| While in the United States, President Vladimir Putin again
spoke out against renationalisation and approved of the idea of an amnesty
for capital. The Russian tax authorities had criticised this idea in spring.
Putin met teachers and students of the University of Columbia on September
26. The Russian President was asked about his attitude to "plans for
renationalisation or... proposals... announced by Grigory
Yavlinsky".
The Financial Times published Grigory Yavlinsky's article "Reforms,
That Corrupted Russia" on September 2 2003. The YABLOKO leader set
out some proposals regarding the transformation of Russian capitalism.
In particular, Yavlinsky proposed the adoption of laws "on an amnesty
for capital, a tax amnesty and total amnesty, except for murder and crimes
against individuals". In addition, Yavlinsky stated that it would
be advisable to bar people "who played an active role in privatisation
processes" from politics for ten years.
President Putin assured the Americans that he opposed renationalisation
and nationalisation. At the same time, the President noted that "the
majority of the Russian population" consider the privatisation conducted
in the 1990s as unfair. Putin noted that he had repeatedly "discussed
the idea of an amnesty for capital with Grigory Yavlinsky": the President
considers this idea to be "good and correct". However, the question
is "how we should implement this idea correctly and competently,
so that the public will agree with such a solution". The President
promised: "If we find such a solution, we will do this."
Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to return the capital taken out of
Russia. At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on June 19
he pointed out to business leaders that the West had stepped up "anti-laundering
laws", and noted that Russia was a safe place for their money. He
also met a member of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament Sergei
Pugachyov, co-owner of Mezhprombank. The latter stated after the meeting
that the President commissioned him to discuss the mechanism for returning
Russian capital from offshore zones with representatives from the Russian
Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. However, no specific projects
have been designed yet.
Representatives from the Presidential Administration and the government
said that Putin had sent an order to prepare proposals regarding an amnesty
for capital to ministries and departments in February or March. Officials
say that the Finance Ministry, the Economic Development Ministry and the
Tax Service opposed such plans. A high-ranking Finance Ministry official
stated that plans to amnesty capital were suspended six months ago. The
Economic Development Ministry refuses to comment on this topic saying
that a medium-term development programme approved by the government makes
no mention about an amnesty for capital.
However, Mikhail Barschevsky, a representative of the government in
the Constitutional, Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts, hopes that
"Putin will make verbal political and ideological statements in the
form of a specific order to prepare corresponding bills". Barschevsky
is convinced that "the Presidential Administration and the government
have enough skilled lawyers and economists who would cope with such task
in the shortest possible time".
Andrei Belousov, head of the Macroeconomic Situation and Forecasts Centre,
thinks that a decision to amnesty capital would be a mistake, as "from
macroeconomic viewpoint, it is inadvisable to speed up the return of capital at a time of a substantial
inflow of hard currency into Russia". He noted that "Russia
first must solve the issue of the legitimacy of property rights."
The leaders of business "trade unions" addressed President
Putin on July 21, 2003, and presented a new social contract, which would
reflect the state's obligations "regarding the results of privatisation"
and "social and ethical obligations of business". Two days later
the Union of Right-Wing Forces announced it was reviving the idea of amending
Article 181 of the Civil Code, to reduce the statute of limitations for
privatisation-related lawsuits from ten to three years. Boris Nadezhdin,
Deputy Head of the Union of Right-Wing Forces faction, said that the main
obstacle on the path to this amendment boils down to the position of the
Presidential Administration. However, he noted that the "Kremlin's
intention to support us is increasing every day".
See also:
Privatisation
in Russia
Reforms that corrupted Russia. By Grigory Yavlinsky,
Financial Times (UK), September 3, 2003.
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