Thursday, October 6, 2011

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ANOTHER KISS-OFF FOR PROKHOROV – NOONE WANTS TO BUY HIS POLYUS GOLD SHARES

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ANOTHER KISS-OFF FOR PROKHOROV – NOONE WANTS TO BUY HIS POLYUS GOLD SHARES

ANOTHER KISS-OFF FOR PROKHOROV – NOONE WANTS TO BUY HIS POLYUS GOLD SHARES
By John Helmer, Moscow Mikhail Prokhorov – Russia’s no-fault oligarch, according to a dozen people familiar with the matter at Bloomberg – was tossed out of Russian politics for his incompetence last month. Yesterday it turned out that the only company he controls with an international share listing and a positive profit line, Polyus Gold, has been kissed off....

New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars - NYTimes.com via ww...

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New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars - NYTimes.com via www.nytimes.com on 10/6/11

New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars - NYTimes.com via www.nytimes.com on 10/6/11
"PERISCOPE - ПЕРИСКОП" via Mike Nova See more of "PERISCOPE - ПЕРИСКОП" via Mike Nova ... New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars - NYTimes.com via www.nytimes.com on 10/6/11 Grozny Journal Gleaming City Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide Psychic Scars of a War James Hill for The New York Times The newly constructed central mosque in Grozny, the once war-torn capital of Chechnya, frames a project of rising

Russian Court To Question Mayor of Grozny On Case “Kadyrov vs. Orlov”

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Russian Court To Question Mayor of Grozny On Case “Kadyrov vs. Orlov”
Russian Court To Question Mayor of Grozny On Case “Kadyrov vs. Orlov”
The Khamovniki Moscow Court began its consideration of the appeal of Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, against the acquittal of Oleg Orlov, the head of the HRC “Memorial“. On October 4 in the court of appeal Oleg Orlov, the head of the HRC “Memorial” once again made a statement pleading not guilty on charges of slandering Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya. The leader of the Chechen Republic failed to appear at...

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RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД: New York Times on Russia: September 24, 2011 - October 06, 201
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Russians are increasingly immune from the persuasive effects of social programs and government-controlled television, including a contrived video of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on a dive.

New York Times on Russia: September 24, 2011 - October 06, 2011

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New York Times on Russia: September 24, 2011 - October 06, 2011
New York Times on Russia: September 24, 2011 - October 06, 2011
A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics Today, October 06, 2011, 8 hours ago | By ELLEN BARRY Russians are increasingly immune from the persuasive effects of social programs and government-controlled television, including a contrived video of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on a dive. A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics - NYTimes.com - Изменившаяся Россия хмурит брови, глядя на путинские проделки - 8:26

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RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД: New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars -.
east-and-west-org.blogspot.com
The newly constructed central mosque in Grozny, the once war-torn capital of Chechnya, frames a project of rising skyscrapers.

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RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД: New York Times on Russia: September 24, 2011 - October 06, 201
east-and-west-org.blogspot.com
Russians are increasingly immune from the persuasive effects of social programs and government-controlled television, including a contrived video of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on a dive.

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Today the world mourns a man who changed the world, but where does Russia fit in...

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Today the world mourns a man who changed the world, but where does Russia fit in...
Today the world mourns a man who changed the world, but where does Russia fit in...
Today the world mourns a man who changed the world, but where does Russia fit in that picture?Russia Profile - Culture & Living - The Apple Effectrussiaprofile.orgRussia Profile provides in-depth analysis on business, politics, current affairs and culture for Russia watchers around the world. It is the first place for all your Russian news needs.

Putin Prioritizes Rebuilding the Lost Empire

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Putin Prioritizes Rebuilding the Lost Empire
Putin Prioritizes Rebuilding the Lost Empire
This week, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin – the ruling United Russia party’s official candidate for reelection as president for a third six-year term next March – published a major policy article in the Izvestiya daily. Putin announced a long-term strategy to build a Eurasian superstate within the boundaries of the former Soviet Union, called the Eurasian Union....

