The once-mighty entourage of Boris Yeltsin suffered its second blow in a week when the State Duma voted Wednesday to make it possible to strip the former president of his immunity from prosecution.
The Duma's vote comes hot on the heels of the arrest in New York of Pavel Borodin, who served as Kremlin property manager under Yeltsin. He is wanted in Switzerland on charges of money laundering.
While few observers say the events are related in their origins, they show an increased vulnerability for the Family, as Yeltsin's powerful inner circle was known.
President Vladimir Putin's first decree after Yeltsin handed him power more than a year ago granted Yeltsin full immunity from prosecution. According to the decree, a former Russian president may not be arrested or questioned, and his home and office cannot be searched. The immunity from searches and interrogations could provide a certain amount of protection for Yeltsin's relatives and friends.
After the legality of the decree was questioned by many politicians, the presidential administration drafted a bill and submitted it to the Duma in November.
The Duma voted Wednesday to amend the Kremlin's bill with a provision that would allow parliament to strip a former president of immunity.
Under the Duma's amendment, introduced by Deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov of the Union of Right Forces, the prosecutor general can request that parliament lift the immunity if the former president is suspected of a serious crime, such as murder, robbery, rape or large-scale theft. Lifting immunity requires a simple majority vote in both houses.
The Duma approved the bill, with the amendment, 275 to 139 in the second reading. Since the Communists, who make up the largest faction in the Duma, opposed the bill, it must have been supported by the pro-government factions who control the Duma. Thus, the Kremlin may have given advance approval for Krasheninnikov's amendment.
Krasheninnikov aide Alexander Urmanov said the third and final reading was scheduled for Thursday.
Meanwhile, some observers have suggested that Borodin ?€” accused by the Swiss of accepting $25 million in kickbacks from two Swiss construction companies in exchange for lucrative Kremlin contracts ?€” was given up by Russian officials.
Borodin and the two companies have denied the allegations. The Prosecutor General's Office closed an investigation into the matter in December, citing lack of evidence.
Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov said Tuesday that he may re-open the case if Swiss prosecutors supply fresh evidence.
According to anti-corruption crusader and Duma Deputy Yury Shchekochikhin, Russian secret services helped set up Borodin's arrest with Putin's approval.
"The giving up of Borodin was planned in the Kremlin," Shchekochikhin wrote in Novaya Gazeta, adding that Putin no longer needs the support of Yeltsin's old team.
U.S. officials have said that Borodin, who was arrested Jan. 17 on his way to attend George W. Bush's inauguration, was caught with the help of someone in Russia. They told The New York Times that they were tipped off that Borodin was on the plane and were able to clear everything for his arrest before he arrived in New York.
Shchekochikhin said that Putin's silence regarding Borodin's arrest is further proof that he is behind it.
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has protested the arrest and demanded Borodin's release. But Security Council chief Sergei Ivanov, who is considered close to Putin, said Tuesday that the case is a matter of "judicial character" and is not related to politics.
Izvestia suggested Wednesday that Putin's silence is a sign that he is breaking his ties with Family members like Borodin, who first brought Putin to the Kremlin in 1996 to work as his deputy.
"Divorce: Vladimir Putin is breaking up with the Yeltsin entourage," the newspaper proclaimed.
But some analysts were skeptical that the Borodin case could be part of such a breakup.
"I think it is unrealistic that the Russian establishment should turn against Yeltsin," said Leonid Smirnyagin, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.
"If Borodin starts to testify and someone would want to disturb the Family, even Yeltsin's fiercest enemies would consider it unpatriotic, because the case is originating from Switzerland."
Some observers have speculated that Putin might use the Borodin case to sack Ustinov and appoint Dmitry Kozak, a deputy chief of the Kremlin staff, to his post.
If Borodin, who is set to have a bail hearing Thursday, is extradited to Switzerland and convicted there, Putin could sack Ustinov for closing the Russian investigation, said Tom Adshead, an analyst with Troika Dialog.
Putin was expected to appoint Kozak, an old ally from St. Petersburg, to the prosecutor's post, but at the last minute submitted Ustinov's candidacy for approval by the upper house of parliament.
Ustinov is widely considered to be close the Family. A source close to the Prosecutor General's Office said recently that Borodin was instrumental in installing the former Sochi prosecutor.
