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On January 16th, members of Russian parliament approved appointing Mikhail Mushistin for prime minister.
There were 438 members of parliament in attendance, and the vote result was 397 for, 0 against and 41 abstained. Thus Mikhail Mishistin will assume the seat of Prime Minister and will now have to form a government.
In his speech before the final vote, Mishustin underlined that there are financial resources in the country for the implementation of the tasks voiced by the president during the message to the Federal Assembly on January 15th.
The government has a lot of work to do, he said. The work on national projects should be accelerated. According to Mishustin, effective reforms of control and supervision activities are important.
Mishustin called for the immediate beginning of work on what Russian President Vladimir Putin called for on the previous day, during his address.
The key tasks are the further development of the defense complex, the technological development of the economy, and the improvement of the business climate in the country, Mishustin noted.
Mishustin said that in order to maintain macroeconomic stability, it is necessary to generate additional revenues and keep inflation within 4%.
The government needs to provide a new quality of governance. Open criticism is welcome, he said. Mishustin announced his intention to work closely with regional leaders.
Prior to the vote, at a meeting with the Communist Party faction, Mishustin promised significant changes both in the composition and structure of the government.
At the meeting with the Communist Party faction, Mishustin announced several of his plans:
- First of all, to combat poverty;
- The pension reform would remain untouched;
- A progressive tax would not be introduced;
- keep the budget rule, but it is possible to raise the level of deductions (a mechanism whereby additional revenues for oil prices of more than $ 40 per barrel are sent to the reserve);
- Yandex support (the company’s shares after this claim went up by 5%);
- Actions to improve the state of the healthcare system.
The leader of the Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, said that the party would abstain from voting for the new prime minister, since neither his program nor the proposed composition of the government are known.
“He said that there will be serious, dramatic changes, but he hasn’t yet given any names. He said that they will change the structure of the government, they will radically change the ministers, but so far he has not indicated names,” MP Alexei Kornienko said.
Mikhail Mishustin, proposed by President Vladimir Putin to the post of Prime Minister, promised to conduct his work as prime minister in close cooperation with parliament, an aide to parliament’s speaker Anastasia Kashevarova said.
Mishustin began to meet with parliamentary factions – in particular, he had already met with the United Russia faction, which unanimously supported his candidacy for prime minister.
According to Kashevarova, he laid out his priorities if he assumed the prime minister position:
- digitalization of the economy and the transformation of the state into a “digital platform”;
- reliance on national projects;
- institutional reforms;
- removal of restrictions for business;
- changes in the composition of the new cabinet.
After meeting with United Russia, Mishustin met with the LDPR faction. Following its results, party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said that a final decision on whether the Liberal Democratic Party would support the candidacy of the new prime minister has not yet been made.
“We have not decided anything, we are still discussing,” he said, promising to inform about the decision later. In her channel, Kashevarova also said that during the meeting Zhirinovsky announced the need to remove Yuri Trutnev from the post of deputy prime minister, since he “does not work enough in the environmental sphere.”
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From all available evidence Mikhail Mishistin is a competent honest technocrat and the new focus on improving the lives of ordinary Russians shows a socioeconomic focus by Putin who wants to leave a lasting legacy for Russia, the largest and the most resource rich country on the planet. I wish both Mr. Putin and tovarish Mishustin the best.
I concur.
Mr. Mishustin only known quality is to have increased the State revenues which has made him extremely popular, respected and admired among employees of …….eeehh yes you guessed it…….the State.
Mishustin s a taxman, and his digitalisation, controle freak and automation schemes will squeeze the last dime out of ordinary Russians while claiming he is doing it “for social justice”. A typical socialist.
Answer me honestly. Would you like to see your Taxman being promoted to PM?
He’s more than a mere taxman – he is a person who get things done, period. He is known to NOT have political designs of his own – (hint) not owned by the “liberals” (payed for lackeys of the west).
Thus it is, your Grace. A technocrat with no deeper ties to Washington.
Sovjet schooled? The State uber alles…………….LOL.
Great summary. He is a technocrat and the next government will be made up of more technocrats than ever before. But it is only a transitory thing. The next step afger that will be a patriotic government. By this time we will have won and the world will ultimately be multipolar.
IMPORTANT News on buying gold in Germany, NEW RESTRICTIONS!
“In the run up to the end of the year during December, a remarkable sight emerged across Germany – long lines of customers queuing up outside the country’s precious metals shops and gold dealer showrooms.
