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
With Russia, Qatar, and Iran having agreed upon the establishment of a big gas alliance in October 2008, the big trio has every chance to now grow into a quartet. At a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on November 11, his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Nazif said that Cairo was interested in a constructive dialogue within the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). According to Mr Putin, the Egyptian delegation expressed willingness to participate in a gas producers' meeting in Moscow on November 18.
A well-known TV anchor admitted in a recent interview that the word "crisis" in reference to the Russian situation is banned from television. The behaviour of the TV bosses and the possible consequences of that behaviour and the way the Russian TV channels present the crisis were discussed with Novaya Gazeta by Olga Makhovskaya, a social psychologist, PhD (Psychology), senior researcher with the RAS Institute of Psychology who has been a consultant to many TV projects.
In his first Address to the Federal Assembly, President Dmitry Medvedev unveiled a range of important political initiatives. Many experts and commentators, without bothering to analyze them, hastened to proclaim a "revision of the Putin legacy". Some hail (for an umpteenth time) the start of a "thaw" or "liberalisation". Others warn of an approaching "freeze". In reality, these initiatives reveal a total continuity of policy.
The Russian economy, or rather, some of its branches, are ill and in need of prompt state assistance, the Government House announced. Nonetheless, it is unwise and wasteful to distribute money to all who ask. On Friday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved a plan of action, listing 55 steps to cure the economy of the effects of the global financial crisis.
The plan specifies measures to bail out enterprises in crisis conditions and is expected to increase the state's role in economic management. "The sooner we activate new development and growth factors, the more confidently we will pass through the period of global instability," said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as he signed the plan.
It is no accident that the first foreign leader who came to Moscow after Mr Medvedev delivered his address to the Federal Assembly was Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Tentative results of measurements conducted by TNS-Russia on how Muscovites over the age of 18 watched a live broadcast of President Medvedev's Address to the Federal Assembly on Channel 1 and Russia Channel were unveiled yesterday. Mr Medvedev's first major public speech was watched by more people than normally watch these channels.
Medwedjew, dem aus unerfindlichen Gründen zeitweilig der Ruf eines Liberalen anhing, hat sich mit seiner gestrigen Rede endgültig als der Hardliner präsentiert, wie er in der russischen Führungsriege gebraucht wird. Er kündigte unter anderem an, Russland werde in der Region Kaliningrad an der Grenze zur Nato neue Raketen vom Typ „Iskander" aufstellen.
Er sprach auch über tief greifende innenpolitische Veränderungen, z.B. über die Verlängerung der Amtszeit des Präsidenten. Sollte bei der Wahl 2012, wie allgemein erwartet, erneut Wladimir Putin antreten und gewinnen, stünden Russland und der Welt weiter zwölf Putin-Jahre bevor.
Last week, Russians enjoyed discussing the odd habits of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who was on an official visit in Moscow. When he travels abroad, Mr Qaddafi prefers to live in a Bedouin tent, the type of accommodation he feels most comfortable in. The issue took a bit of negotiating with bewildered security services, but eventually, a huge tent was pitched at Taininsky Park, inside the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the Libyan leader was wasting no time: he met with Medvedev and invited Vladimir Putin and Mireille Mathieu to his "tent" for a "modest tea party". This newspaper wondered whether the exotic tent was some kind of trap. Historical precedents exist, and they are not very comforting.
Environmentalists regard the felling of trees on the Grushevoi Ridge as the start of the destruction of a unique natural preserve, the Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus has declared. Ecologists regard the commercial interests of big companies as a threat. According to the group, trees are being cut on the territory which is simultaneously part of two protected areas, Sochi National Park and the Sochi State Reserve. By now, about 40 trees have been cut without authorisation.
