VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
It was just a year ago when the five-day war between Russia and Georgia broke out. On the eve of the anniversary, Kommersant’s Olga Allenova visited Georgia and South Ossetia to see how the situation has changed over the past year.
Throughout last week Vladimir Putin startled everyone with a flurry of activities: he saved dolphins, galloped on horseback stripped to the waist, gave his watch to a shepherd’s son, dropped to the depths of Lake Baikal and swam butterfly style. Some of these things may appear odd, but only at first glance.
President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya had some remarkable things to say during a recent interview with Radio Liberty.
What feelings does Vladimir Putin experience recalling the events of August 2008? Could there be a repeat of those events? The Russian Prime Minister has been sharing his thoughts about it with journalists:
Back in May Russia and Europe promised Ukraine a loan to buy Russian gas. European banks are ready to shell out $1.7 billion, but Moscow is reluctant to help its neighbour.
President Dmitry Medvedev’s approval rating has hit a record high of 59%, 4% up on the previous month, a poll of 2,000 people in 44 regions conducted by the Public Opinion Fund (FOM) on August 1-2, revealed. The previous high after his election as President was 57%.
On August 9, 1999, Vladimir Putin assumed the position of Prime Minister of Russia. At the time, it was difficult to imagine that the new prime minister, who later became president, would gain such enormous popularity in Russia and abroad, and that his approval ratings would even withstand the economic crisis. The Putin phenomenon, as studied by the most authoritative researchers, is largely based on two things: favorable historical circumstances and an outstanding intuition, which allows the prime minister to accurately gauge voter mood. At the same time, the analysts also point out the weakness in the system as created during the last ten years.
On August 6, 2009, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. Some twenty agreements and protocols were signed there, including those in the gas sector: on launching the construction of the Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project and the beginning of exploration and construction of the South Stream project (Turkey is to issue an official permit for South Stream pipeline construction on November 1, 2010).
Another pair of competing pipelines may be built in South-Eastern Europe; the history of the Nabucco and South Stream gas pipelines may soon be revisited in the Samsun-Ceyhan and Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipelines, although this time Russia could be involved in both projects. Russia has agreed to get involved in the Samsun-Ceyhan project in exchange for Turkish support for Gazprom projects.
If one analyzes the system, “Putin" is a project, just like “Medvedev” is also a project. Like “Home 1”, “Home 2” or “Two Stars.” The difference between them is the teams involved in those projects. Perhaps the regular staff got a little tired of the “Putin” project having worked on it for ten years and would like to have a go at something else. On the other hand, the “Medvedev” project staff is new to the job, ambitious and would like to have more responsibility.
