On the background of the worsening financial and economic situation, struggle for resources between elite groups and companies in their spheres of influence sharpened. On the eve of the new year, whose coming is traditionally accompanied by growth in tariffs of natural monopolies, struggle around these rates intensified and the ongoing crisis contributes to this fight. In particular, Russian Railways managed to find common ground with the government and it may count on preferences by the state. The electrical energy sector also got its share due to patronage of deputy PM Igor Sechin. But Gazprom sustained a tactical defeat: its tariffs will be raised quarterly and this growth may not be the same the monopolist’s managers are expecting.
Another urgent issue on the government level is working out an optimal strategy of struggling against the crisis. This was reflected in the creation of an anti-crisis commission headed by first deputy PM Igor Shuvalov. Its composition was announced last week and it shows that representatives of different branches of power and ideological movements were included into it to maintain balance. This will ensure additional breadth of scope when working out solutions and will serve as a guarantee that no influential player will impede their implementation. However, not all government heavyweights are in this new body. In particular, deputy PM Igor Sechin is not its member.