Governor Short On Specifics

By Galina Stolyarova

Staff Writer

Published: April 25, 2008 (Issue # 1368)

Contradictions abounded in this year’s annual address delivered by Governor Valentina Matviyenko to the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

Matviyenko’s speech received a predictable welcome from the pro-Kremlin United Russia faction that holds the majority in the city parliament.

However the speech was slammed by the Communist and Just Russia factions of the assembly for containing an overdose of wishful thinking, lacking consistency and balance, and failing to give details of a credible program of social reforms.

Matviyenko brought a customary sense of pomp and pride to the presentation.

“Throughout the past year, Russia’s northern capital has been striving to strengthen its reputation as an international business and cultural center: the level of the 11th International Economic Forum was unbelievably high; the Mariinsky Theater’s anniversary became an event of international significance; the world’s sports elite flocked to the city to attend the award ceremony of the Laureus prize,” Matviyenko told the parliamentarians on Wednesday.

These opening lines were pounced on by critics who said the city government did not have a role in the events mentioned by the governor.

“What really drew international attention to St. Petersburg was actually shameful: Western media across the globe covered the crackdown and unjustified police violence against opposition protesters and the attempts to close the European University,” said Boris Vishnevsky, a member of the political council of the democratic party Yabloko. “And these are the issues that the city government is responsible for.”

Calling 2007 the most prosperous year in the city’s recent history, the governor said she was proud to announce that the average salary in St. Petersburg has increased to 16,788 rubles ($700).

The governor also urged St. Petersburgers to have more children.

“A child, rather than a fancy car, must become the key criterion of a successful individual,” she said.

Oleg Nilov, head of the Just Russia faction, was disappointed by the address which he said failed to demonstrate an effort to improve living standards in the city.

“Behind the pomp and big plans it is hard to see that the government cares for its residents,” Nilov said. “For instance, Matviyenko was very specific in her plans to support sports but many other bits of the speech were lacking consistency or were simply overlooked. I am especially concerned about no special attention being devoted to socially vulnerable groups that depend the most on state support.”

Matviyenko praised her cabinet for succeeding in making St. Petersburg a tourist-friendly and safe city and stressed — indirectly criticizing the city’s cultural institutions — that it is a lack of events in the city that keeps visitors away.

But according to a recent survey conducted by the Northwestern branch of the Russian Tourism Industry Union, the main obstacle that stops foreign tourists from coming to the city is expensive travel and accommodation. Personal safety concerns have also been high in the past several years.

Two new human rights reports released in February 2008 by the Sova Center and the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights argue that the numbers of hate crimes in Russia look set to increase in the near future, with St. Petersburg keeping its notorious status as a hotbed of xenophobia.

Vladimir Dmitriyev, head of the Communist faction in the city parliament, expressed reservations about the content of the address.

“Even if half of what the governor was talking about was fulfilled, it would be a wonderful achievement but I am afraid that most of her promises are going to remain on paper,” the lawmaker said. “What troubles me most is that the governor tended to confuse facts with wishful thinking.”

After she finished her speech, Matviyenko left the parliament without offering the lawmakers a chance to ask questions. Some parliamentarians took it as a sign of disregard.

“The deputies would have had a much better understanding of the direction and the prospects of the city government’s policies,” Dmitriyev said. “Apparently, our opinions do not count.”