Putin & Medvedev – Anti-Populism

12.11, 16:17

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has rejected claims that Russia’s political tandem is ineffective and is leading the country down a road to stagnation, and says evolutionary changes are to take place in the country’s political system.

26.10, 13:01

There will be no attempt to resurrect the USSR, Kazakh President Nazarbaev has stated in an article devoted to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s proposal to create a Eurasian Union comprising Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

25.10, 22:30

Russia's president and prime minister have joined forces again, this time to get the harvest in.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 17:21

President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and prime-minister Vladimir Putin at a meeting with retirees and veterans in the Grand Kremlin Palace (AFP Photo / Vladimir Rodionov)

TAGS: Election, Medvedev, Putin, Russia, Politics

Russian PM Vladimir Putin has likened situation in Russia after the abdication of its last Tsar with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

­Speaking to a group of veterans and pensioners on Thursday, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev criticized populist rhetoric ahead of approaching parliamentary elections in December.

Putin said that he considered populists everyone who was not doing anything but making promises.

“We are now in view of elections, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that now we still we have a lot of problems. We should not let the populists speculate and reap dividends,” the prime minister said.

Addressing the pensioners, Putin also said that he still considered the collapse of the Soviet Union “the greatest shame”. “We did not have enough pride to keep the country undivided. The majority thought that it could not be worse. You all know very well to what it all has led to – unlimited gangsterism and unprecedented looting of the state,” the PM said.

Putin said that Russia had undergone two terrible periods in its history: 1917, when the Russian Emperor abdicated from throne, and 1991, the year of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Medvedev said that the Soviet legacy had some positive points relevant to bringing up the younger generation.

“For example, they were creating a so-called single unity – the Soviet People. Despite all the problems, this model worked. We were all friends, we communicated and this was a completely appropriate objective that now has no ideological tint,” Medvedev said, adding that the concept helped people survive together in the huge country.

Today: 16:19

The danger of local armed conflicts along Russia's borders exploding into full-scale nuclear war has grown following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s chief of staff said on Thursday.

Russia-NATO relations

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Putin surges up Forbes ‘most powerful people’ rankings

17.10, 21:02

In an interview with Russian television, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who will represent United Russia in next year’s presidential elections, provided a candid assessment of the country's political landscape.

Election 2012 05.10, 18:15

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stirred up the political and economic waters on Monday when he announced his plans to create a ‘Eurasian Union’ made up of Russia and other post-Soviet states.

02.10, 09:34

A widely publicized “reshuffle” in the Putin-Medvedev tandem and the sudden departure of their trusted finance minister have dominated this week's news headlines. But the pre-election period in Russia may hold even more surprises.

Election 2012 04.10, 12:18

Vladimir Putin has proposed the creation of a new international power nexus between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in an article in the Izvestia daily.

Published: 03 November, 2011, 12:36
Edited: 03 November, 2011, 15:46

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti / Igor Zarembo)

TAGS: Medvedev, Putin, Russia, Obama, Merkel, Politics, USA, Robert Bridge, Hu Jintao

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the early favorite in next year’s presidential elections, was listed by Forbes magazine as the second-most powerful man in the world.

In 2010, Putin ranked number four on the Forbes list of most powerful people.

The annual list is a who’s who of the world’s movers and shakers – from the world of entertainment to politics. Among some of the people who appeared on the list were Chinese President Hu Jintao, who ranked third behind Putin and US President Barack Obama, who holds the top spot.

Both Obama and Putin will be running for the presidencies of their respective nations in 2012, which could make for some colorful politics if both are voted into office. Incidentally, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who forged the reset in US-Russian relations with Obama, took the 59th spot in the list.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains the most powerful woman in the world at No. 4 on the list, followed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Pope Benedict XVI, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

According to Forbes, the ranking takes into account four factors. “First, how many people a person has power over; second, the financial resources controlled by each candidate, whether that is revenues (for a company), GDP (for a country) or net worth (for a billionaire); the third criteria considers whether a candidate is influential in more than one arena or sphere.

Finally, Forbes magazine took into consideration “how actively the candidates wield their power.” This measure excludes “heirs to great fortunes, semi-retired industrialists and former heads of state.”

In all, 70 individuals made the final list, or, to put it another way, one for every 100 million people on the planet.

Robert Bridge, RT

02.11, 18:52

Russia hopes the US, Canada and Israel will remain active in UNESCO following the UN organization’s decision to grant Palestinian membership, the president's special envoy for international cultural co-operation, Mikhail Shvydkoi, said on Wednesday.

Palestinian statehood 03.11, 12:45

Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko suggests suspending senators’ party membership for the time of their work in the upper house of the Russian parliament.

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