Direct speech
Igor Yurgens, Vice President of the RSPP:
"The deputy who could have held Mr Putin to account failed to get into the Duma. But one must hand it to the Prime Minister: his anti-crisis programme does not make one blush. How it translates in real life remains to be seen."
Sergei Mitrokhin, Chairman of the Yabloko party:
"Giving the Prime Minister a hard time means raising the issue of confidence in the Government. As it happened, the Prime Minister was not even asked how well he had kept his promises. In December he promised to cut the tariffs of natural monopolies, but in fact they have grown to the upper limit. The second topic, the programme of massive housing construction supposed to bring about economic recovery, was not even touched upon. It is odd that the broadcast was cut short and the speeches of the leaders of the parliamentary parties were not broadcast. Apparently the Government is afraid to be in the public eye and Mr Putin feels insecure."
Gennady Gudkov, Deputy Head of A Just Russia party in parliament:
"No, they did not give him a hard time. The applause, rather inappropriate in times of crisis, was reminiscent of the Brezhnev era, but fortunately it did not come to a standing ovation. The limited number of questions ruled out polemics. The result was a cross between a presidential address and a meeting with confused deputies seeking clarifications from the Prime Minister."
Viktor Ilyukhin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Constitutional Law and State Development (KPRF):
"There was not a hint of it because the speech was too lightweight. The Prime Minister constantly invoked the dire Soviet legacy. But the Soviet Union has been gone 20 years, what is the point of recalling it? The Prime Minister spoke at length about the anti-crisis programme and urged the Duma not to delay its approval, but when we asked him where we could read the programme, United Russia said it did not exist but the theses could be found in the media. This is kindergarten stuff. How can one treat members of parliament in this way?"
Yuri Koropachinsky, co-owner of the company SM.group:
"We haven't been shown the programme. Today Mr Putin can be taken to account only by God and his sense of duty as Prime Minister."
Viktor Glukhikh, member of the Federation Council:
"The Prime Minister was not taken to account, he was listened to. It is a pity that he addressed only the Duma. The Federation Council is the house of regions and the heads of regions will preside over the regional anti-crisis headquarters. So it would be appropriate if Mr Putin also visited the Federation Council, especially since we have understood the theory of how to get out of the crisis but not the tactics, for example, what will happen to industrial enterprises. He needn't report to us, we simply would have liked to see him in person".