The Big Payback
Is this the beginning of the big payback for Vasilii Yakemenko’s loyal service to Putin? News sources say that Yakemenko will be named a member of the newly created Committee on Youth. And from the Kremlin’s point of view, its a position well deserved. Yakemenko is responsible for turning the moribund pro-Putin group Walking Together, which he founded in 2000, into the flamboyant Nashi. Sure Nashi’s influence over Russian politics may be slight, but in two years, thanks to Kremlin and corporate monetary and political capital, the movement has turned into another Kremlin populist mechanism to curry favor among politically active and ambitious youth. Now as a member of a quasi-cabinet position, Yakemenko will surely have even more resources at his disposal. Yakemenko’s appointment, says Iulia Taratuta of Kommersant, “marks the start of his rise up the ladder of officialdom.” One can only speculate ..read more
