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
In December 1999, nearly eight years ago, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Uzbekistan. Five months later, after he was elected president, Putin made his first official foreign visit to Uzbekistan. On September 1, 2008, he again arrived in Tashkent, this time as prime minister. On this visit, Uzbek President Islam Karimov himself came to meet him at the airport, ignoring the tacit rules of protocol.
On September 1, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed professors and students of Far Eastern universities in Vladivostok and tried to dispel several new political rumors. He said Russia would not deliver less oil and gas to Europe, that it was still planning to hold the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok, and that it did not want to start a new Cold War with the West.
Hardly any other politician is as popular among his people as Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister and former President. The people see him as an unquestionable leader who bravely defends his country; suffice it to mention how staunchly he stood up for Russian interests last week. Few doubt that he is superman and a legendary knight all in one.
Arriving in Vladivostok on September 1, Vladimir Putin went from a plane to a helicopter that was headed for the taiga. The whole purpose of the exercise was to see the Ussuri tigers, and the buzz is that thanks to the Prime Minister, tigers, or rather the scientists who watch them, now feel much more comfortable.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin does not seem to think it is necessary to react to the harsh statements of Western politicians who call on Russia to respect the territorial integrity of Georgia. They even hint to bad consequences in the case of continued intractability. The Russian President, however, thinks the opposite, and has spoken much on the subject. Experts' explanations of the Prime Minister's behaviour have been quite varied.
The war with Georgia may have been Vladimir Putin's personal project. There are both objective and subjective reasons for that. Speaking about subjective factors, it will be recalled that the "pro-American" Eduard Shevardnadze used to be the Kremlin's enemy, while Mikheil Saakashvili had come to power with Vladimir Putin's support.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has fulfilled the tasks set under the concept of social and economic development through 2010, as he told the Government meeting at Novo-Ogaryovo on Friday. Therefore, he said, "the need has arisen to look further ahead, to look 10 years ahead to the period from 2010 to 2020."
This August, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly attacked the pricing policy pursued by the Mechel Group, one of Russia's largest mining and metals companies. However, his criticism cost the company much less than to Mechel shareholders and the Russian stock market.
When Vladimir Putin assured the nation that he would not run for a third presidential term and would not amend the Constitution to suit himself, many had a sneaking mistrust. During his eight years of leading Russia, he has acquired vast political experience, which the country needs now more than ever. As a result, one theory that circulated within the analytical community was that the Russian President must not leave politics and might even become the head of the Russia-Belarus Union State. After a change of power did take place at the Kremlin, however, some claimed that the "Putin era" was over and that he would gradually ease out of politics.
Today marks the first 100 days of Putin's premiership. It is not a long period by the measure of history or indeed compared with Putin's 8 years as president, but the direction or the "trend," to use the prime minister's favourite word, can already be discerned.
