Kudrin hopes new leaders will emerge in Russia
MOSCOW. April 18 (Interfax) - Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin expects Russian society to be able to "generate" new leaders by 2017.
"Citizens' real activity will generate new leaders. It could be a Prokhorov-type political figure, but what counts most is that new active leaders will 'grow' within two or three years," he said in an interview with the Finansovaya Gazeta and Novaya Gazeta newspapers.
The Russian political system will become more liberal gradually, Kudrin said, adding, however, that he did not rule out a repeat of 1980s scenarios in Russia's politics and economy.
"In my opinion, serious political concessions will be made in any case. I hope that we will move toward liberalization gradually, in a step-by-step manner. Another option is simply to stretch the coil spring, as they did in the 1980s, when the authorities stretched coil springs, embezzled the treasury and reserves, sat on high oil prices and refused to implement any reforms," he said.