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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
| Putin pledges democracy in Russia | |
| 2005-04-26 | |
| President Vladimir V. Putin, after facing months of criticism for Russia's crackdown on freedoms and concentration of presidential power, said today that encouraging democracy was the main task before the nation, and that human rights, freedom and a secure business climate were essential for the health of the state. In his annual address to the Federal Assembly, Mr. Putin offered a vision that at times and on the surface appeared to embrace the language of some of his most prominent critics. "The main political and ideological task is the development of Russia as a free and democratic state," he said. He seemed to try to calm the uneasy private sector by noting that "tax agencies have no right to terrorize business," a reference to the effort to collect vast sums in back taxes against from various concerns, which has caused consternation abroad and triggered capital flight. He also made a series of references to ideas rooted in the West. At one point, Mr. Putin, a former K.G.B. official, spoke of the right of all citizens to have access to public information. At another he endorsed equal opportunity and market law, saying that "everyone's incomes should be determined by one's labor and abilities, skills and efforts." He alluded to a need for a social safety net, saying the state "should provide assistance to those who cannot work and those with low incomes, disabled people, pensioners, orphans, to make sure that they live worthy lives." But democracy and fair competition are ideas whose meanings are malleable in practice, and there were indications that Mr. Putin's definitions might fit his own purposes. As strong as his pro-democracy language might have been - "to deny ourselves the ability to live according to democratic laws means not to respect ourselves" - the speech was leavened with warnings that Russia would change at Mr. Putin's pace. "We will move forward considering our own, internal circumstances," he said, later adding, "As a sovereign country, Russia can and will independently determine for itself the time frame and the conditions of its movement along that path." There were hints as well that any move toward openness and democracy would bear the Kremlin's firm stamp, and that Mr. Putin would continue in the same policies that have been the focus of harsh condemnations of late, including cuts to social benefits, the protracted war in Chechnya and consolidation of political power in the executive branch. For example, he pointedly spoke of "the right to be elected or appointed to a public position." The use of "appointed" seemed a defense of his decision to end direct elections of regional governors, and instead transfer to the Kremlin the power to appoint them. He also mentioned what he called the "the Khasavyurt capitulation," a hard-line reference to the agreement in 1996 with separatist fighters in Chechnya that gave the breakaway republic a degree of independence. The experiment ended in 1999, when Mr. Putin ordered a renewed Russian military offensive, which continues to this day and has been marked by brutality and crime by both sides. Mr. Putin also said that while foreign investment in Russia was welcome and needed, some strategic industries would remain under state control. The nearly 50-minute-long speech, broadcast live on Russian television, was staid compared with Mr. Putin's last lengthy public appearance, a news conference last December marked by biting remarks, including insults directed at President Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland, who had helped mediate the political impasse last fall in Ukraine. Mr. Putin was much gentler today, staying on script and peppering his speech with pledges to raise wages for soldiers and government employees, to abolish an inheritance tax and to lure offshore capital back to Russia. Playing to other durably populist themes, he adopted one posture likely to please his domestic audience, chiding the government. "Our bureaucracy is still to a large extent an isolated and sometimes arrogant caste," he said, one that is undermined by "corruption, irresponsibility and incompetence." He also characterized the collapse of the Soviet system as the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century," a nod to lingering nostalgia here. Mr. Putin's approval ratings have been level this year at about 65 percent, according to public opinion surveys by the independent Levada Center - down from ratings typically in the 70's and low 80's during the previous three years. The immediate reception of his speech was mixed. Members of the government hailed it as significant. But Irina M. Khakamada, who ran against Mr. Putin in 2004, questioned its sincerity, telling the Interfax news agency that the speech "looked like an export product by its liberal rhetoric and ritual statements addressed to the West." Markets remained almost unchanged. Investors have been nervous since 2003, when masked agents arrested Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the founder of the Yukos oil company. A verdict in the criminal fraud and tax evasion case against him is expected on Wednesday. Defendants are virtually always found guilty in Russia.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #7 Yep, soul was ok, just the current incarnations sucks... |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-04-26 10:33:32 PM |
| #6 He changed the channel? ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-26 10:26:56 PM |
| #5 So what happened to Pooty-Poot after President Bush looked into his soul and it was OK? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-04-26 10:18:02 PM |
| #4 Writing one a bad check is good for a chuckle too. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-04-26 4:32:31 PM |
| #3 Fewer things are funnier than taking money from a communist! |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-04-26 12:31:22 PM |
| #2 FRED - why are you using Ads by Google when these idiots serve up ads for Chomsky's books, a Chomsky interview etc with this story??? |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-26 11:56:26 AM |
| #1 A Potemkin speech for consumption by the few foreigners who still pay attention to Russia. Putin cannot and will not reform Russia's shambolic government because he is a product, more like a puppet, of the only element of that government that actually functions: the security services. Any moves toward good governance by an independent judiciary, a competent legislature or a reasonably efficient executive or technocratic branch will inevitably reduce the power and cash flow accruing to the FSB. For them, democracy and rule of law represent a direct threat. To the extent that the FSB directs Putin's government, democratic and institutional reform will be thwarted. |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-26 11:54:57 AM |