Public men are being changed in the ward – Newspaper Kommersant No. 60 (7505) dated 04/07/2023

President Vladimir Putin, by his decree, updated the federal part of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation (OPRF). The list includes forty public figures: along with veterans of the chamber, Dr. Leo Bokeria and singer Diana Gurtskaya, newcomers are also noticeable – writer Sergei Lukyanenko and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who spent ten years in the United States. This is the eighth convocation of the OPRF, an advisory body that has been assembled since 2005. The appointment of the presidential quota is the beginning of the procedure for updating the OPRF, the new composition of which will include 172 people, including four representatives of the new regions. The expert believes that the current rotation indicates the desire of the authorities to “activate the life of this structure.”

List of forty new members of the OPRF approved by decree president number 251. The list includes both OPRF veterans (including singer Diana Gurtskaya or members of the first convocation – cardiac surgeon Leo Bokeria and Leonid Ryakhovsky, co-chairman of the Advisory Council of the Heads of Protestant Churches in Russia), and newcomers. This, in particular, is about science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, violinist Petr Lundstrem and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko (he spent ten years in prison in the United States on charges of drug trafficking and was exchanged for American Trevor Reid in 2022). The presidential list also includes the current head of the OPRF, Lidia Mikheeva, and for the third time, Georgy Kostyuk, head physician of the Alekseev psychiatric hospital in the capital. “I will try to justify the trust with my work,” Mr. Kostyuk told RIA Novosti, adding that the subject of the mental health of citizens “is becoming more and more relevant.” Mr. Lukyanenko promised to take up “questions of literature and cinema” in the ward. The science fiction writer, in particular, wants “our literature to bring more positive meanings.” Mr. Yaroshenko said that he could work in the chamber on the development of domestic aviation and support for the participants of the NWO.

The current convocation of the PRRF will be the eighth for this advisory and advisory body, established in 2005. Then Vladimir Putin spoke about the desire to create “another body of influence of Russian citizens on decisions made”, implying that the OPRF would be engaged in “examination of laws, acts of the government, regional authorities.” In the chamber, for example, an annual report on the development of civil society is prepared for the authorities.

• The first composition of the OPRF included 126 people (both from the presidential list and from public associations). In 2013, the term of office of members of the OPRF was extended from two to three years, and its composition was expanded to 168 members (the chamber included 85 representatives of regional chambers).
• In 2014, 42 members of the OPRF were elected on the public services portal, but then this practice was canceled. Now the chamber is formed from presidential appointees, representatives of regional public chambers and representatives of public organizations and NGOs.
• In December 2022, amendments were made to the legislation in connection with the accession of new regions to the Russian Federation, and in the new convocation of the OPRF there will be not 168, but 172 people (including 89 representatives of regional chambers).

The formation of a new composition of the chamber begins with the approval of the presidential quota, followed by the procedure for selecting candidates according to the quota of public organizations. Member of the OPRF Alexander Malkevich suggested that the first meeting in the new composition will be held before July 1.

It should be noted that the OPRF holds the so-called zero readings of socially significant bills, and during elections, the chamber coordinates the process of sending observers.

Speaking about the results of work in 2022, Lidia Mikheeva mentioned the bill on universal child benefit, which was discussed and finalized with the participation of the chamber.

“The Public Chamber was originally planned to be made a prominent socio-political structure, but in the end it turned out to be more of a socially oriented NGO,” says political scientist Nikolai Mironov. “A minimum of politicization, a maximum of social practice.” The political scientist notes that the position of members of the OPRF “does not give them status advantages, including not being paid”: “Now people are more likely to make the chamber a status one.” Political scientist Alexander Nemtsev notes the stagnation and lack of significant initiatives in the OPRF in recent years. He believes that the current rotation of the chamber reflects the desire of the authorities to “activate the life of this structure.”

Alexander Voronov