Paul Goble
Staunton, Aug. 16 – The Kremlin is alarmed by the fact that officials and residents not only of Kursk Oblast but of other Russian regions are close to panic, and the Presidential Administration is working overtime to try to calm them before this trend becomes irreversible, Aleksey Mukhin says.
The well-connected head of the Moscow Center for Political Information says that the dispatch of Sergey Kiriyenko, the deputy head of the Presidential Administration, is only the most visible of this effort which extends to other regions adjoining Ukraine and some further inside the Russian Federation (club-rf.ru/interview/515).
Most officials and most of the population even in Kursk have reacted calmly, “although of course people are nervous” and “there are groups which are worried and panicky, but such people always react that way. We understand that we are dealing with a dangerous and absolutely amoral opponent.”
“But in my view, people were ready for [the Ukrainians to cross the border] judging from what I’ve seen in social networks, polls and conversation with those who have come to Kursk Oblast or live there.” And Mukhin says, there is an “indirect” indicator: the elections in this region haven’t been put off.”
He says that observers should also pay attention to the fact that “the president now regularly almost every day meets with the heads of regions who are in extraordinary circumstances. This too is an important signal: the chief of state is demonstrating tha the is carefully following what is going on.”
Mukhin adds that the governors school will certainly be adding courses about dealing with crises like the one in Kursk and that Moscow will select governors on the basis of their experiences and abilities to cope with such challenges in the future.
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