Komsomolskaya Pravda: “Vladimir Putin on the coverage of Gaddafi’s death: ‘The man is wounded, and he is being finished off, and they splash this all over the screen’”
Members of the Popular Front complain to the prime minister about negative footage on television.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with the Popular Front's Coordination Council. First of all, the prime minister urged the front's members to persuade the people to support United Russia's election list in the upcoming elections. Popular Front members account for one-third of the list.
"We must make it clear to the electorate that the people who come to the State Duma through United Russia are determined to address the challenges facing the nation," Putin said. "The most important thing is to raise the social standard of living and incomes.
Head of the Russian Federation of Independent Trade Unions Mikhail Shmakov complained to the prime minister about the gap between the wages of common teachers and that of directors at higher educational institutions.
"The difference is six times! And given bonuses, it's 10 times or more! I propose returning to basic rates and wages," Shmakov said.
"Mr Shmakov is right, this is abnormal. We need tougher mechanisms that will not allow for such an imbalance," the prime minister answered, promising to instruct the government to act on the issue.
President of the National Medical Chamber Leonid Roshal addressed the long-suffering healthcare bill. The document was sent to 2,000 doctors who made 109 amendments.
"Some will be displeased that the law is not ideal, but it's necessary to stop at something," he said.
"There are no ideal laws. Lawyers say that a law is out of date once it is adopted," Putin said.
The prime minster also said that he will look into the conflict surrounding the Gnessins Musical College, which was expected to be united with a lyceum.
"I don't fully understand what people are worrying about. Neither students nor teachers are expected to be dismissed. But if the minister hasn't visited the college yet, he will," Putin assured.
Head of the Russian Women's Union Yekaterina Lakhova blamed the media for broadcasting unfavourable information that makes people really wish to die.
"Only pedophilia and murders!" Lakhova lamented, noting that still there were many good things that could be shown instead.
"Unfortunately, this is typical for the media. All of the TV channels showed Gadaffi's corpse. It's impossible to look at it without disgust," Putin said. "The man is wounded, and he is being finished off, and they splash this all over the screen. This runs counter to any world religion, not to mention the political component, which is a separate issue. It's no good to show this on television and have millions of people watch it. Inside of their community, people should realise what they are doing and bear moral responsibility."
Yelena Chinkova