Was it seasonal gift buying by Germany’s citizens, a population well-known for its love of physical precious metals? Or perhaps the onset of panic about negative interest rates in Europe’s largest economy?
As it turns out, panic it was, but of a different type, with the long lines triggered by the realization that from 1 January 2020, new national legislation was to take effect that would dramatically reduce the threshold on anonymous buying of precious metals from the existing €10,000 limit (US$ 11,150) to a far lower limit of €2000 (US$ 2,230), all under the guise of money laundering prevention” https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2020-01-15/german-government-escalates-its-war-gold
thanks Z.P. USD + EUR collapse coming sooner than we think?
It might be also that that EUR will take its own way…distancing itself from U$D… They are starting raising interest rates and that is very good sign… For dollar there is only one question left: WHEN the U$D will collapse ,when they will “pull the plug”and start “controlled demolition” of the dollar.
Let me suggest you to read more analytics about Basel III.
OK thanks
Harry, come on, give us your opinion / summary on Basel III. I feel you have some interesting stuff to say. I’m not sure I’d understand Basel III if I read it.
THE BRIEF https://youtu.be/idqnqEQL5c0
THE WHOLE STORY https://youtu.be/wIJQWrzkUGc
Yes USD with 22trn debt is living on ‘borrowed time’ (ha ha) but it does have a big economy + taxation backing it up. The value of a currency is the promise it will be paid back in the future from tax receipts.The larger the economy the more future tax receipts.
EUR has nothing backing it. EU/EUR has no taxation rights on its citizens and companies, only a ‘club’ membership fee from the countries. “You can have a country without a currency, but you cannot have a currency without a country” as an economist said. If a EUR crisis got really bad, Germany would break away back to their DM. So I’m reading EUR goes down before the USD.
OK if that is true EUro has only few years left at the best… I’ll try to remember that
Could it be a suddenly change to e-money and cashless society crying its to prevent white washing. Remember that most Western Countries are technical bankrupt with national debts about 100% of GDP.
Russia needs some competent reform and accountability. Too many projects are over budget and behind in completion. Some partial state owned enterprises have lost all fear of government agents. Witness the large scale theft at the construction of a new spacecraft launch complex and the permanent falling behind at defense projects. The latest victim was a Borei-A ballistic missile submarine which needs more work even though it was launched more than two years ago. Suddenly, defaults were found during the final phase of state trials. United Shipbuilding had two years to find and fix shortcomings but state auditors had to find it at the last minute, delaying the entry into service of a premier strategic defense platform? It’s the same story for the Bulava missile which took forever to get right because of manufacturing flaws, and the Yasen class submarines, and now the Su-57 as well. These half private, half state owned operations have been paid billions and billions of rubles but somehow managers and workers don’t feel any urgency or attention to detail enough to fulfill their duties. In the Soviet era, they’d have been investigated, tried, and shot in the back of the head for consistent incompetence that threatened state security. But under Grandpa Putin and Uncle Dimitry failure is a constant and consequences are slight. Russia needs a new sheriff or all the infrastructure and national project plans will go the same way and Mishustin has certainly proven hyper competent at tax. Let’s hope he can do the same elsewhere.
Andrei Martyanov posted a couple of good articles explaining the situation. Scroll down to “So What?” then scroll up to today’s post.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/
Russia under Putin has come a long way since the chaotic 90’s when there was incompetent leadership under Yeltsin and when external capitalist companies and oligarchs plundered it. Putin deserves all credit for pulling Russia out of that chaos in his initial years, and strong leadership was necessary to do that.
But in Putin’s later years, he has not developed a resilient system of governance where multiple independent institutions, leaders, and regions are responsible for managing the country. Leadership of Russia is too concentrated with one person; the President and one place; Moscow. It is impossible for one person, as talented as they are, Putin is one of the best Country leader for the last 20 years, to cover every aspect of such a large country, for it to prosper. It also means Russia governance is fragile and at risk; if Putin goes senile but stays in power (Mugabe syndrome) and/or the next President is a poor leader, Russia is back into 90’s chaos.
Without modern independent institutions + regions with power, funding, accountability and visibility (Putin should not be on TV when a block of flats is not completed, it should be the mayor, etc), a country is still in Medieval Ghengis Khan style leadership; ok while the leader is competent (Peter the Great) but not so good when that leader is bad (Tsar Nicholas II).
Keeping power and wealth so centralised in one place, Moscow risks alienating the regions and so they break away. Outside Moscow and St Petersburg most of Russia is still Third world.
