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| Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty, Mar. 31 2015. 13 Celestine Bohlen, Yeltsin Resigns, Naming Putin as Acting President To Run in March Election The New York Times, Jan. 1, 2000. Vladimir Kura-Murza, The August Vote That Changed Russia’s History World Affairs, Aug. 16, 2017. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Floriana Fossato, Russia Duma Approves Putin as Prime Minister Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, Aug. 9, 1999. words of one Russia expert, it was like spin the bottle, and the bottle stopped spinning at Putin.’’ 7 Putin had also shown that he was willing to protect Yeltsin and his family. In 1999, Russia’s prosecutor general, Yury Skuratov, was conducting an investigation into high-level corruption in the Kremlin, including among Yeltsin’s family members. 8 As Skuratov was pursuing his investigation, Yeltsin’s chief of staff summoned him to the Kremlin and showed him a grainy videotape that purported to show him with two prostitutes in a hotel room. Skuratov submitted his resignation, though he later insisted that the tape was a fabrication. 9 But the resignation had to be approved by the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, the Federation Council, which insisted that Skuratov testify first. The day before his scheduled testimony, the sex tape was played on a television station after reportedly being personally delivered by Putin. 10 When showing the tape on TV did not prove enough to push the Federation Council into action, Putin went on TV himself and told the Russian public that the man in the tape was indeed Skuratov. 11 A former KGB general, Oleg Kalugin, maintains that the whole episode was a special FSB operation to discredit an official with the help of a video featuring a person who resembled the prosecutor-general.’’ 12 The special operation succeeded, and Yeltsin chose Putin to succeed him. 13 Putin’s confirmation vote for prime minister was called during Parliaments August recess, when legislators were distracted by upcoming parliamentary elections in four months. 14 There was not much debate about Putin’s promise to strengthen the executive vertical of power or to do away with direct elections of regional governors. 15 The leader of the centrist group Regions of Russia, Oleg Morozov, reflected the overall mood of the legislature when he said, I don’t think we should torment ourselves with this decision . . . . We should vote, forget about it, and get on with business. We all have things to do.’’ 16 Some in parliament were said to have supported Putin mainly because he will be yet another technical prime minister and would have no real political role.’’ 17 VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 10 International Republican Institute, Russia Presidential Pre-Election Assessment Report, at 7 (Mar. 20, 2000). Sergei Karpov, Putin Vows to Annihilate Terrorists after Suicide Bombings Reuters, Dec. 31, 2013. David Satter, The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep Russia’s Road to Terror and Dicta- torship under Yeltsin and Putin, Yale University Press, at 11 (2016); Ruslan Musayev, Russia Prepared for Ground War Against Chechnya Associated Press, Sept. 27, 1999. International Republican Institute, Russia Presidential Pre-Election Assessment Report, at 7 (Mar. 20, 2000). 22 Satter, The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep, at 2 (citing Ilyas Akhmadov & Miriam Lansky, The Chechen Struggle Independence Won and Lost, Palgrave Macmillan, at 162 (2010)). Responses of Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright to Additional Questions Submitted by Senator Jesse Helms, 2000 Foreign Policy Overview and the President’s Fiscal Year 2001 For- Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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