Putin Attempts to Reinvent the Customs Union As a Eurasian Bloc

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Putin Attempts to Reinvent the Customs Union As a Eurasian Bloc
Putin Attempts to Reinvent the Customs Union As a Eurasian Bloc
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir is yet to win the presidency formally next year, but he has already laid out ambitious foreign policy plans in regard to former Soviet states, Russia’s “traditional sphere of influence,” as the Kremlin often defines it. In his recent op-ed piece in Izvestiya, Putin proposed deepening the integration of former Soviet states within a newly proposed Eurasian Union (www.izvestia.ru, October 3).Putin sees the Eurasian Union as an...

Soccer in the North Caucasus Is More Than Just Sport

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Soccer in the North Caucasus Is More Than Just Sport
Soccer in the North Caucasus Is More Than Just Sport
It is not an accident that the city of Grozny’s annual festival is held on October 5, Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday. This year, a building complex nicknamed Grozny-City will be inaugurated on October 5. It consists of five multi-storey buildings, including 45-story, 30-story and 18-story residences, a 30-story five-star hotel, a business center with a helipad on the top and a two-story underground parking (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtiDGsJuR2Y)....

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Chet Baker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_BakerCached - Similar You +1'd this publicly. UndoChesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer. Though his music earned him ... Biography - Death - Legacy - Honors You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 5/11/10► Images for chet baker - Report imagesThank you for the feedback.

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Chet Baker - Almost blue
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Amazing Jazz song Almost Blue by Chet Baker / Lyrics : Almost blue Almost doing things we used to do There's a girl here and she's almost you Almost all the ...

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Chet Baker
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New York Times on Russia: September 24, 2011 - October 06, 2011

A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics

Today, October 06, 2011, 8 hours ago | By ELLEN BARRY

Russians are increasingly immune from the persuasive effects of social programs and government-controlled television, including a contrived video of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on a dive.

A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics - NYTimes.com - Изменившаяся Россия хмурит брови, глядя на путинские проделки - 8:26 AM 10/6/2011 -"PERISCOPE - ПЕРИСКОП" via Mike Nova

Mike Nova at RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД- 59 minutes ago

Google Reader - "PERISCOPE - ПЕРИСКОП" via Mike Nova A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics - NYTimes.com via www.nytimes.com on 10/6/11A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics Alexey Druzhinin/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPrime Minister Vladimir V. Putin during his dive to the bottom of a bay, where he retrieved ancient ceramic jugs. By ELLEN BARRY Published: October 5, 2011 - Recommend - Twitter - Linkedin - comments (166) - E-Mail - Print - Reprints - ShareClose - Digg - MySpace ...more »

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Grozny Journal: New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars

Today, October 06, 2011, 8 hours ago | By SETH MYDANSGo to full article

Moscow is pouring billions of rubles into a postwar Chechnya to support and mollify its chosen leader, President Ramzan A. Kadyrov, a former guerrilla who once fought against Russian troops.

New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars - NYTimes.com via www.nytimes.com on 10/6/11

Mike Nova at RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД- 19 minutes ago

"PERISCOPE - ПЕРИСКОП" via Mike Nova *See more of "PERISCOPE - ПЕРИСКОП" via Mike Nova ...* New Grozny Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide War’s Psychic Scars - NYTimes.com via www.nytimes.com on 10/6/11 Grozny Journal Gleaming City Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide Psychic Scars of a War James Hill for The New York TimesThe newly constructed central mosque in Grozny, the once war-torn capital of Chechnya, frames a project of rising skyscrapers. By SETH MYDANS Published: October 5, 2011 - Recommend - Twitter - Linkedin - E-Mail - Print - Reprints - ShareClos...more »

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NYT: Чечня наслаждается победой — Чечня - Росбалт
www.rosbalt.ru
В городе Грозном, когда-то разрушенном войной, в среду торжественно открыли великолепный комплекс небоскребов, пишет The New York Times.

