| The liberal party's members take numerous posts in the
Federal Antimonopoly Service
For the first time in Russian history the core staff of a federal body
is being recruited from the members of one party. Half of the directorates
in the newly formed Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) are now headed
by members of the YABLOKO party.
Shortly after his appointment as chief of FAS, one of YABLOKO's leaders
Igor Artemyev told the
press he has retained his party membership and the President Vladimir
Putin, who promised to employ the members of the liberal parties that
had failed to get to the State Duma, did not object. "Antitrust legislation
was one of the priority issues in YABLOKO's work in the [previous] State
Duma, we had many brilliant experts, and I intend to continue cooperating
with them," Artemyev said at the time
Apparently the politician has kept his word. A source at FAS told Vedomosti
that members of YABLOKO have been appointed heads of seven of the service's
fourteen directorates, as well as the staff management department and
the press service. Most of them are from the party's St. Petersburg branch.
FAS has been given the functions of controlling compliance with legislation
on competition in the goods' and financial services' markets, natural
monopolies and advertising.
YABLOKO pins high hopes on Artemyev and his team. "If they succeed,
we'll be able to defeat the main myth about our party - that it speaks,
but doesn't do anything," said the head of the YABLOKO's St. Petersburg
branch Maxim Reznik.
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