Kursk Oblast has become the first region where, in the course of the Fall 2000 election campaign there has been a change of leadership. This has happened, as Aleksandr Mikhaylov, the new governor of Kursk, admitted to Kommersant correspondent Yelena Kondratyeva, as a result of a joint struggle by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Kremlin against Boris Berezovsky and the All-Russia Jewish Congress.
Kondratyeva: In your view, was the scandal involving former Governor Rutskoy a legal or a political conflict?
Mikhaylov: The court passed an absolutely legitimate verdict and I cannot see a trace of politics in this. All citizens should be equal before the law. Just now, the letter of the law has been applied to the incumbent governor. So what? I'll tell you that in my opinion, generally speaking, the infractions committed by Rutskoy during the campaign deserve more than one judicial investigation.
K: Criminal or civil?
M: Perhaps even criminal.
K: Just recently four criminal cases have been instituted against the governor's entourage.
M: That is still not enough.
K: Do you also regard these cases as the ordinary work of the regional MVD?
M: Absolutely. As far as Rutskoy is concerned, let the judges, people, and the law enforcement agencies sit in judgment of him. I told the heads of the power agencies that we will help them in every way in this work.
K: How do you intend to conduct personnel policy?
M: The law of the mountains operates here. If you have lost, you leave with your team. If you don't, we will help you go. All of you.
K: The region was in debt to the tune of tens of millions of dollars to various creditors. How do you intend to settle up with them?
M: We will make an analysis of all the deals concluded. I don't want to act like Lenin did in his time, but why should we take responsibility for stolen money? We must settle up for something real, provided it has been invested somewhere. But if not, there are the law enforcement agencies, and let Rutskoy, Khokhlov (head of the regional government), and Yerokhin (his deputy) pay for it.
K: How do you intend to change the interior of the governor's office? You'll most likely hang up a portrait of Lenin?
M: Certainly Lenin, absolutely. What do you expect? And there'll be Putin as well. He is now president and I respect the people's choice.
K: During the election campaign there was much talk of the fact that the Kremlin was betting on Surzhikov.
M: That is absolutely untrue. Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] sent his personal representative twice to meet with me. I don't want to give you the name, but it was a woman, Putin's personal psychologist. She played a key role in his team and she and I determined the key milestones of our joint work. And they considered that we must win these elections.
And I'm now going to tell you why.... In Kursk Oblast, bear in mind, it is not simply the problem of Kursk Oblast that has been resolved and who will win there. It was a touchstone for a whole series of things. See for yourself.... Do you know what the VEK -- the All-Russia Jewish Congress -- is? We are now dealing not simply with an individual but with this organization. You know who Rutskoy is, but behind his back stood Boris Berezovsky. And we have beaten them here. I think that this is symptomatic and indicates that a liberation from all the filth that has accumulated over the last 10 years is now beginning for Russia. Here we and the president are allies and not opponents. Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin], incidentally, is a Russian. And I am too. But, if anyone is unaware of this, Rutskoy has a Jewish mother, Zinaida Iosifovna.
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