In Kislovodsk Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with youth activists from the North Caucasus Federal District.
"Here is our common Caucasian Salaam for you!" This is how the young people from patriotic and other public organisations greeted Putin in the Kislovodsk residence "Pine Forest." He was seated between two attractive girls – a brunette and a blonde. The young people did not beat around the bush. They asked Putin whether he agreed that the North Caucasus was a burden for Russia and must be cut off.
"The North Caucasus is not a burden but rather one of Russia's gems," he objected. "It allows us to assert our diverse geopolitical interests in this region." Putin said security and the economy are its weakest points but Moscow will set things right. We hope to build a huge tourist industry here.
"But will the highlanders that are more used to fighting 'wait on tourists?' Doesn't it make more sense to focus on developing agriculture and the processing industry?" a young man asked Putin.
"I learned to ski in Cheget. The mountain people are proud people, of course, but fighting is not their only option. They are very talented... I remember they are good builders. Teams from the Caucasus moonlighted as contract labourers all over the country."
Putin admitted that he hopes for a change in the mentality of the people from the Caucasus. The region has serious competitive advantages for tourism.
"Why ignore them?" Putin queried rhetorically.
"Well, if not Switzerland, we'll have our own Austria by all means!" the young people replied with enthusiasm.
They were also worried about the escalation of ethnic conflict.
"Xenophobia is a result of poor education," Putin explained, adding that Europe is beset with similar problems.
"In Europe, immigrants are foreigners but here we are all children of Mother Russia," he observed. He said that guest workers should not forget that their culture is different from the local traditions, adding that "radicalism is a road leading nowhere."
One of the activists told Putin that at night he gets into real battles with the radicals on the web.
"Thank you," Putin said. "But don't forget about the demographic problems at night, either."
The activists expressed their heart-felt gratitude to the Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasus, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin who attended the meeting. Putin also praised him and jokingly referred to him as a "career climber." Khloponin was embarrassed.
The young people complained about the low level of education in the district. Putin was aware of the issue. He said the district has about 70 affiliates of higher educational institutions with a student body of 170,000. In the Soviet Union there were only 30,000 students there.
"There is something wrong here!" Putin said with generous indignation.
"I have a question: when will we defeat corruption in Russia once and for all?" a young man from Chechnya asked the prime minister.
"Is this the only question you have?" Putin asked to the laughter of the young people.
"Our republic has set an example in fighting corruption!" a young man yelled at the top of his voice, trying to outshout the audience.
Putin said the main goal is to create intolerance for corruption in society.
"Why do they put so few corrupt officials behind bars? Maybe, it's better to deal with them like Stalin..." some activists worried.
Putin said dozens of corrupt officials have been sentenced to prison. "It's better to counter corruption with persistency and not with a loud short-term campaign," Putin said, cooling off their zeal.
Andrei Ryabtsev