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.
Is it possible that Russia, by its very nature, simply cannot be integrated into the international community as part of a “greater Europe?” Is it rejected in Europe as a matter of sheer principle, or simply because the country’s leaders are not acceptable there? Fyodor Lukyanov sheds some light on this question in his article by analysing the history of Russia’s relations with the world under Vladimir Putin’s watch, from the initial rapprochement with the West to all the subsequent frustration and confrontation. In the 1990s, it was customary to say that the West “lost Russia”. Today, it is more common to hear the claim that Moscow’s policies have driven the US and Europe away from Russia. So, who exactly has “lost” whom?
A veritable miracle occurred in the boundless fields of Orenburg Region on Tuesday: the 35 degree heat that had plagued the region since May and destroyed a third of its crops suddenly gave way to rain on the very day the Russian Prime Minister arrived.
Originally grain interventions for this agricultural year (the year started on July 1, 2009) were to begin on August 1. However, with grain prices stable, the Government has postponed purchases. Grain intervention will begin if necessary, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said yesterday. In the opinion of grain market analysts, only the Central Black Soil Region may need Government help this year. Russia started buying grain from farmers for the intervention fund in 2002 and has increased purchases every year since. In the 2007/08 farming season it bought 1.45 million tons worth 7 billion roubles, and in 2008/09, 9.6 million tons worth 46 billion roubles.
After getting his adrenaline going with some extreme sports on Lake Baikal (specifically, submersion all the way to the bottom of the lake), Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sought more adventure in the wild mountains of Tyva. He was so impressed by its breathtaking landscapes when he first visited the area two years ago that he came back again last year, and then for a third visit this time around. He spent Sunday evening and all of Monday in the mountains.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday spearheaded the battle against the drought which is expected to cut Russia’s grain harvest this year by 11% against the target. He ordered 100 billion roubles in government credit for the regions to deal with the aftermath of the drought, which is only slightly less than the total credit issued by Rosselkhozbank for the 2009 farm season. The money will not reach the regions until September, but, as an advance payment, Vladimir Putin brought the long-awaited rain to the fields in Orenburg Region for the first time in weeks.
Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister took a one-day holiday and spent it in Tuva in a tent town on the banks of the Khemchik River. He went down the river in an inflatable boat, negotiated several rapids and met with Andrei Subbotin, senior researcher at the Alexei Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who is working on a programme initiated by Mr Putin in 2007 to research and protect the snow leopard.
It seems that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has started a new trend among his subordinates – visiting the Perekryostok supermarket on Osenny Boulevard. In June, in the middle of a meeting on retail trade law, Mr Putin and his First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov got in their cars and went to see for themselves what retail mark-ups were really like. The mark-ups turned out to be rather large. Perekryostok would not reduce prices and turned the visit into an advertising campaign. A number of different kinds of merchandise now bear the sign “The Premier’s mark-up” – less
Speaking about psychological changes in Dmitry Medvedev in the first year of his presidency one should bear in mind that as a mature man in his forties he cannot change drastically. Changes are taking place, but they do not make Medvedev a different person from what he was a year ago.
Thank God, we have left behind us all the anniversary celebrations, the first anniversary of the presidential election, inauguration, the first anniversary of the new Prime Minister in office with all the fanfare and praise. At the end of the day, we are interested in only one thing: whether the direction and mode of our progress has become any clearer.
Industrial output in April dropped by 8.1% compared with March, but at least unemployment is not growing as fast. The latest statistics were presented to the Prime Minister at the Cabinet meeting yesterday. But Vladimir Putin looked further ahead. The question that engaged his mind was how the country would develop in the future. It was decided that development would be driven by small business and new technologies.
