Oppositionist to be Planted in NATO
// Dmitry Rogozin might become Russia’s representative in the North Atlantic alliance
State Duma deputy Dmitry Rogozin might be appointed new Russia’s representative in NATO. In four year, Rogozin transformed from the leader of the Kremlin-supported Rodina (Motherland) faction into a disfavored oppositionist whom no political party dared including into its election list. Now, Rogozin is to establish relations with NATO. Meanwhile, the deputy has always considered the alliance to be Russia’s chief enemy.
Reuters reported on the new appointment of Dmitry Rogozin. The president’s press service said the corresponding decree had not been signed yet. Presidential press secretary Alexei Gromov explained: “The decree has not been signed yet, the news agency is mistaken here. However, that possibility is indeed being regarded.” Rogozin himself said the following: “If there is that decision, it should be officially published. Now it is not the issue of my political career, but the issue of Russia’s relations with its leading foreign policy partner. So, I will refrain from comments now.” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured on Wednesday they had not yet received any information on Rogozin’s appointment.
A source close to the Russian president’s staff gave the following explanation to Rogozin’s potential appointment: “He is flexible; he knows how to conduct negotiations. In politics, he sometimes gets heated, while in diplomacy structure he is quite effective. He acquitted himself well as a representative in the talks on Kaliningrad.” Between 2002 and 2004, Rogozin, in the rank of the Russian president’s special representative, held talks with the EU on securing for Russian citizens a visa-free passage to Kaliningrad Region through the territory of Lithuania which then joined the EU.
Rogozin made even a better showing in 2000-2001, while working in the PACE. Strasbourg still shivers at hearing Rogozin’s name. Perhaps, the years of 2000 and 2001 were the most unnerving and tense in the entire PACE history. That period is often called “the battle of titans” – Rogozin vs. Lord Judd, the speaker on Chechnya.
In March 2000, the PACE delegation headed by Lord Judd visited Grozny, despite all efforts undertaken by Rogozin to dissuade the delegates from coming. The report was made right after the trip, causing a storm of indignation on both sides. Rogozin accused his counterpart of being partial, while the PACE deprived Russia of its voting right. In protest, Rogozin and his entire delegation left the session hall and ignored Strasbourg for a year. The voting right was returned to Russia only in January 2001.
PACE press service was surprised on Wednesday by the news that Rogozin is coming back to big European diplomacy, but refrained from comments.
Another turn of Dmitry Rogozin’s career looks unexpected, because his political career just recently seemed to have reached stalemate. His success at the parliamentary election in 2003, when the Rodina (Motherland) bloc he headed sensationally gathered over 9% of votes with the Kremlin’s covert support, was replaced by disfavor.
In early 2005, several Duma deputies of the Rodina faction, led by Rogozin, announced hunger strike in protest against the reform for monetizing the privileges. Right afterwards, Rodina was lifted off regional parliamentary elections. Eventually, Rogozin had to leave the party. In November 2006, he became the leader of ultranationalist Russian March movement. Lately, Rogozin has had no success at all: no party allowed him to join its election list.
However, Rogozin was not removed from politics altogether. According to some sources, he was considered for the Voronezh region’s Governor position. Then, however, he was sent farther, to Brussels. “He fell out of favor when being a political opponent. Now, when he agreed to cooperate, they decided to meet halfway. That is, his punishment is over. They gave him a quite respectable position which matches his talent and skills. He’ll be a speaking functionary, a speaker on key issues,” said a source close to the Kremlin.
Vyacheslav Nikonov, president of the Unity in the Name of Russia Foundation said “the very fact of appointing someone who always disliked NATO is a sign that Russian authorities are highly displeased with the alliance’s policy.” Fedor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Politics magazine, agrees. He also thinks that Russia-NATO relations is not the main issue, since all security issues are discussed at the Russia-US level and within the OSCE framework.
Yulia Taratuta, Mikhail Zygar, Yuri Chernega, Viktor Khamraev
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 25, 2007
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