Izvesia: "Vladimir Putin prepares articles on private business and the legal system"
On January 18 Vladimir Putin met with the heads and editors-in-chief of domestic television and radio broadcasting companies and print media. The questions referred mainly to the article published in Izvestia last Monday, where Putin writes about his preparation for the presidential election and his attitude towards the opposition. The prime minister reproached the opposition for criticising the authorities saying it was an uncooperative approach. According to Putin, members of the opposition were repeatedly invited to the discussion, but they always declined the invitation. This meeting with the media representatives, on the other hand, turned out to be rich in content.
Putin answered questions from Editor-in-Chief of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Konstantin Remchukov, and from Editor-in-Chief of Expert magazine, Valery Fadeyev, concerning his article in Izvestia, adding that in his next article he will write about private business and the legal system.
"We must eliminate the accusatory bias from the work of investigatory agencies, the investigators, preliminary inquests and prosecutors' offices," said Putin. "Any legal system must stipulate the presumption of honesty and innocence, rather than guilt."
NTV general director, Vladimir Kulistikov, spiced up the discussion. He asked Putin how he was going to convince Alexei Venediktov that the elections were fair. Putin replied, that he himself is interested in making the voting process as transparent as possible which is why he proposed installing web cameras at all the voting stations.
"I believe that work at this level can be successful only if one has popular trust and support. If there is no support, there is no point in starting," said Putin. "Therefore, it is vitally important for me to make sure I have this support. If the people entrust this country to someone else, then let it be, and let him work for it."
It was finally Venediktov's turn to ask a question. He wondered why Putin discussed his article only with his supporters, while in Venediktov's opinion it would be more useful to discuss the article with those who criticised it. For example, with the recently created League for Honest Elections that united writers like Boris Akunin and Dmitry Bykov, people who are not involved in politics.
Putin reminded him that those people were repeatedly invited for discussion, but that they constantly refused:
"So what do they want? Are they saying that there is no discussion or that they don't want to discuss anything? We are willing – me personally and my colleagues – to meet and talk with them."
Putin admitted that he didn't have time to watch TV or listen to the radio, including Ekho Moskvy radio station.
"Too bad!" exclaimed Venediktov. "Or maybe it's a good thing," he added after a moment's thought.
And it turned out that it was indeed a good thing, as Putin then shared his impressions about a programme he had heard not long ago. He said that during his holiday in Sochi, with President Medvedev, he switched on the radio and came across a programme discussing the US missile defence system. They said it wasn't important to Russia how far from its borders the missile interceptors will be and that Moscow won't discuss this issue with Washington.
Putin said, that the situation is quite the opposite, adding that in the US, the broadcast of such a discussion on national TV or radio would not even be possible:
"What they were presenting serves the foreign policy interests of one state against another. And it is simply indecent."
The discussion continued behind closed doors.
Valery Fadeyev told Izvestia, that they spoke about the upcoming election. The prime minister informed them about future staff changes and his plans to bring new people to the government and to attract young specialists.
"New people could come from the Strategic Initiatives Agency," speculated Fadeyev. "Putin said it could provide enough specialists to form a government."
Besides the Strategic Initiatives Agency, Putin may look for new government officials in the parliament.
The prime minister responded to allegations that he had given his friends executive positions in many economic sectors. Putin argued that he had never helped his friends in business, unlike some in the liberal mass media. At the meeting, Venediktov thanked Putin for not allowing Ekho Moskvy to be shut down.
Anastasia Novikova
