Bastrykin gives a speech at an assembly of Russia’s Investigative Committee. Moscow, February 2016. (c) Aleksei Nikolsky / Visual RIAN. All rights reserved.The word is that Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigatory Committee, is to step down after parliamentary elections this Sunday. For now, it’s just a rumour. Indeed, it could be a political manoeuvre against the head of this powerful (and independently-minded) state agency, which was set up in 2011 to combat police misconduct and investigate local and federal-level authorities.
But once serious Russian news sites start stating something as fact, it tends to mean that the decision has been made. Given that the departure of Bastrykin’s often-vitriolic spokesman Vladimir Markin has already been confirmed, Bastrykin’s own departure seems probable.
Bad dog
Bastrykin was always in a precarious position — Putin’s political attack dog yet never one of the pack. He created the independent investigative committee by wresting control away from the General Prosecutor’s Office, making an enemy of general prosecutor Yury Chaika at the same time.
