FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2004
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Contact:
Dan Perrin
202.271.3959
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Siloviki Initiative Bears First Fruit
Letter to Powell Cites Concern about Trends in Russia
Their broad concerns focus on the selective use of the rule of law, and the rise of the siloviki. Both Congressmen cite the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Sociology study that as many as 2,000 f the Russian elite including private business owners and high-ranking government officials are former members of the security forces.
They cite three regional governors who are former senior officers of the KGB, as are the heads of the St. Petersburg Telephone Network, Domodedovo Airlines, Petersburg Fuel Company, the Slaveneft Oil Company, as well as Mr. Sergei Ivanov, the Russian Defense Minister.
The rise of the siloviki has not escaped the notice of those on Capitol Hill, the War on Terror and our recent action in Iraq notwithstanding, said Daniel Perrin, President of the American Defense Council. In particular, this marks a much closer and less accepting attitude of President Putins image in the United States of a reformer of a free and democratic Russia.
The letter also raises the issue of the still missing $4.8 Billion in International Monetary Fund aid released to Russia in 1998, when Mr. Sergey Kirienko was Prime Minister. The letter states, this funding allegedly never reached its intended beneficiaries.
The letter asks Secretary Powell if President Putin put a stay on the investigation into this missing aid, and if the Office of the Prosecutor General has had the chance to investigate the matter further. The letter also states, If the $4.8 Billion is in fact still missing, has the United States played an active role in investigating the whereabouts of funds? If so, what were the results of the investigation?
The letter (attached) raises excellent questions, for both Secretary Powell and for the siloviki in Russia, said Perrin.
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