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 the latest of a series of combative moves by the Kremlin, a senior government official in Moscow said the Russian military would commission 70 strategic missiles over the next three years."
«This was the year when political labels lost all meaning. With governments of all persuasions nationalising banks and pumping money into the economy what now distinguishes left from right, liberal from conservative, socialist from capitalist, Keynesian from monetarist?»
The Kremlin's plan to extend the term of the Russian presidency to six years from four years received final legislative backing on Monday, but speculation over what the change meant for Vladimir Putin's future showed no signs of abating.
Beneath the façade of normalcy, social and political tensions are brewing in Russia. During a visit to Moscow last week, I was struck that prestigious restaurants were as full as ever, elite boutiques had what looked like a normal share of shoppers and the business-class lounge at Sheremetyevo Airport was crowded with fashionably-dressed Russians leaving for their holiday vacations overseas. In contrast to New York, no major Russian financial institution has gone down so far, and the Russian government has issued regular assurances that it has sufficient reserves in various state-controlled funds to deliver on all of its social commitments to the people. The Russian State Duma, the popularly elected lower chamber of the parliament, is fully controlled by pro-government parties and continues to give President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin an unqualified vote of confidence.
Vladimir Putin has unveiled a triple whammy of threats and provocation for Britain and the West. After a year of difficult relations between the Kremlin and Downing Street, the Russian prime minister showed he was prepared to keep up the pressure on his country's former Cold War foes.
Osteuropaexpertin Angela Stent über die Verbindung zwischen Wirtschaftskrise und Bürgerrechten, die Schwierigkeiten der Nato und die Illusionen der Russen. Angela Stent ist Professorin an der Georgetown-Universität in Washington und Direktorin des Osteuropazentrums. Derzeit forscht sie an der American Academy in Berlin. Mit ihr sprach Richard Herzinger.
In late August, one of Russia's leading opposition figures addressed a small demonstration in downtown Moscow and laid into Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, comparing his rollback of democratic reforms to the attempted coup by Communist Party hard-liners in the last days of the Soviet Union.
"Everything that is going on now very much reminds us of what they wanted to do back in 1991," Nikita Belykh, chairman of the Union of Right Forces party, told the crowd. "We practically have a one-party system. . . . We practically have a state economy, a personality cult, militarization."
Moszkvában bizottságot alakítottak "a válságot követő világpiaci konkurenciaharc akcióprogramjának" kidolgozására. A döntés kissé korainak látszik, hiszen egyelőre a válság enyhítését célzó intézkedések sem vezettek eredményre. Az orosz valutatartaléknak mintegy negyedrészét költötte idáig a kormány egyrészt a bankok, másrészt a rubel megmentésére, ám egyetlen ilyen intervenció sem hozta meg a remélt hatást. A külföldi tulajdonú moszkvai elemző központok azt is kifogásolják, hogy az orosz állam indokolatlan mértékű segítséget nyújt a Kremlhez hű oligarchák hatalmas külföldi hiteleinek törlesztéséhez, miközben nyomorba - nem ritkán a szó szoros értelmében pusztulásba - dönt milliónyi kisembert, aki Vlagyimir Putyinnak a tévékamerák előtt számtalanszor elhangzott biztatására minden megtakarított pénzét részvényvásárlásra költötte.
In Russland protestieren Tausende gegen die Anhebung von Importzöllen für ausländische Gebrauchtwagen. In Wladiwostok hat die Polizei die Kundgebung gewaltsam aufgelöst.
Russia's ruble and its stock market have been sliding since June-down 30 and 70 percent, respectively. Still, the state-controlled media have stuck to the Kremlin line that the economy is doing just fine (the word "crisis" was even banned by producers at one television channel). But the official state of denial is cracking-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin admitted that the nation would be affected by a "global crisis," and Russia's deputy economic development minister recently said, "A recession has started."
