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PM Putin Talks Economy in Q&A Session
December 04, 2008 12:39 PM
By CLARISSA WARD, Correspondent, ABC News Moscow
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin once again put the blame for the economic crisis squarely on the United States today. In a two-hour, live question-and-answer broadcast, Putin told viewers across the country that America had “contaminated all leading economies of the world with this crisis.” He also said that it was up to the incoming Barack Obama administration how relations between Russia and the U.S. would progress.
In a similar broadcast last year it was reported that over a million Russians called or texted in questions for then-President Putin. This year the numbers are likely to be similarly high. For many Russians, who traditionally have had no access to their leaders, it’s an exciting and rare opportunity to question those in authority.
It was the seventh question-and-answer broadcast that Putin has done, but his first as prime minister, leaving some wondering why President Dmitri Medvedev did not hold the annual call-in show this year. Since constitutional changes extended the presidential term from four to six years, speculation here has been rampant that Medvedev may step aside early, leaving Putin to return as president… for another 12 years.
Putin swatted away such speculation during the call-in, saying he is happy to serve the country in his current job, but that is unlikely to abate the rumor mill here in Moscow. During the session Putin answered many answers on the economy, methodically outlining how the government is working to help average Russians. All in all, the broadcast will likely reaffirm the feeling most people have here, that Putin is still the man in power and the man to see Russia through rocky times.
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December 4, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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I have been to Russia several times in the last few years and it has been an amazing transformation. With every visit you are struck by the improvement and advancement from the last visit. Putin is rightly revered by the people, and not from the result of media hype as in the US, but from proven results, and for the sound leadership and from the constantly improved standards they are experiencing. He has been especially effective in keeping Russia out of foreign wars as in Afghanistan and Iraq, not spending the entire GNP on the military industrial complex as in the US, and at the same time keeping the country strong enough to have a credible deterrent against foreign invasion. His second most impressive program has been the measured process of eliminating and expelling corrupt oligarchs to Israel and to the West. While the first revolution was hijacked by villains such as Lenin and Stalin, and many people perished in the violent and unpredictable mayhem, in this revolution, the Russian people have been able to keep control. Putin has guided them with a clear vision of the future and with controlled and measured governance. It is small wonder that the Russians revere him as they do.
Posted by: JoeForSure | Dec 4, 2008 1:37:25 PM
Obviously Putin set this up so he could be in power for another 12 years. Hardly a democracy. I belive the Russians economy was over due to flourish because of the resouces they have that haven't been harvested. Good luck to the people but i remain sceptical of putins longterm vision.
Posted by: Jack | Dec 4, 2008 4:47:28 PM
For Putin to give up power (control) is for the Oligarchs to return and steal the resources and wealth like in the 90s. Let us not forget that the Oligarchs were the highest organized crime syndicates that contributed to the mafia war killings of the 90s. So the choice for Russia is either a Quasi totalitarian ruler like Putin (minus the communist idealogy) or the Oligarch Robber barons, like Boris Berezhovski. Either way, it's not real democracy! Not that we have that here in America either.
Posted by: Sarcasm | Dec 9, 2008 11:32:10 AM
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