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NYT: Чечня наслаждается победой - Росбалт.RU

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NYT: Чечня наслаждается победой - Росбалт.RU

NYT: Чечня наслаждается победой - Росбалт.RU
TOP News.RUNYT: Чечня наслаждается победойРосбалт.RUГРОЗНЫЙ, 6 октября. В городе Грозном, когда-то разрушенном войной, в среду торжественно открыли великолепный комплекс небоскребов, пишет The New York Times. В церемонии участвовали знаменитости: так, Ванесса Мэй играла на скрипке, отмечает корреспондент Сет Майденс. Комплекс "Грозный-Сити" ...В Грозном построили высотку для приема "зарубежных и российских инвесторов"РБК - RBC.RuДень города Рамзана КадыроваГазета.RuПросмотров за неделю: 383 Всего просмотров: 30558Русская Служба НовостейИнтерфакс -Новый Регион -Российская ГазетаВсе похожие статьи: 380 »

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NYT: Чечня наслаждается победой — Чечня - Росбалт

via www.rosbalt.ru on 10/6/11

Росбалт, 06/10/2011, 14:39

NYT: Чечня наслаждается победой

ГРОЗНЫЙ, 6 октября. В городе Грозном, когда-то разрушенном войной, в среду торжественно открыли великолепный комплекс небоскребов, пишет The New York Times. В церемонии участвовали знаменитости: так, Ванесса Мэй играла на скрипке, отмечает корреспондент Сет Майденс.
Комплекс "Грозный-Сити" — средоточие реконструкции Грозного, который еще несколько лет назад представлял собой почерневшие от копоти руины, отмечает газета. "Вместо бомб и артиллерийских снарядов Москва шлет в послевоенную Чечню миллиарды рублей, чтобы поддержать и успокоить ее лидера Рамзана Кадырова, который когда-то воевал с российскими войсками", — говорится в статье, перевод которой приводит InoPressa.

Из небоскребов виден совершенно новый город с парками, проспектами, фонтанами и клумбами, и почти ничего не напоминает, что более 10 лет шли сепаратистские войны, отмечает автор. В Грозном появились парк аттракционов и ледовый дворец, проектируются аквапарк, ипподром, культурный центр и горнолыжный курорт.
В Кремле "наконец-то осознали, что война обходится дороже. Чеченский режим выглядит как победитель, получающий деньги от побежденной страны", заявил сотрудник правозащитной организации "Мемориал" Андрей Миронов.
"Строительный бум и появление новехонького Грозного — поразительные события в республике, у которой почти отсутствует собственная экономика", — говорится в статье. Уровень безработицы — 85%, но Чечня живет на колоссальные субсидии из Москвы, за которые власти не отчитываются публично, заметил Лема Турпалов, редактор независимой газеты "Грозненский рабочий".
Со своей стороны, правозащитница Таиса Исаева заметила: "Вы судите по всей этой красивой архитектуре, а не по психологии людей". "Все мы 15-16 лет жили в условиях войны", — сказала она, утвеждая, что "90% чеченцев нездоровы в психологическом смысле".
На улицах Грозного ощущается подавленное насилие, полагает автор статьи. Парки и кофейни, пиццерии и турагентства патрулируют полицейские с автоматами. В связи с празднествами в среду крупные автомагистрали были перекрыты, а полиция, по некоторым сведениям, ходила по домам и проверяла документы.
"Колумбийская певица Шакира в Twitter опровергла утверждения, что ее приглашали открывать "Грозный-Сити". Но Кадыров уверял, что она была приглашена. Он говорит, что ее напугали правозащитные организации, заявляющие о продолжающихся похищениях и пытках", — пишет газета, ссылаясь на заявление Кадырова, о котором сообщило Agence France-Presse.
Взамен на щедрость Кремль получил относительную стабильность в Чечне, пишет газета. "Официальная Москва предоставила Кадырову фактическую автономию, и он добивается соблюдения своих приказов, в том числе вводит исламистские стандарты, включая запрет спиртного и азартных игр, а также давление на женщин с требованиями соблюдения мусульманского дресс-кода", — говорится в статье.
"Они наслаждаются тем фактом, что являются независимыми и вдобавок получают щедрые денежные субсидии от Москвы", — заметил политолог Андрей Пионтковский.

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Putin’s Eye for Power Leads Some in Russia to Ponder Life Abroad

Yesterday, October 05, 2011, 10:35:08 PM | By SETH MYDANSGo to full article

Russians dismayed by Vladimir V. Putin’s plans to keep a grip on power are declaring their nonallegiance to a nation where, they say, corruption cuts off options for change.

