#5 - JRL 7129
BBC Monitoring
Putin fans from Russian Siberian city nourish career
aspirations
Source: TVS, Moscow, in Russian 0500 gmt 2 Apr 03
[Presenter] Let me finish with a report from the regions about the soaring love of ordinary Russian people for President Putin. A youth organization called "The Putinites" has been set up in Tyumen. The young people from Siberia describe themselves as Putin's allies and hope to receive an audience and have a cup of tea in the Kremlin soon.
[Sergey Surazakov, captioned as chairman of "The Putinites" organization] He'll invite us to the Kremlin for a cup of tea, we'll have a talk and tell him what's going on in Vorovskogo Street in Tyumen, how we are maintaining the vertically integrated presidential power in our yard and in our street, and how we are helping him to build a strong state.
[Presenter, over video of young people in the yard] The idea to create an organization of Putin supporters came to young people's minds when they were sitting at the table on New Year's eve and listening to Putin's speech on television. They liked the speech and decided to help Vladimir Vladimirovich to win his second presidential election [in March 2004]. To begin with, they decided to put things in order in Tyumen, to improve the political situation in the region, to establish control over negligent bureaucrats and encourage local businessmen to make donations for the public benefit. The president is the only person whom the Putinites are not going to control.
The young residents of Tyumen have a far-fetched strategic plan: to be admitted to the Academy of State Service and start organizing a pro-Putin youth league in Moscow.
This is what local people say about what the Putinites can do for the president.
[An elderly lady, speaking to camera outside] They should set up more subdivisions, go around and do canvassing.
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