Staff writers Simon Saradzhyan and Andrei Zolotov Jr. contributed to this report.
The Duma's vote comes hot on the heels of the arrest in New York of Pavel Borodin, who served as Kremlin property manager under Yeltsin. He is wanted in Switzerland on charges of money laundering.
While few observers say the events are related in their origins, they show an increased vulnerability for the Family, as Yeltsin's powerful inner circle was known.
President Vladimir Putin's first decree after Yeltsin handed him power more than a year ago granted Yeltsin full immunity from prosecution. According to the decree, a former Russian president may not be arrested or questioned, and his home and office cannot be searched. The immunity from searches and interrogations could provide a certain amount of protection for Yeltsin's relatives and friends.
After the legality of the decree was questioned by many politicians, the presidential administration drafted a bill and submitted it to the Duma in November.
The Duma voted Wednesday to amend the Kremlin's bill with a provision that would allow parliament to strip a former president of immunity.
Under the Duma's amendment, introduced by Deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov of the Union of Right Forces, the prosecutor general can request that parliament lift the immunity if the former president is suspected of a serious crime, such as murder, robbery, rape or large-scale theft. Lifting immunity requires a simple majority vote in both houses.
The Duma approved the bill, with the amendment, 275 to 139 in the second reading. Since the Communists, who make up the largest faction in the Duma, opposed the bill, it must have been supported by the pro-government factions who control the Duma. Thus, the Kremlin may have given advance approval for Krasheninnikov's amendment.
Krasheninnikov aide Alexander Urmanov said the third and final reading was scheduled for Thursday.
Meanwhile, some observers have suggested that Borodin ?€” accused by the Swiss of accepting $25 million in kickbacks from two Swiss construction companies in exchange for lucrative Kremlin contracts ?€” was given up by Russian officials.
Borodin and the two companies have denied the allegations. The Prosecutor General's Office closed an investigation into the matter in December, citing lack of evidence.
Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov said Tuesday that he may re-open the case if Swiss prosecutors supply fresh evidence.
According to anti-corruption crusader and Duma Deputy Yury Shchekochikhin, Russian secret services helped set up Borodin's arrest with Putin's approval.
"The giving up of Borodin was planned in the Kremlin," Shchekochikhin wrote in Novaya Gazeta, adding that Putin no longer needs the support of Yeltsin's old team.
U.S. officials have said that Borodin, who was arrested Jan. 17 on his way to attend George W. Bush's inauguration, was caught with the help of someone in Russia. They told The New York Times that they were tipped off that Borodin was on the plane and were able to clear everything for his arrest before he arrived in New York.
Shchekochikhin said that Putin's silence regarding Borodin's arrest is further proof that he is behind it.
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has protested the arrest and demanded Borodin's release. But Security Council chief Sergei Ivanov, who is considered close to Putin, said Tuesday that the case is a matter of "judicial character" and is not related to politics.
Izvestia suggested Wednesday that Putin's silence is a sign that he is breaking his ties with Family members like Borodin, who first brought Putin to the Kremlin in 1996 to work as his deputy.
"Divorce: Vladimir Putin is breaking up with the Yeltsin entourage," the newspaper proclaimed.
But some analysts were skeptical that the Borodin case could be part of such a breakup.
"I think it is unrealistic that the Russian establishment should turn against Yeltsin," said Leonid Smirnyagin, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.
"If Borodin starts to testify and someone would want to disturb the Family, even Yeltsin's fiercest enemies would consider it unpatriotic, because the case is originating from Switzerland."
Some observers have speculated that Putin might use the Borodin case to sack Ustinov and appoint Dmitry Kozak, a deputy chief of the Kremlin staff, to his post.
If Borodin, who is set to have a bail hearing Thursday, is extradited to Switzerland and convicted there, Putin could sack Ustinov for closing the Russian investigation, said Tom Adshead, an analyst with Troika Dialog.
Putin was expected to appoint Kozak, an old ally from St. Petersburg, to the prosecutor's post, but at the last minute submitted Ustinov's candidacy for approval by the upper house of parliament.
Ustinov is widely considered to be close the Family. A source close to the Prosecutor General's Office said recently that Borodin was instrumental in installing the former Sochi prosecutor.
Staff writers Simon Saradzhyan and Andrei Zolotov Jr. contributed to this report.