World Briefing | EUROPE: Russia: After Televised Punch, Lebedev Is Being Investigated

Yesterday, October 05, 2011, 1:30:14 AM | By REUTERSGo to full article

The billionaire Aleksandr Y. Lebedev is being investigated for throwing a punch at a fellow entrepreneur on a prime-time television talk show, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Putin Pledges to Follow Gazprom Antitrust Inquiry

Tuesday, October 04, 2011, 2:50:25 AM | By ELLEN BARRYGo to full article

The Russian president was responding to last week's raids by E.U. antitrust officials on offices of natural gas companies, including Gazprom affiliates.

Former Yukos Lawyer Vasily Aleksanyan Dies

Tuesday, October 04, 2011, 2:50:09 AM | By ELLEN BARRYGo to full article

Vasily G. Aleksanyan, a Yukos executive and lawyer who was swept up in the politically tinged prosecution of the Yukos oil empire, died at his home in Moscow on Monday, news outlets reported.

Mourners Gather at Arena of Russian Hockey Team

Friday, September 09, 2011, 11:51:57 AM | By ELLEN BARRYGo to full article

Thousands of Russians gathered Thursday at the arena of a beloved hockey team that lost most of its players in a plane crash, while a political conference was held inside.

Russian President Warns Against Xenophobia

Friday, September 09, 2011, 10:07:49 AM | By ELLEN BARRYGo to full article

As parliamentary leaders prepared for fall campaigns, President Dmitri A. Medvedev said modern leaders must adjust to diversity and “not drag society along behind itself.”

Sukhumi Journal: For Abkhazia, Recognition Is Coming Piece by Piece

Friday, September 09, 2011, 5:30:47 AM | By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZGo to full article

Shunned by all but a handful of countries, Abkhazia is considered a global power among the spotted-tile enthusiasts of world domino competition.

In Russia, Harsh Remedy for Addiction Gains Favor

Tuesday, September 06, 2011, 3:23:05 PM | By SETH MYDANSGo to full article

Centers like City Without Drugs employ a detoxification and rehabilitation program that would be considered harsh by Western standards.

World Briefing | EUROPE: Ukraine: Protesters’ Camp Is Dismantled in Kiev

Monday, September 05, 2011, 11:56:15 PM | By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSGo to full article

Police officers in riot gear ripped down a protest encampment in Kiev on Monday, scuffling with supporters of Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed former prime minister.

Drug Treatment in Russia

Saturday, September 03, 2011, 3:51:33 PMGo to full article

As the number of drug addicts has risen in Russia, increasingly desperate citizens have turned to treatment centers employing regimens that would be considered excessively harsh in many Western countries.

World Briefing | EUROPE: Russia: Officer Charged in 2006 Killing of a Journalist

Saturday, September 03, 2011, 2:42:59 AM | By SETH MYDANSGo to full article

A former police officer was charged with providing surveillance information and a murder weapon to the killer of the prominent journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

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    Gunmen fatally shot a high-level law enforcement official, Magomed Murtuzaliyev , a day after three bombs killed at least six people in ...September 24, 2011 - By REUTERS - World / Europe

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Grozny Journal

Gleaming City Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide Psychic Scars of a War

James Hill for The New York Times

The newly constructed central mosque in Grozny, the once war-torn capital of Chechnya, frames a project of rising skyscrapers.

By SETH MYDANS
Published: October 5, 2011

GROZNY, Russia — A spectacular complex of high-rise towers was inaugurated Wednesday in what once was the war-torn city of Grozny, with banners and flashing lights and celebrity guests including Vanessa-Mae on the violin.

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A woman waited for a bus next to a wall scarred by bullets. Such traces of war are now rare in Grozny, with its newly built parks and broad avenues, fountains and flower beds.

The new Grozny City development is the centerpiece of a transformation that has changed the capital of Chechnya from the charred wreckage that was left after the wars of the 1990s and remained until only a few years ago.

