Search Results

The first year of Putin's presidency resulted in the most concerted and fundamental shake‐up of federal relations since 1993. Putin ended the bilateral treaty process and vowed to create a ‘Dictatorship of Law’. Putin's reforms are examined in detail, including the creation of presidential envoys (polpredy) and federal districts, the quasi‐judicial use of presidential decrees (ukazy), reform of the Council of the Federation, growing federal influence of regional executives and legislatures, and local self‐government. These dramatic changes led to the reform of republican constitutions and a new stage in federal‐regional relations.

This chapter addresses the suspicious actions of the Russian government toward the 1979 outbreak. It first takes a look at the meeting with Dr. Burgasov, who immediately dismisses the possible information that can be taken from the autopsy data of Abramova and Grinberg. Instead, Burgasov pinpoints the missing manuscript he was writing with Dr. Nikiforov as providing a more complete picture of the outbreak and stresses the importance of studying the veterinary files. The chapter then shifts to the research team's report in Kremlin, where the author argues that the real cause of the outbreak remains without scientific documentation, and that the families have a right to know what killed their loved ones. It reveals that Yablokov, who was present at the Kremlin meeting, is convinced that the outbreak was caused by an accident at Military Compound 19, where research on anthrax was being conducted. The chapter emphasizes the possibility that President Yeltsin was covering his tracks through various presidential decrees, and that nobody has taken full responsibility for the victims' deaths.

This chapter discusses the start of the anthrax outbreak from the viewpoint of a military officer, first studying the huge reformations of the Yeltsin era and the equally large turnover in military personnel. From here the discussion turns to the meeting with General Yevstigneyev, where he related what he knew about the anthrax outbreak and suggested alternate scenarios for the outbreak. It considers the erosion of the military's science and technology and the vaccine research or production conducted in Compound 19 in 1979. The chapter also discusses the aerosol challenges, identifies the strain being used in Compound 19 at the time of the outbreak, and reviews the communications that led to the presidential decree for pensions to the victims' families.