team of managers at the age of 40 to 45 has come to work. The status of the government has been actually upgraded, which is connected with the personality of Prime Minister Putin. Key positions in the new government are occupied by the figures from the presidential administration. Ex-president has brought Igor Shuvalov, Igor Sechin, Sergey Sobyanin and Igor Shchegolev to the White House.

Major part of vice premiers and ministers has preserved their portfolios, including former Prime Minister Victor Zubkov, who has remained in the Cabinet as one of the first deputy prime ministers. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is considered to maintain the balance between liberals and "siloviki," or veterans of Russian security services. However, it is clear that financiers and economists prevail in the government. It shows that PutinЎЇs government will focus on economic security of the state as well as Ў®national projects.ЎЇ

Liberals Alexander Zhukov and Alexey Kudrin have received a serious support in the person of the first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov. He is known not only as a high-skilled economist with liberal views, but also as a specialist, Ў°knowing the business environment perfectly well, and being able to initiate and put conceptual economic ideas into practice.Ў±

                                    

 

Curator of diamond industry, vice-premier and chairman of ALROSA Supervisory Council Alexey Kudrin remains in his post in the new cabinet. It means that no radical changes in the financial policy of the state are expected.

Business community took this fact enthusiastically. For example, Sergey Sarkisov, a co-owner of the insurance company RECO-garantiya and RECO Group, is glad that Kudrin preserved his vice-premier seat.

But there are those who are rather skeptical. The communist faction voted against the appointment of Putin to the Prime Minister position. Kudrin also caught it. Ivan Melnikov, first vice chairman of the Russian Communist Party Central Committee and a deputy of the State Duma forthrightly criticized Finance Minister: Ў°Those who several days ago admitted their incapability to cope with inflation stay at their seats. The whole financial bloc is kept under the odious Alexey Kudrin, who has been playing games with the country for almost ten years already.Ў±

From the high ranks, along with Kudrin, only the first deputy prime minister Sergey Ivanov dealt with the diamond industry during his last yearЎЇs visit to Smolensk Kristall Production Corporation. However, he was named a deputy prime minister in the new Cabinet, a step down from his previous position. Segrey Ivanov continues being the curator of the military-industrial complex. Perhaps, Putin was not satisfied with some IvanovЎЇs actions - state corporations, which the former Defense Minister was standing up for, not everywhere proved to be an effective tool of economic policy. Probably, this was affected by the struggle for the presidential position, which he joined at its early stage, but lost.

 

 Loyal to the authorities, the leader of liberal democrats Vladimir Zhirinovsky, right after the appointments to the new government, proposed some amendments to the legislation to gradually transform Russia into a parliamentary republic. According to Zhirinovsky, it is necessity to extend the term of office of president and parliament as well as the term of legislative authorities at all levels from four to five years.

Zhirinovsky considers it expedient to elect only the State Duma deputies at the federal elections. President of the country should be elected by legislators at the session of the lower house of parliament, and the head of a party of the parliamentary majority or a coalition of the parliamentary majority should form the government.

If Zhirinovsky is right, and he is often used for the approbation of subsequent steps of the authorities, then Putin will again become RussiaЎЇs President after Medvedev.

 

The western mass media has unequivocally admitted that Putin will remain the most powerful person in the country. The British newspaper Daily Telegraph notes that Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's new president, Ў°was cast adrift within his own administration as Vladimir Putin filled the government with unquestioning loyalists.Ў±

Ў°The appointments proved that Mr Putin, the prime minister, rather than his (MedvedevЎЇs) protЁ¦gЁ¦, will be the dominant figure in the bizarre duumvirate that now rules Russia,Ў± Daily Telegraph wrote.

The Financial Times consider Mr. ShuvalovЎЇs promotion and Mr. KudrinЎЇs reappointment as Ў°giving the general liberal spirit to the government,Ў± and the Daily Telegraph regards the appointments to the key economic positions as Ў°good news for foreign investors.Ў±

 

Meanwhile, world largest banks recommend the clients to acquire the Russian currency. In their opinion, in the near future, the ruble will be strengthened. Merrill Lynch & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG forecast 4-percent growth within half a year.

The U.S. magazine Time included Vladimir Putin in the list of worldЎЇs most influential people alongside with Dalai Lama, George Bush and Hu Jintao. Madeleine Albright, the USA former state Secretary said that Russian President owes his strong influence to his character, patriotism and high oil prices.

             

 According to the German magazine Park Avenue, Vladimir Putin is one of five most influential people in the world. In the GermansЎЇ opinion, only Hu Jintao, Chairman of the People's Republic of China, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, are more powerful. 

                                  

 

 Unfortunately, the industry of precious metals and gem stones does not have a major lobby in the State Duma and the Government of the Russian Federation. The state has too many cares to pay the luxury-focused products great attention. It is enough for the government to have on a string only industryЎЇs fundamental enterprises such as Norilsk Nickel, Polus-Zoloto, ALROSA, and Smolensk Kristall.

Nevertheless, in comparison with the 90-s, liberalization in the precious industries of economy is getting unalterable. And only disconnection and narrow specialization of the enterprises on their products prevent from speeding it up. Public institutes defending interests of these sectors of economy are also weak.

PutinЎЇs strong point is the struggle against corruption and violations of the law in the economy. The new government will pay close attention to this direction. It is no secret that there are a lot of violations of trade rules, illegal export in the sphere of precious metals and stones turnover and jewelry trade. There are numerous reports of the Customs and law enforcement bodies with information about violations of the legal jewelry trade. We should expect from the new power to activate the suppression of illegal exports and imports of diamonds and jewelry. This also refers to the industries engaged in diamond, gold, platinum and platinum group metals production.

Under PutinЎЇs new government, Russia will quite possibly enter the World Trade Organization. Prime Minister not by mere chance charged this important area of work to his first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov. This event can give a new impulse to the economy of Russia and simultaneously put the domestic jewelry industry into coma. An increase in a number of super rich people, a rise in prices for diamonds, gold, jewelry, an increase in consumption of luxury goods will somehow offset industryЎЇs losses.