In place of bombs and artillery, Moscow is pouring billions of rubles into a postwar Chechnya to support and mollify its chosen leader, President Ramzan A. Kadyrov, a former guerrilla who once fought against Russian troops.

The buildings look out from as high as 45 stories over an entirely new city, with parks and broad avenues, fountains and flower beds, and hardly a scratch to remind it of more than a decade of separatist warfare.

In place of the shattered and empty carcass that the war left behind, a sort of fantasy Grozny is almost complete, including a fairground and ice-skating rink and plans for a water park, a racetrack, a cultural center and a ski resort.

“They finally realized that the war cost more,” Andrei Mironov, who works with the Moscow-based human rights group Memorial, said of the Kremlin. “The Chechen regime looks like a winner who gets money from a defeated country.”

The binge of construction and the emergence of a bright new Grozny are extraordinary developments in a republic with hardly any economy of its own. Unemployment stands at 85 percent, said Lyoma Turpalov, editor of Groznensky Rabochy, an independent weekly newspaper. But Chechnya subsists on huge subsidies from Moscow that are not publicly accounted for, he said.

No matter how much the city is remodeled, however, the trauma of the war continues to torment its residents, said Taisa Isayeva, 40, a former journalist who now reports on human rights abuses.

“You are judging by all this beautiful architecture but not by the psychology of the people,” she said. “Everyone talks about the new buildings. For 15 or 16 years we all lived through war. We were just about ruined. Ninety percent of Chechens are psychologically sick.”

For all the superficial trappings of peace and prosperity, Grozny can still be dangerous. It has been brought to heel by Mr. Kadyrov’s strongman rule but its peaceful streets thrum with suppressed violence.

Police officers dressed in blue camouflage uniforms carry automatic rifles as they patrol the parks and coffee shops, the Academy of Beauty and Shoe Heaven, the pizza parlors and the tour agencies with posters advertising Mediterranean vacations.

Security was reported to be tight for Wednesday’s celebration, which also marked Mr. Kadyrov’s 35th birthday. Major roads were closed and there were reports that the police had gone house to house checking documents.

The Colombian singer Shakira denied in a Twitter message that she had been booked to attend the grand opening of Grozny City, but Mr. Kadyrov insisted that she had been and said she was frightened away by human rights groups that report continuing kidnappings and torture.

“Rights activists wrote a letter to Shakira telling her not to come to us, because the authorities here kill people, human rights are breached here,” he said in a statement reported by Agence France-Presse. “Only enemies of the people could write this.”

In return for its largess, the Kremlin has enjoyed relative stability in Chechnya in what is viewed in Moscow as a success for Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin’s policy of Chechenization.

The government in Moscow has ceded effective autonomy to Mr. Kadyrov and he is enforcing his own mandate that includes the imposition of Islamic standards, including a ban on alcohol and gambling and pressure on women to adopt Islamic dress.

“They enjoy the current situation,” said Andrei Piontkovsky, a political commentator in Moscow. “They enjoy the fact that they are independent, plus getting generous money from Moscow.”

Mr. Kadyrov and his men, many of whom have themselves come in from the forests, have succeeded in suppressing much of the insurgency, making Chechnya now one of the more stable republics in the restive North Caucasus region.

The epicenter of violence has shifted east to Chechnya’s neighbor Dagestan, where the independent Internet news site Caucasian Knot calculated that 315 people had been killed and 224 had been wounded in the first nine months of the year. The numbers in Chechnya were 81 killed and 103 wounded, a steep reduction from just a few years ago.

Grozny’s builders are upbeat. “Our city now is characteristic of a metropolis on the level of Moscow and St. Petersburg,” said the chief architect, Nasukhanov Shadid.

But for many of those who lived through it, the conflict continues.

Zarema Utsiyeva, 38, a journalism professor, said the loss of both her son and her husband continued to haunt her. “Each person has his own war inside,” she said.

A version of this article appeared in print on October 6, 2011, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Gleaming City Rising From Ruins Can’t Hide Psychic Scars of a War.

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A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics

Alexey Druzhinin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin during his dive to the bottom of a bay, where he retrieved ancient ceramic jugs.

