Associates and financiers of Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as multi-millionaire Roman Abramovich, who lives permanently in London (UK) and among other things owns Chelsea FC, has invested in local timber in the Russian provinces of the Far East and instead to create revenues and full-time job positions in local provinces, sells and exports very cheap Russian timber to China, earning safer income but impoverishing local communities.
by Thanos S. Chonthrogiannis
©The law of intellectual property is prohibited in any way unlawful use/appropriation of this article, with heavy civil and criminal penalties for the infringer.
To help any “investors” the Russian Ministry of Development of the Far East and Arctic decided to administratively reorganize the provinces under its jurisdiction while replacing any elected local governors by its own unelected bureaucrats with the excuse that they are more experienced and will bring better financial results.
Photo by the website https://en.wikipedia.org
The new provinces of the Russian Far East
The Russian Federal Government has decided to create four new administrative provinces on its existing provinces that constitute the Russian Federal District of the Far East. These new provinces are:
- Transbaikel (Zabaikalskaya)
- Islands (Ostrovnoy)
- Border (Prigranichnuyu)
- Northern (Severnyy)
The Russian Ministry of Development believes that this reorganization will increase the efficiency in the management of natural resources in these areas.
The new provinces create another level of bureaucracy run by unelected local officials. But as bureaucracy grows, so does state corruption.
Elections for governor were re-presented in 2012 following a decision by then-President Dmitry Medvedev. Many of the local governors were “annoyed” for the Vladimir’s Putin regime and claimed the exploitation of local natural resources for the benefit of the local population.
In this effort, the local governors sought to break away from the policies of the President regime. One such case of an autonomous governor is Sergei Furgal, who in 2018 was elected governor of Khabarovsk Krai, one of the most economically important regions of the Far East, receiving 70% of the vote, defeating in the regional elections the “chosen” candidate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During his tenure, Sergei Furgal tried to change a lot against state corruption and bureaucracy respectively. He was arrested in 2020 (on false charges as many claim) and is now in prison.
Photo by the website https://en.wikipedia.org
The Anger is increased against President’s Putin regime
Following the arrest of Sergei Frugal, many in the Khabarovsk Krai have been protesting incessantly despite occasional government crackdowns.
As a result of the arrest of Sergei Frugal, new unelected officials have taken over the administrations of these provinces. The feelings of the local population against the regime of Russian President Putin are growing because they consider that the Federal Government of Russia treats them as second-class citizens, like slaves in an occupied country.
The choices of the Russian Federal Government in these provinces are due to the unimpeded, by obstacles of the local population, exploitation of the natural resources of these areas.
The Kremlin wants to exploit raw materials without forcing it select investors to invest and create jobs in those local communities.
The Russia Forest Products (RFP) Group, owned by Roman Abramovich, refused to build a paper mill and pulp mill in the area because it was economically unprofitable and was making more money by exporting timber to China.
But history has taught that the Kremlin’s centralism to distant provinces was another internal cause for the collapse of the USSR.