Oligarch concentration of wealth has not been addressed. There is massive brain drain out of Russia as unless you are part of this incestuous system you get nowhere in of Russia; no chance for merit. So clever, honourable people just leave in spite of big attachment and loyalty to Russia.
State beaurercracy is still Soviet like; very difficult, and ‘Russia (State) does not like its Citizens’ feeling is still prevalent outside Moscow. State corruption still there (e.g. see film Leviathan).
Putin has the power and respect to create the modern powerful independent institutions a large country like Russia needs to fulfil its capabilities, which knowing the intelligence of Russians is huge (Maths, Space, computing, military, music, literature,). Putin will have to step back to let other leaders develop and be in the front line spotlight to take responsibility.
Lao-tsu ( 6th century BC founder of Taoism) said- > “for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honour and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ..”. Which category does Putin want to be in?
You have clearly not been to Russia – outside of Peterburg or Moscow. For your information (and many others) the, excellent, film Leviathan, does not show Russian or Soviet corruption. It is about corruption, yes, but could have happen anywhere – did you know that the idea came from an american episode? Yes, american – based upon a true story!! That it happen to be a Russian film, does not make it a story about Russian corruption (as though it was something sinister, exclusively Russian).
Ivan thanks excellent point point about corruption; it is every society.
But come on we all know Russia has a terrible reputation for State corruption. It must not be denied as that allows it to live on. It must be exposed and confronted. The court system is all about who you know and how much money you have and nothing to do with fairness and justice.
The producer Alexander Rodnyansky said: “It ( Leviathan) deals with some of the most important social issues of contemporary Russia”. The fact it is about an American story is the producers cunning way to get past the Russia censorship. In the same way writers in Soviet times had to write hidden messages about the Soviet system; e.g. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov 1925.
Putin is not a tsar with absolute power and the people had until recently not even been ready to change the outcome of the referenda that turned their great nation into a jiggsaw puzzle.
I hope he is as smart and as mean as putin, if not more!
>removal of restrictions for businesses >digitalization of the state and institutions These two are the only ones that raise an eyebrow. A surveillance police state ruled by jew-owned corporations is the last thing Russia needs.
I’m honestly confused why the UN hasn’t convened to declare WW III on the anti-Semitic Russian State. Didn’t Putin just suggest a change to your constitution that would bar Russians with dual citizenship from holding certain high offices? I sort of pictured rabid Zionists burning the place down and calling for the gassing of all Russians not holding dual Russian-Israeli citizenship by now. How did the MSM not jump all over that existential threat to Israel? No dual-citizenship for high offices. I kind of like the way that sounds.
Seriously, can you imagine the US constitution being changed like that? Three-quarters of our political leaders would be banned from office. “It’s anudda shoa! ReeEEEEeeeeeeeeee…”
Did that bit of bull crap make you feel better? Now take your meds, Adolf. As an aside, there are no duel Israeli citizens in the US Congress or in significant Administration offices. Bet it’s the same in Russia. Oh, being Jewish doesn’t make one an Israeli citizen anymore than having Irish ancestors makes one an Irish citizen. Try to get the simplest things correct. Those meds would really help.
With rare exception all practicing Jews are Zionists with at best dual loyalties. And an essentially automatic right to dual citizenship whether they obtain it or not.
LOL…Putz Putin won’t be able to be Prez again, so surprise, he’s changing the constitution to shift power back to the PM which he can and will become again. What a reformer!
The Russian government is sitting on upwards of $500 billion of cash and gold with almost no debt. So maybe the current government isn’t perfect. But it’s better than 95% to 98% of the rest of the governments on the planet.
I’m sure that Putin and company would love to have a 5% to 10% annual economic growth rate like China and some others. So this restructuring may have something to do with that.
“Mikhail Mishustin was born on March 3, 1966 in Moscow to a father of Russian-Jewish origin”
– Meet Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s new Prime Minister –
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/01/16/meet-mikhail-mishustin-russias-new-prime-minister/
Wikipedia has scrubbed Mishustin’s alledged Jewish father from the article on him.
This is what the Wikipedia article used to say before it was scrubbed:
“Mikhail Mishustin was born on 3 March 1966 in Lobnya, a town close to Moscow. His heritage is a subject of debate, with various reputed sources reporting his father to be of Russian Jewish descent and his mother being an Armenian (born in the village of Megradzor, Kotayk province).”