By ELLEN BARRY
Published: October 5, 2011

MOSCOW — It was just a typical summer outing for Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin: Clad in a wet suit and fitted with an oxygen tank, he dived to the bottom of a bay and retrieved two ceramic jugs that dated to the sixth century A.D.

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The scene, captured by a camera crew and broadcast on the nightly news, cast Mr. Putin as a broad-chested Renaissance man, just the thing for his listless approval ratings. Scenes of Mr. Putin braving the elements — tranquilizing a tigress, tenderly feeding sugar to his horse or shooting a dart at a whale from a rubber dinghy — are a staple of political life in Russia.

There have long been suspicions that his exploits were not spontaneous. Still, it was remarkable to see Mr. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitri S. Peskov, surrounded by a panel of exceedingly skeptical journalists, trying to explain as delicately as possible that Mr. Putin’s much-hyped dive in August had been staged.

“Look,” Mr. Peskov said good-naturedly in the broadcast, which was released late Tuesday. “Putin did not find an amphora that had been lying on the bottom for many thousands of years. That is obvious.”

Especially one that had been cleaned to sterile condition.

“They either left them there, or they put them there,” he said. “This is completely normal. It is totally not a pretext for malicious joy and so forth.”

Mr. Peskov’s interview on Dozhd TV, a cheeky Web-based news channel, made this much clear: Mr. Putin is returning to the presidency in a country that has changed greatly since 2008, when he last held that post. After showy efforts to elevate his popularity, he appears to have stopped a slow decline in his approval ratings — now at 68 percent, their lowest point since 2005, according to the Levada Center.

But he has few levers to pull with influential urban elites, who are increasingly immune from the persuasive effects of social programs and government-controlled television.

Mr. Peskov knows the grumbling that is going on in the capital city, and he confronted it directly in his rare interview, saying, “We have some explaining to do.” Over all, though, his response boiled down to a hard demographic truth: Moscow may not like Mr. Putin’s return, but Russia does, and Russia is bigger.

“In Moscow we are often hearing the words, ‘Why is he coming back?’ ” Mr. Peskov said. “We frequently travel around Russia, and find the problems there are different than for those who live inside the Garden Ring,” which encircles the city center, “and who can allow themselves to spend two or three hours a day to write on blogs and social networks.”

“Sitting in Moscow, you might say: ‘It’s hard for me to breathe here; it’s stifling. I’m going to the banks of the Thames,’ ” he said later. “And there are people who are sitting concretely and saying, ‘Listen, if my taxes were three points lower, everything would work out for me and my dairy.’ This is what I mean — there are different levels of problems.”

The Kremlin has navigated between these audiences for more than a century. Lenin dismissed Moscow’s intelligentsia as “not the brain of the nation,” but “the feces of the nation,” whereas others have argued that Russia cannot be ruled without the consent of Moscow’s elite. Mr. Putin chose one thesis over the other in displacing President Dmitri A. Medvedev, who had soothed Moscow’s liberals with the hope that their ideas would take hold.

With that hope snuffed out, many have leapt to the image of Mr. Putin as a repeat of the Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev, whose 18 years in power became known as the Era of Stagnation. Mr. Peskov, who was clearly teed up for that question, said Tuesday that he saw the early part of the Brezhnev era as a positive model.

“People really are talking about the Brezhnevization of Putin, though this is being said by people who know absolutely nothing about Brezhnev,” Mr. Peskov said. “You know, Brezhnev is not some sort of minus for the history of our country; it is a huge plus. He laid the foundation of our economy, agriculture and so forth.”

His remarks rippled through Russian Web sites in the morning. By afternoon the editors of Gazeta.ru, an online newspaper frequently critical of the government, said they would be on the lookout for glowing television retrospectives on Brezhnev, whose leadership, they wrote, would be associated not with turgid ideology but with “stable, peaceful, gradual growth.”

“Putin returns to power as president of an essentially Soviet majority, living within commercial and political coordinates which differ little from the Brezhnev days,” they wrote in an unsigned editorial. “For this apolitical, paternalistically oriented post-Soviet crowd, the general secretary, president or leader of the nation (this must be underlined) — is the single hope and buttress.”

