by GORDON HAHN, PhD
Shortly after his inauguration, Medvedev met with the oppositional chairman of Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), the democratic opponent of Putin's creation, the Media Union. According to the chairman, Medvedev agreed to protect the media so it could cover corruption with greater freedom.
Medvedev has championed the concepts of “freedom is better than non-freedom,” as well as rule of law and judicial independence, while declaring war on “legal nihilism.” His words have been backed up by several recent court decisions in controversial cases.
• In Tatarstan, a group of Muslims charged with belonging to a jihadist organization ostensibly tied to the Chechen and Caucasus terrorists, were acquitted of charges they were planning terrorist attacks and were combat Jamaat members.
• In St. Petersburg, a group of young, recent converts to Islam, charged with planning to assassinate Governor Valentin Matvienko, were acquitted.
• In Bashkortostan, an imam of a mosque in Ufa was acquitted of charges he was disseminating Islamist ideas and possessed weapons.
• In Kabardino-Balkaria, a court conducted an open trial for those charged in the October 2005 attack of Nalchik, the regional capital, in which dozens were killed and injured.
• In Moscow in May 27, Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled a law unconstitutional that provided for up to five years in prison for attempt to smuggle a sum of money into Russia above the legal limit. The case was brought by the head of a Western NGO, who had somewhat exceeded the legal limit for bringing money into Russia in 2007.
Regarding economic policy, Medvedev’s chief advisor is Arkadii Dvorkovich, the liberal former official of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. In addition, Medvedev is chairman of the board of directors of the Institute for Modern Development (IMD) (Institute sovremennogo razvitiya), which has been commissioned to produce research for the new president on issues of economic development and reform. The IMD includes liberal economists like Yevgenii Yasin on its staff and is headed by Igor Jurgens, who also heads Russia’s main business lobbying organization, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Jurgens earlier came out against the arrest of Yukos oil company owner, oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovskii. On May 30, Jurgens stated on Russia’s ‘Ekho Moskvy’ radio station that he hopes for Khodorkovskii’s early release or amnesty under Medvedev.
Medvedev signed a decree shortly after his inauguration forbidding several forms of inspections of small - and mid-sized businesses. These inspections heretofore have drained young companies of needed revenues, and have become a huge source of bureaucratic bribery and corruption.
The first article in "Russian Thaw" series was posted on April 18, 2008. The full version is available here Download Signs_of_Possible_Thaw_2_06_08.doc
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