Federalism and Local Politics in Russia

The struggle for power in the Urals 217OPS was the same in both cases). 43 This was seen as a key stage in legalizationand provided a potentially acceptable under which to be elected to theCity Duma. The first of the gang to be elected was Alexander Kukovyakin in2001. 44 Other members ran for election to the Oblast Duma, and by the timethe leader of OPS Uralmash, Alexander Khabarov, was elected to the CityDuma in April 2002, he was one of eight Uralmash deputies who, alongwith five ‘inter-regional’ deputies, made up an anti-mayor bloc of 14 out of27 City Duma deputies, the first time since the abolition of the former CitySoviet in 1993 that the Mayor faced a majority capable of blocking alldecisions.Thus a certain symmetry was obtained – a pro-Mayor majority on theOblast Duma complicated regional decision-making, whilst a pro-regionalmajority in the City Duma would now oppose the city administration. The‘pro-mayor’ group on the City Duma did not support the mayor unconditionally,and several of its members were regularly, even routinely, critical ofthe administration. The difference was that OPS Uralmash and the interregionalswere opposed on principle to the mayor’s regime and in this respectthey were working to the governor’s (or deputy governor’s) agenda.The alliance between the Oblast elite and OPS Uralmash was an opensecret. Rumours had long circulated of a pact whereby Uralmash supportedRossel in the election of 1995 onwards, and by 1999 the links had becameobvious to the extent that they were a ready source of sensational copy forthe federal media. 45 In one press conference Rossel declared that OPSUralmash no longer had any problems with the law (in fact several of thecity Uralmash deputies were facing arrest by the security services for seriouscrimes, protected only by the immunity from prosecution they enjoyed aselected politicians) and that the organization was making a genuine contributionto the regional economy: ‘I ordered them to invest in the region’sconstruction industry.’ 46The behaviour of the regional media confirmed the alliance. Glowingportraits of leading OPS Uralmash members would appear in glossy regionbackedjournals, 47 and the media emphasized the charitable and economicroles exercised by OPS Uralmash. Khabarov’s election in 2002 was openlycelebrated by members of the regional PR team, and there were some whoappeared to look forward to Khabarov replacing Silin (the mayor’s ally) aschair of the City Duma. 48 In retrospect, however, Uralmash’s entry intoelectoral politics was a major error of judgement on the part of bothUralmash itself and the Oblast authorities.The election campaigns of 2003At the start of 2003 Eduard Rossel appeared isolated, being deeper than everin conflict not only with Chernetsky but also with the President’s representativefor the Urals, Latyshev. Rossel’s ability to lobby the Centre, perhapsaided (paradoxically) by the ‘Urals Republic’ legacy, together with his