In the interview, Mr. Peskov gave little sign that his boss planned to change his personalized and secretive style. He said that the president and the prime minister were the only people who knew that the reshuffle would be made public on Sept. 24, and that he personally was “dumbfounded” to hear the announcement, having expected the leaders to wait longer.

“If anyone tells you he knew about it in advance, he’s lying to you,” he said.

Asked if Mr. Putin showed emotion after firing his longtime friend and adviser, Finance Minister Aleksei L. Kudrin, Mr. Peskov said no, “not a single muscle moved in his face.” Asked if Mr. Putin had started to use the Internet, he said “rarely.” Asked if Mr. Putin would allow media access to his two adult daughters, who have virtually never been sighted in public, he said no.

“He is the same,” Mr. Peskov said. “In some cases he has become more tolerant, in some less tolerant.”

Mr. Peskov’s comments come on the heels of a televised interview with Mr. Medvedev, who said he agreed to forgo a second term because Mr. Putin was more popular. Geared toward the narrow demographic slice that looks to the Internet for news, Mr. Peskov’s comments suggest that the Kremlin has serious concern about the frustration felt by urban elites, though he could not help sounding a little irritated as he cataloged Mr. Putin’s achievements to his interviewers.

“Was there a banking panic? There was not,” he said. “Was there a default? There was not. Did we pass our strategic industries over to the ownership of foreign capital? We did not. And did we lose our sovereignty, even a little? We did not.”

“We very much want to explain it to that group of people, for whom the most interesting thing is to sit in expensive restaurants, where there is not one free table left, eat expensive Italian food costing 1,200 rubles per plate and fret about the fate of their country,” he said.

A version of this article appeared in print on October 6, 2011, on page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: A Greatly Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at the Staged Antics of Putin.

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Изменившаяся Россия хмурит брови, глядя на путинские проделки

("The New York Times", США)

Эллен Барри (Ellen Barry)

