Putin against 'radical change'
By Pavel K Baev
The rhetoric of renovation and reinvigoration cultivated by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been severely curtailed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who presented to the State Duma last week the last report on the work of his government.
Putin claimed full credit for the fact that "the national economy has made a post-crisis breakthrough" and asserted that Russia needed a decade of "steady, uninterrupted development". What surprised most commentators on this lengthy speech loaded with figures was the resolute dismissal of the philosophy of modernization and the firm intention to lead "without sudden radical changes in course or ill thought through experiments based so often in either unjustified economic liberalism or, on the other hand, social demagogy".
Perhaps particularly surprised were the members of expert working groups organized by Putin for revising the outdated Strategy-2020, who now discover that their far from radical suggestions "distract us from the general path of developing the country".
Many commentators tend to interpret Putin's marching orders as an electoral exercise aimed at asserting his leadership and consolidating public opinion behind the "more-of-the-same" course. The speech, however, had few catchy slogans and was delivered in a confident but boring manner, with many deviations from the text, for instance about the recent dent in the US credit rating, but hardly any aggressive energy that has been Putin's electoral trademark.
Generous promises were issued to every active social group, from students to pensioners and from teachers to lieutenants, but the picture was painted in so much rosy detail that the credibility of too many top priorities is inevitably eroded, while the feeling that there could not possibly be nearly enough money in the over-loaded budget is strengthening.
Putin's blazing of the "general path" towards a rent-harvesting state grants Medvedev an opportunity to play up his discourse of innovations, and his aide, Arkadiy Dvorkovich, has found it opportune to clarify that modernization actually involves deep reforms of institutions and profound changes in the way of life, while denying any disagreements over economic strategy.
read the full article here :Asia Times Online :: Central Asian News and current affairs, Russia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan
The rhetoric of renovation and reinvigoration cultivated by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been severely curtailed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who presented to the State Duma last week the last report on the work of his government.
Putin claimed full credit for the fact that "the national economy has made a post-crisis breakthrough" and asserted that Russia needed a decade of "steady, uninterrupted development". What surprised most commentators on this lengthy speech loaded with figures was the resolute dismissal of the philosophy of modernization and the firm intention to lead "without sudden radical changes in course or ill thought through experiments based so often in either unjustified economic liberalism or, on the other hand, social demagogy".
Perhaps particularly surprised were the members of expert working groups organized by Putin for revising the outdated Strategy-2020, who now discover that their far from radical suggestions "distract us from the general path of developing the country".
Many commentators tend to interpret Putin's marching orders as an electoral exercise aimed at asserting his leadership and consolidating public opinion behind the "more-of-the-same" course. The speech, however, had few catchy slogans and was delivered in a confident but boring manner, with many deviations from the text, for instance about the recent dent in the US credit rating, but hardly any aggressive energy that has been Putin's electoral trademark.
Generous promises were issued to every active social group, from students to pensioners and from teachers to lieutenants, but the picture was painted in so much rosy detail that the credibility of too many top priorities is inevitably eroded, while the feeling that there could not possibly be nearly enough money in the over-loaded budget is strengthening.
Putin's blazing of the "general path" towards a rent-harvesting state grants Medvedev an opportunity to play up his discourse of innovations, and his aide, Arkadiy Dvorkovich, has found it opportune to clarify that modernization actually involves deep reforms of institutions and profound changes in the way of life, while denying any disagreements over economic strategy.
read the full article here :Asia Times Online :: Central Asian News and current affairs, Russia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan
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