Political analysts intrigued by Vladimir Vasiliev's frequent meetings with President Putin

During nine months at the post of the acting leader of Dagestan, Vladimir Vasiliev met the Russian President four times. This fact proves the Kremlin's special interest in anti-corruption measures in the republic, believe political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 10, during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Dagestani leader Vladimir Vasiliev reported that more than 200 officials in the republic had been brought to responsibility for violating anti-corruption laws.

Regional leaders "rather rarely" enjoy such frequency of meetings with the Russian President, noted Alexei Makarkin, Vice President of the Centre for Political Technologies. Meanwhile, "the situation when several members of the government, including the prime minister of the republic, are arrested is also unusual," Alexei Makarkin stated.

The expert has called the situation in Dagestan "an attempt, on an example of a particular region, to change the clan system existing in the republics of Northern Caucasus."

The frequency of meetings between Vladimir Vasiliev and Vladimir Putin testifies that the acting leader of Dagestan can get rid of the "acting" word in the title of his position, Alexei Makarkin believes.

The frequent President's meetings with the acting leader of Dagestan testify to the Moscow's "high interest" in the region, believes Akhmet Yarlykapov, Senior Researcher at the Centre for Caucasus Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (known as MGIMO). "The frequency of meetings is not typical for Russia, and, probably, that proves the federal centre has a serious concern over Dagestan," Akhmet Yarlykapov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 18, 2018 at 01:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.