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Chechen PM Agrees with Kadyrov on Everything
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Текст: Artyom Vernidub
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On Thursday Stanislav Ilyasov held a press conference at the RIA news agency, his first since being appointed Prime Minister of the new Chechen government. Ilyasov said the Chechen government and administration would move to Grozny by the end of February. It is extremely unlikely that Kadyrov is looking forward to the move.
Stanislav Ilyasov finally explained why he accepted the post of chairman of the new Chechen government. “I grew up and have worked all my life nearby (Chechnya) in Stavropol. We used Grozny station and airport and we used to go to the market in Grozny. Now it’s all been destroyed. Now there’s not even a single tree left in the town. I had many friends and acquaintances in Grozny. Now I want to help them.”
The fact that the cabinet of the new Chechen government will be purely functionary, without any political influence, does not perturb Iyasov in the slightest. He avoids politics and prefers to talk about his own role, wheat, combustive lubricating materials, the reconstruction of brick, cement and asphalt plants and the program for the reconstruction of residential blocks.
At the first meeting of the Chechen cabinet next week, one of the issues to be settled is the restoration of Grozny’s water mains and sewers.
Ilyasov even views the contentious issue of checkpoints in an economic context. Chechens often have to pay bribes to federal servicemen manning the many checkpoints in the republic. This naturally serves to increase the locals’ enmity towards the federals. Ilyasov says that the checkpoints “at times hinder the mobility of the republic’s workforce.”
Ilyasov is calm about the way the government is being formed. Initially a commission led by Kadyrov’s deputy (Kadyrov is the head of the Chechen civil administration) Khamzat Idrisov, was to appoint the members of Chechnya’s government by the end of January. However, to date the government is only “60% formed.”
Ilyasov explained that the appointment of the government is in fact a complicated process. First the candidates are recommended by Moscow, then confirmed by Kazantsev’s office (Kazantsev is the presidential envoy to the southern federal district), then formally presented by Ilyasov (who is officially a deputy of Kadyrov) and only then does Kadyrov sign a decree on their appointment. So far two deputy Prime Ministers have been appointed; Viktor Alextsentsov (administrative affaires) and Field Commander Yuri Em (in charge of contacts with the military).
The ministers of culture and education, both Chechens have been appointed but there is still no Minister of Finance. The first candidate became afraid and turned down the offer and Ilyasov made the acquaintance of a new candidate on Wednesday. Chechnya will not have its own Minister of Interior. But Ilyasov does not see anything wrong in this. “It’s a question of time when the federal department (of the Interior Ministry in Chechnya) will be fully staffed, then there will be a Chechen Ministry of the Interior.”
Ilyasov said that Chechnya would be the wrong place to look for government intrigues. He says that he agrees with Kadyrov on all issues. On Wednesday Akhmad Kadyrov declared that he himself should control international aid organizations in Chechnya. “What he (Kadyrov) said is right,” Ilyasov agreed. “Analysis shows that sometimes aid doesn’t reach those who need it.” Kadyrov also said that by the end of the year all refugees should return to the republic. “That is also right. We’re currently carrying out an inventory of all domiciles that were haven’t been destroyed. Many Russians have left the republic and we’re now settling the question of how to buy their homes.”
Kadyrov has ordered that all members of the Chechen government must move to the republic along with their families. Ilyasov was forced to comply, but now he can take revenge for the order. Within a month both the Chechen government and administration will be moved from Gudermes to Grozny. “That is for sure,” Ilyasov told Gazeta.Ru. Kadyrov is against the move from quiet Gudermes, where very few buildings have been destroyed, to the completely devastated Grozny where, as even the military admit, hundreds of rebels are hiding in the ruins. They control the city by night and even control some of the suburbs during the day. Kadyrov has no choice but to comply. And given the regular attempts on his life even in the relatively tranquil Gudermes, the move to Grozny could be suicidal.
Ilyasov said the construction of the government residence has already begun. He said that the residence would not be a fortress like Khankala, the seat of the military’s headquarters in Chechnya. “We’ll get by with normal security,” said Premier Ilyasov and suggested turning the residence compound into a “Moscow mini-district” where the government members and their families will live. Ilyasov said that Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and Muscovite Chechens should give money and building materials for the project.
Stanislav has already promised that his wife will move to Chechnya. “My children are already grown-up and are studying at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), but unfortunately there is no branch of the MGIMO in Chechnya.”
Ilyasov did not argue with the fact that Grozny is teeming with rebels. “It’s no big deal,” he said.
Ilyasov is currently living in a railway carriage in the courtyard of the administration compound in Gudermes. “It can only fit one bed,” said Ilyasov explaining his wife’s absence.
16 ФЕВРАЛЯ 16:54
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