| JRL Home | JRL Simple/Mobile | RSS | Newswire | Archives | JRL Newsletter | Support | About
Old Saint Basil's Cathedral in MoscowJohnson's Russia List title and scenes of Saint Petersburg
Excerpts from the JRL E-Mail Community :: Founded and Edited by David Johnson

Russian Officials Generally Delighted At Prospect Of Putin As President In 2012

Vladimir Putin at a Podium Speaking and GesturingOn 24 September most Russian officials were reported as responding with enthusiasm to the news that Dmitriy Medvedev is to head the One Russia party list at the State Duma elections in 2011 and Vladimir Putin is to vie for the presidency in 2012. The only observed exception was presidential aide Arkadiy Dvorkovich, who commented somewhat ambiguously on Twitter that there were "no reasons to be happy", without stating explicitly what he was commenting about.

The Interfax news agency cited comments from a number of senior ministers. Thus, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Zhukov said: "This is the right decision, which will positively reflect on the elections and the work of the government". Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Yuriy Trutnev touted the news as a demonstration of the fact that "the (Medvedev-Putin) tandem creates a construction of solidity and stability". Minister for Telecommunications and Mass Media, Igor Shchegolev, also welcomed the news, saying that the existing course would "make it possible to boost the influx of investment". Meanwhile, the head of the One Russia executive committee, Andrey Vorobyev, called the news nothing short of a "wonderful, serious, strategic and life-altering decision".

Meanwhile, Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov told Interfax: "Both Dmitriy Medvedev and Vladimir Putin made an exceptionally wise decision. It pleases me that they have proved to all of their foes - if such people existed - that there are no differences between them, that they put the interests of the country above their own, that they are ready for unusual decisions for the sake of the motherland". "By proposing this option, Medvedev behaved like a Russian patriot, proving that he is first of all concerned with the fate of the country and not ambition to stay in the top leadership spot of the state," he added. Kadyrov also talked up the tandem's unshakable partnership: "They have proven to everybody that it is impossible to drive a wedge between them, it is impossible send them down the path of confrontation through any intrigues or actions, that they are true patriots of Russia. I am ecstatic that I work in this team. Irrespective of job titles, I am ready to continue to fully dedicate myself to the interests of Russia, which D. Medvedev and V. Putin serve". He added that he was sure of Putin's success in the presidential election of 2012, since "having arrived to head a bleeding Russia in the 2000s, V. Putin was able to achieve political stability, restore its good name and in my view, under V. Putin's leadership, a great future awaits Russia."

In a report from state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, the first deputy secretary of the presidium of the general council of One Russia, Andrey Isayev, was quoted as saying that the Putin-Medvedev reshuffle was "the best decision that could be hoped for". He was said to have highlighted the fact that Putin's return to the president's chair was logical given his role as national leader, and that he found Medvedev's One Russia congress address to be moving.

Separately, Interfax reported that two Siberian governors had welcomed the prospective new roles for Medvedev and Putin. Dmitriy Mezentsev, the governor of Irkutsk Region, told Interfax Siberia that "the decision which was today backed by the congress of the One Russia party is a decision for the benefit of Russia, a strengthening of not only its political system, but also a guarantee for the actualization of the professional, personal and human potential of Vladimir Putin and Dmitriy Medvedev." Novosibirsk Region governor Vasiliy Yurchenko also lauded the news, saying that "the stability of the authorities guarantees the development of the country and the taking of effective long-term decisions both for the country and the region".

Meanwhile, presidential aide Arkadiy Dvorkovich appears to be less enthused, judging by the ambiguous comments in his Twitter microblog, as reported by Interfax. He wrote "Well, there are no reasons to be happy," without explaining what exactly his comments referred to. Interfax said that at this point, most of those writing to Dvorkovich on Twitter were discussing Medvedev's proposal to put Putin forward as president. Later, responding to a question about why he had not attended the One Russia congress, Dvorkovich wrote: "It's better to play hockey in the small arena of Luzhniki (sports stadium where the One Russia congress was held)."

 

Russia, Government, Politics - Russian News - Russia - Johnson's Russia List

Bookmark and Share - Back to the Top -        

-

Bookmark and Share

- Back to the Top -        


 
 
---->
  Follow Johnson's Russia List on Twitter Tweet