Special Report: The Next Kremlin Clan War Begins

Editor's Note: As STRATFOR forecast in October, the Russian government is moving ahead with economic reforms meant to reverse the damage done by the global financial crisis — and to strip one of the Kremlin's two rival political clans of influence. STRATFOR sources in the Kremlin have said the government will begin investigating claims of financial and corporate malpractice at several key state-owned corporations. The financial and economic reforms Moscow is about to undertake are meant to attract foreign investment, but they are also part of the struggle between the Kremlin's rival political clans — one led by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev's First Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov, and the other led by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. Because the firms targeted for investigation are all led by members of Sechin's camp, the government investigations likely will strip Sechin of his profitable business ventures and political support.