Kostikov: A Disclaimed Spokesman

He issued harsh statements lambasting everyone from Vladimir Zhirinovsky to U.S. President Bill Clinton. He voiced extreme opinions that prompted some newspapers to attach disclaimers to his remarks, saying he spoke only for himself.


But some Russian journalists have said the imminent resignation of presidential press secretary Vyacheslav Kostikov may make President Boris Yeltsin even less accessible to the press than he has been so far, and weaken his democratic image.


"He was the only steady link we journalists had with the president," said Igor Golembiovsky, editor in chief of the liberal daily Izvestia. "Now, I am afraid, that link may be gone."


Kostikov, 54, known to be something of a loose cannon in the uniformly stolid Kremlin bureaucracy, which has shunned press attention since Soviet times, told Itar-Tass he would leave as soon as he found a successor to fill his post.


"The initiative of my resignation does not belong to me, but the stand and motives of Boris Nikolayevich are quite clear to me," Kostikov told the news agency. "My main worry now is to find a good professional for the post of press secretary."


Kostikov added that Yeltsin, in the course of a "warm" conversation, asked him to step down in connection with a "far-reaching personnel maneuver" being undertaken for the sake of his political future.


The comment could fool no one by the time Kostikov admitted he was leaving. The Russian press buzzed for weeks with speculation about Kostikov's rift with his boss, for whom the spokesman had never shown anything but fierce loyalty.


"His problem was simply that he did not want to be a mere mouthpiece," Golembiovsky suggested. "That's why he has been asked to leave."


When Yeltsin failed to bring Kostikov with him to a summit meeting with Clinton, Kostikov announced in a widely quoted interview with Iterfax that a "struggle" was going on "for the president as a democrat." The press chief implied he was on the side of democracy in the struggle.


That was as close as he came to admonishing his boss for extravagant behavior on a visit to Berlin, where Yeltsin sang loudly in public, stumbled and attempted to conduct a police band. The antics came just days after some Russian newspapers alleged that on a holiday trip down the Volga a less than sober Yeltsin ordered Kostikov tossed into the water.


Yeltsin's top spokesman since May 1992, Kostikov made a sharp contrast to the rest of Yeltsin's press service, known for its brief, uninformative statements on the president's activities.


He spin-doctored aggressively in the hallways of the now defunct Congress of People's Deputies, speaking sometimes fluent English, sometimes idiomatic, colorful Russian. He has been known to call Yeltsin's foes "cockroaches" and "scum."


At Yeltsin's press conferences Kostikov always sat by his boss' side, often bantering with the president and laughing at private jokes with him. At the same time, he required reporters to submit their questions in writing and was always sure to select the ones that would be the least painful for his boss.


Every time the Russian press was baffled by one of Yeltsin's frequent silences on issues of public interest, Kostikov flew in with his own fiery comments.


He accused the State Duma of "glaring irresponsibility" when earlier this year it amnestied the leaders of the old parliament, who were jailed for rebelling against Yeltsin in the fall of 1993.


He blasted the United States for "returning to a Cold War psychology" and "spy mania" when Washington protested to Moscow about the damage done by long-time Russian spy Aldrich Ames.


In the wake of Black Tuesday, the day in October when the ruble plummeted to an all-time low, Kostikov accused "powerful commercial banks closely connected with the extreme opposition."


None of these statements was later confirmed or repeated by Yeltsin, which caused the Western media to point out that Kostikov sometimes spoke on his own behalf rather than the president's.


On the contrary, said Golembiovksy, Kostikov "was interpreting Yeltsin's point of view. He never directly contradicted it."


Even as he was being asked to step down, Kostikov said, Yeltsin said he hoped he would remain "an activist for democracy and for the president."


A plum foreign posting might be just what is needed to ensure Kostikov's activism. A Kostikov assistant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he "wouldn't be surprised" if his boss embarked on a diplomatic career.


"He used to work at UNESCO, after all, so he has the skills," the aide said, referring to Kostikov's stint as an information officer for the organization after a career with several Russian newspapers and news agencies.


Kostikov himself seemed to hint at a possible diplomatic posting in his interview with Itar-Tass. "The president told me he would take care of my future," he said, "taking into account the political and diplomatic skills I acquired under his leadership."