Cablegate: Rosatom Transition Update

VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMO #0870 0910610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 310610Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7397
INFO RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHII/VIENNA IAEA POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MOSCOW 000870

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KNNP ENRG PREL PARM RS

SUBJECT: ROSATOM TRANSITION UPDATE

REF: Moscow 0408

Sensitive But Unclassified, Protect Accordingly

1. (SBU) Summary: The transition of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency
to the Rosatom State Corporation is moving forward. The uncertainty
surrounding the retention of staff has brought anxiety and
bureaucratic paralysis as employees wait to learn their fate in the
new organization. End Summary.

2. (SBU) On March 26, we met with Natalya Klishina, Deputy Head of
the Rosatom Office of Bilateral Cooperation, to get an update on the
ongoing transformation of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom)
into the Rosatom State Corporation (RSC)(Reftel). She reported that
Prime Minister Zubkov is expected to soon sign the executive order
transferring Rosatom's authority to the RSC. The day Zubkov signs
the order will be the official starting date of the reorganization.
Every Rosatom employee will receive a "notice letter" informing them
that over the following two months, the RSC will make a decision
regarding whether they will be retained by the new organization or
dismissed.

3. (SBU) Presently, only four or five top-level staff have been
officially assigned to the RSC. These include Director General
Sergey Kiriyenko and Deputy Director General Nikolay Spasskiy.
Klishina reports that the uncertainty regarding future employment is
negatively impacting morale and productivity. Repeating what we
have heard from other Rosatom officials, she speculated that many
"newcomers" may be hired by the RSC, implying that significant
numbers of Rosatom staff may be let go.

4. (SBU) Comment: This period of uncertainty is not unusual in
Russian government agency reorganizations. It may take about six
months for the new Rosatom Corporation structure to find its groove.

BURNS

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