Rate decrease of "cadre cleansings" indicates Kremlin's major goals in Dagestan

The primary task of the federal centre of Dagestan is not the fight against corruption, but to control the region under the budget deficit and increasing foreign policy pressure, as well as ensuring the local population's loyalty, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Dmitry Gutyrya, the Dagestani deputy minister of internal affairs and the police chief has reported that in 2018, the republic's law enforcement bodies revealed 279 corruption crimes. However, the political analysts and journalists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted a gradual weakening of the anti-corruption campaign in Dagestan.

According to Milrad Fatullaev, the editor-in-chief of the "Derbent" News Agency, the federal centre outlined several goals that the new leadership of Dagestan was to fulfil. "In the face of increasing foreign policy pressure, it was necessary to take control over the region that is sensitive in terms of ethnicity and religion, and to prevent social discontent associated with the poor quality of life and decrease in incomes," the journalist has explained.

Initially, the anti-corruption campaign was aimed at regaining confidence in the authorities before the presidential election in Russia in March 2018, Eduard Urazaev, a political analyst, is sure. "In fact, now, the campaign means 'putting management links in order', since a partial 'shake-up of elites' and a war on corruption occurred along the way," he has noted.

In the opinion of Mr Urazaev, regional rivals of the "power vertical" were liquidated; and local officials became "ordinary performers under the maximum federal control."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 17, 2019 at 06:47 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.