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Volgograd Forum, May 1, 2001
New Volgograd Oblast Duma Chairman Addresses Forum
Though I hope to see you in two weeks, I do not want to break the tradition of sending you a report at the end of each month, though it does not need not to be long.
In my last report I shared with you my concern that Russian officials may shun to speak at the Forum's platform. My fears might have been premature because last month we had one - the newly elected Chairman of the Volgograd Oblast Duma Roman Grebennikov. He spoke to the Forum's audience on April 12, one week after he was elected. It was his first keynote speech after his taking office, so the significance of the Forum as a public platform was once again reinstated.
Mr. Grebennikov's election became sort of a local sensation here, mainly for his age. He is only 25, graduated from the University of Volgograd three years ago where he studied law. Right afterwards he became known in a blue-collar district of Volgograd for his defence of the rights of the workers who were fired from Volgograd factories in a wave of downsizing. He was elected Deputy of the State Duma on the Communist Party ticket from that city district - another unusual thing because young people of his age and education rarely join left-wing parties. In the Duma he also won prominence for his eloquence and initiatives to improve the local legislation. Since Communists have a majority in the Oblast Duma, two members of the same party fought to take Chairman's seat.
No one predicted Mr. Grebennikov's election and it made headlines in the newspapers.
It was very interesting both for me and the Forum's audience, which consisted this time of 62 mainly young people, to hear the new Chairman speak, because he represented the new generation of politicians, which grew up after the fall of
Communism.
Our first impression, which was afterwards seconded by newspaper reports, is that Mr. Grebennikov may be anybody but a member of the Communist faction in the Duma. His speech was absolutely devoid of any left-wing rhetoric that is typical for members of his party. He produced rather an impression of a liberally thinking yuppie, well educated and self-confident. For example, replying to the question about the NTV, he said he did not like their programs for their biased approach to many issues but thought they would better left by the authorities alone. He also promised to liberalize the regulations at the Oblast Duma allowing journalists wider access to all draft resolutions to give mass media an opportunity to discuss their contents publicly, before they are passed by the legislature.
Commenting on Mr. Grebennikov's address, a local analyst surmised that ambitious young people like him can join the Communist Party not for ideological, but for career purposes, because a considerable part of the elderly electorate still votes for the left-wing candidates without even caring to know who they are. If this is so, then there is hope that the Russian Communist Party may transform in the course of, say, a decade into a sort of social-democratic party of the European type.
Another interesting fact, which I would like to impart to you, is taken from the official press release of the Oblast Administration. It says that gross revenues from foreign trade of the Oblast last year has for the first time exceeded $ 1 billion and the export proceeds were four times bigger than the import ones. Since most of our export goods were oil and its processed chemical products, you can see how favorably last year's high oil prices worked for us. I know that with you it is vice versa.
I just heard in the news that President Bush is going to announce today a new nuclear defense strategy doctrine. I guess that it might be part of the question period in some of the audiences I am going to address.
Alexander Yevreinov
Director
Volgograd Free Speech Forum
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