Matviyenko's New Post Questioned
By Galina Stolyarova
Staff Writer
While Governor Valentina Matviyenko continues to receive congratulations on her election to the Supreme Council of the United Russia party, which held its annual congress in St. Petersburg on Nov. 21, her rivals are arguing that the city official’s promotion to the post is illegal. Nikolai Rybakov, deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the democratic Yabloko party scrutinized the United Russia charter this week and found that to be eligible for a place on the party’s Supreme Council, candidates have to have been a party member for at least a year, which Valentina Matviyenko was not. Rybakov sent an official request to Russia’s Prosecutor General Yury Chaika and Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov for an investigation into what he described as an illegal deal. Matviyenko joined the party last Friday. “Matviyenko’s appointment is a very obvious case of the law on political parties — which obliges them to observe their charters — being ignored,” Rybakov said. “The United Russia charter clearly states the condition of a minimum one-year membership of the party. If this party does not observe its own charter, one can imagine how much respect its members have for the law in general and the rights of ordinary people.” Party members are defending Matviyenko’s promotion by saying that, in the case of the St. Petersburg governor, party membership was a formality. “For the past six years she was effectively, and wholeheartedly, a United Russia member, although she did not actually hold a membership card,” said Vyacheslav Makarov, a coordinator of the United Russia faction at the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly. “In this case, this ‘virtual membership’ counts.” Dmitry Yuryev, head of the executive committee of United Russia’s local branch, branded Rybakov’s protest “a hopeless attempt to win attention for the non-existent Yabloko party.” Speaking to the Zaks.ru internet site, Yuryev said that although he is not a lawyer, he is “convinced the party decision was legitimate.” Rybakov is happy to continue arguing the point. “United Russia may feel invincible but it broke its own charter,” he said. “At the very least, this shameful act should draw the attention of both the court and the public.” During her tenure as St. Petersburg governor, Matviyenko has frequently spoken of her support for United Russia, yet she had previously refrained from joining the party until this month, claiming that a governor “has to remain above the political fight and serve to ensure a political balance by not becoming a member of any political party.” Despite her claims, Matviyenko has been routinely criticized by members of the opposition for using her political weight and administrative resources to help achieve United Russia’s political goals. In the autumn of 2007 she joined the United Russia party list for the December 2007 elections to the State Duma. She remained in office for the duration of the campaign.
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