Premier Slams Russian Space Chief

[Eric Hedman]

I found this article on Pravda about Prime Minister Medvedev Criticizing the head of Roscosmos for "incompetence".  Not exactly glowing support for the job he's doing. 

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130802/182546411/Premier-Slams-Russian-Space-Chief-Over-Poor-Performance.html

I'm curious if this is the start of a process to replace him or is it Russian politics as usual?

[Danderman]

What would be unusual is for this guy to keep his job after the criticism.

However, the real issue isn't the competence at the top of Roskosmos, it is the level of actual funding that reaches the contractors. If the contractors had the money to pay their employees, then Russian space industry would not be in a crisis.

[savuporo]

Mr. Popovkin, its time to sit down and write two letters..

[zaitcev]

I'm curious if this is the start of a process to replace him or is it Russian politics as usual?

Quite a number of people noticed that Medvedev is simply not a competent leader. So his management style is to stomp his feet, rant, and rave, because he does not know how to do anything else.

Although it's impolite to notice in local circles, Putin is a charismatic statesman who is capable of railing the "vertical of power" to deliver results (it's impolite because of the machine of corruption that he's built). He chose Medvedev in part because he's not a threat, especially during the "swap" when Putin was a the PM. In Russia, PM has no power to fight the Prez, at all. This was built into the Constitution back in Yeltsin's days, and you should remember how Yetsin dismissed then-PM Chernomyirdin for a good example. So, Putin stayed a PM for 4 years on pure charisma and covering up for Medvedev's incompetence.

Such is basically the context in which Medvedev's statements of feet-stomping are to be understood. Popovkin's tenure as a head of Roskosmos is in Putin's hands and whatever Medvedev says is immaterial. IMHO, of course.

[Prof68]

I'm curious if this is the start of a process to replace him or is it Russian politics as usual?

Now, additional information appear about reason behind this reprimand. It have no relation to Proton catastrophe at all. In June or early July mr. Popovkin send to State Duma polite request about increasing financing of Roskosmos. But he do it without preliminary agreement of PM Medvedev,  Deputy PM Rogozin (which is curator of space related things) and against wishes of ministry of finance. Such freewheeling is a serious break of internal protocol and traditions of Russians bureaucracy. Simple reprimand is the extremely weak penalty for such thing. IMHO, it is indication of his stable and long term position, that such bureaucratic effrontery is merely reprimanded.
PS. Ministry of finances is so pissеd off that in late July publicly say that Roskosmos budget should be cut, not increased (and even define estimated numbers). They were quickly silenced.