Kremlin sources say the power vacuum created by Yeltsin’s inattention is being filled by an ambitious group of conservative bureaucrats surrounding the president and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Said to be motivated by a mix of ideology, greed and power, they have blocked access of more liberal ministers to Yeltsin and Chemomyrdin. One pro-reformer says she sat in Chemomyrdin’s outer office all day waiting to see him. And Boris Fyodorov, who recently quit as finance minister, complains he saw Yeltsin only once a month and was barred from many key meetings. More important, the bureaucrats have taken charge of paper flow, selecting which documents reach Yeltsin and Chernomyrdin.
One key behind-the-scenes player is Vladimir Kvasov, Chernomyrdin’s chief of staff. Others: Viktor Ilyushin, Yeltsin’s longtime friend and first assistant, and Sergei Filatov, the president’s chief of staff. “These people don’t really favor reforms,” Fyodorov told NEWSWEEK. “People who aren’t really visible are making far too many decisions.”
title: “Power Play At The Kremlin” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Gwendolyn Wofford”
Kremlin sources say the power vacuum created by Yeltsin’s inattention is being filled by an ambitious group of conservative bureaucrats surrounding the president and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Said to be motivated by a mix of ideology, greed and power, they have blocked access of more liberal ministers to Yeltsin and Chemomyrdin. One pro-reformer says she sat in Chemomyrdin’s outer office all day waiting to see him. And Boris Fyodorov, who recently quit as finance minister, complains he saw Yeltsin only once a month and was barred from many key meetings. More important, the bureaucrats have taken charge of paper flow, selecting which documents reach Yeltsin and Chernomyrdin.
One key behind-the-scenes player is Vladimir Kvasov, Chernomyrdin’s chief of staff. Others: Viktor Ilyushin, Yeltsin’s longtime friend and first assistant, and Sergei Filatov, the president’s chief of staff. “These people don’t really favor reforms,” Fyodorov told NEWSWEEK. “People who aren’t really visible are making far too many decisions.”
