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Region: Greater Middle East

TASS - Russian News Agency
Информационное агентство России

Russia’s freshly elected President has busy first weekend after forming cabinet and attending to calls from foreign leaders

MOSCOW | Russia’s recently elected President Grigory Yavlinsky had a busy weekend following his inauguration late Friday after winning the presidential contest with 56.8% of the vote. Appointing a cabinet on his first day, Yavlinsky named Dmitry Medvedev, the former head of the State University of Saint Petersburg and later the President of the Constituent Assembly which saw Russia reform its constitution for the first time since the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the presidency. Before Saturday, Yavlinsky named Roman Abramovich, a businessman-turned-politician as the country’s Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President, placing him as Yavlinsky’s chief advisor and head of the presidential office. The President also re-appointed General Valery Gerasimov to the post of Chief of the General Staff, Alexei Denisov as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anatoly Serdyukov as Minister of Defense, and Dmitry Peskov as Spokesperson for the Russian Government. Other members who served in the provisional government, including Elvira Nabiulina, the head of the Central Bank and Sergei Naryshkin the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR will remain in their posts.

The formation of a cabinet and the appointment of the nation’s top officials represents the first phase of what President Yavlinsky labeled his “100-Day Plan” which he declared during his inauguration speech which was broadcasted to the country. “The 100-Day Plan will place Russia on the path to recovery. It will be our first steps toward bringing Russia back from the brink of chaos and toward prosperity”, Yavlinsky said in his address. “The re-establishment and strengthening of our governmental institutions and the return of an effective bureaucracy and top leadership will help us tread that path”, the address concluded with Yavlinsky calling on Russians to “remain strong and show resilience in adversity.”

The President also received numerous phone calls from foreign leaders congratulating him on his elections victory. Among them was U.S President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor, Christian Lindner and Indonesian President Anies Baswedan, along with Turkish President Meral Akşener and others. Dmitry Peskov, in his first daily press briefing since the inauguration of President Yavlinsky said that the exchanges were “cordial, positive and frank” and that the President had expressed “hope that Russia and the West can re-establish productive dialogue.” Peskov added that Yavlinsky brought up key concerns of the Russian government, including the “lifting of sanctions, the resumption of normal diplomatic relations, transparency on nuclear weapons, arms control and a fair peace with the Kingdom of Ruthenia.” In a brief statement on social media, Yavlinsky said that he “welcomed the West’s openness to dialogue” and that he hoped to “resume discussions as soon as possible on pressing matters.”

Throughout the weekend, President Yavlinsky also signed off on two dozen Executive Orders. In Russia, Executive Orders make use of the President’s extensive executive powers to direct government ministries, agencies, officials and others to carry out certain tasks, enforce laws, policies or follow certain presidential directives. Among these was the dismissal of 17 senior and junior military officers and the re-appointment of 23 others which were removed from their postings by President Vladimir Putin and an order instructing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to draft a “clear and concise document” outlining Russia’s foreign policy priorities, including its relations with Western nations, its posture toward NATO, and a peace deal with Kiev. Another order also instructed the Foreign Ministry to file paperwork for Russia to rejoin the Council of Europe, the Danube Commission, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, and other intergovernmental bodies. It also directed the Ministry to request Russia’s reinstatement in all UN bodies and for the OSCE to restore its participation in all organs of the organization and finally request the restoration of observer status in other organizations.

The Kremlin announced that Yavlinsky intended to submit the government’s first bill to the Federal Assembly, with it concerning economic reform and addressing the immediate economic problems facing Russia. This was further addressed by his own executive orders, with the President directing Ministries to draft plans to improve infrastructure, expand housing, and seek to expand job-making opportunities in technology and industrial sectors. The President has further signaled that next 100 days would see the Federal Assembly receive dozens of proposed laws and that he intended to sign off on several more executive orders as Yavlinsky seeks to “pull Russia from the brink.”