В.Путин погрузился с аквалангом на дно Таманского залива

© РИА Новости, Алексей Дружинин

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Москва – Это была обычная летняя прогулка премьер-министра Владимира Путина. Надев костюм для подводного плавания и закинув за спину кислородный баллон, он нырнул на дно залива и вытащил оттуда два глиняных кувшина шестого века нашей эры.
В этой сцене, которую запечатлели кинокамеры, и которую показали в вечерних новостях, Путин в очередной раз предстал в виде широкоплечего и крепкого мужчины в самом расцвете сил – как раз то, что нужно для его вялых рейтингов. Подобные сцены, в которых Путин отважно борется со стихией – то усыпляя тигрицу, то нежно кормя сахаром свою лошадь, то стреляя дротиком в кита с резиновой лодки – стали штампом политической жизни в России.
Давно уже появились подозрения в том, что его подвиги не спонтанны. Тем не менее, было весьма удивительно услышать, как окруженный толпой сомневающихся журналистов пресс-секретарь Путина Дмитрий Песков пытается как можно деликатнее объяснить им, что широко разрекламированное августовское морское погружение Путина было постановочным.
«Послушайте, - добродушно заявил Песков во время передачи, которую показали во вторник. – Путин не находил амфор на дне, которые там лежали много тысяч лет. Это очевидно».
Еще и вычищенных до состояния стерильности.
«Их или оставили там, или положили. Это совершенно нормально. Это совершенно не повод для этого злорадствия и всего остального», - сказал он.
Интервью Пескова бесцеремонному онлайновому новостному телеканалу «Дождь» прояснило следующее: Путин возвращается на пост президента в стране, которая существенно изменилась с 2008 года, когда он покинул эту должность. После эффектных усилий по подъему собственной популярности он, похоже, остановил медленное сползание своих рейтингов, которые сегодня составляют 68%. По данным Левада-Центра, это самый низкий показатель с 2005 года.
Но у него мало рычагов воздействия на влиятельную урбанизированную элиту, которая все меньше поддается на увещевательные эффекты социальных программ и контролируемого государством телевидения.
Песков знает о том ворчании, которое звучит в столице, и он в своем редком интервью отвечает на это прямо, заявляя: «Здесь как раз нужно кое-что разъяснить». Однако в общем его ответ сводится к одной простой и неприятной демографической истине: Москве, может, и не нравится возвращение Путина, но России нравится. А Россия больше.
«Действительно, в Москве можно достаточно часто сейчас услышать слова «зачем он возвращается?» - сказал Песков. - Мы очень много постоянно ездим по России, и там совсем другие проблемы, нежели у тех, кто живут в пределах Садового кольца (которое окружает городской центр), и тех, кто могут позволить тратить в день 2-3 часа, чтобы писать в блогах и социальных сетях».
«Сидя в Москве, ты рассуждаешь: «Мне дышать тяжело, затхло тут, поеду на берега Темзы, - сказал он чуть позже. -  А есть люди, которые конкретно сидят и говорят: «Слушайте, мне бы налог на 3 пункта снизить, и я со своим коровником, все у меня получится». Вот я что имею в виду – это разный уровень проблем».
Кремль лавирует между этими аудиториями уже более ста лет. Ленин с пренебрежением относился к московской интеллигенции, говоря, что это «не мозг нации», а ее экскременты. Другие же утверждают, что править Россией без согласия московской элиты невозможно. И Путин предпочел один тезис другому, когда сместил президента Дмитрия Медведева, который успокаивал московских либералов, давая им надежду на то, что их идеи найдут подкрепление.
Теперь же, когда эта надежда погасла, многие ухватились за представление о том, что Путин это повтор советского лидера Леонида Брежнева, чье 18-летнее нахождение у власти стали называть эпохой застоя. Песков, который был определенно готов к такому вопросу, заявил во вторник, что на его взгляд, ранний период брежневской эпохи был положительным образцом.
«Действительно, многие говорят о брежневизации Путина, при этом говорят те люди, которые вообще ничего не знают про Брежнева, - заявил Песков. - Знаете, Брежнев – это не знак «минус» для истории нашей страны, это огромный «плюс». Он заложил фундамент экономики, сельского хозяйства и т.д.»
Его высказывания утром взорвали российские вебсайты. К вечеру редакция онлайновой Gazeta.ru, которая часто выступает с критикой правительства, заявила, что следует ждать ярких телевизионных ретроспектив о Брежневе, чье руководство будут связывать не с напыщенной идеологией, а со «стабильным, мирным, постепенным развитием».
«Путин возвращается к власти как президент советского по сути большинства, живущего в бытовых и политических координатах, мало отличающихся от брежневских, - написала редакция в своей статье без подписи. - Для этого аполитичного, патерналистски настроенного постсовка генсек, президент, вождь нации (нужное подчеркнуть) — единственная надежда и опора».
В своем интервью Песков не подал сигнала о том, что его босс намерен менять свой замкнутый и единоличный стиль работы. Он сказал, что президент и премьер-министр это единственные люди, знавшие, что 24 сентября станет известно о перестановке, и что он лично был «ошарашен», когда услышал данную новость, поскольку думал, что это произойдет позднее.
«Если вам кто-то говорит, что он знал заранее - он вам врет», - заявил Песков.
Отвечая на вопрос о том, проявил ли Путин какие-то эмоции после отставки его давнего друга и советника министра финансов Алексея Кудрина, Песков ответил «нет». «Ни один мускул не дрогнул на его лице». Когда его спросили, начал ли Путин пользоваться интернетом, он сказал, что премьер делает это «редко». На вопрос о том, разрешит ли Путин средствам массовой информации говорить с двумя его взрослыми дочерьми, которых никто и никогда не видит на публике, Песков ответил отрицательно.
«Он такой же, - сказал пресс-секретарь. - В чем-то он становится более терпимым, в чем-то более нетерпимым».
Комментарии Пескова прозвучали вскоре после телевизионного интервью с Дмитрием Медведевым, который заявил, что отказался от второго срока, потому что  Путин более популярен. Комментарии Пескова, адресованные довольно немногочисленной категории людей, которые следят за новостями в интернете, говорят о том, что Кремль всерьез озабочен тем разочарованием, которое испытывает городская элита. Правда, Песков не смог скрыть небольшое раздражение, когда начал в ходе интервью перечислять достижения Путина.
«Была банковская паника? Не было, - сказал он. - Был дефолт? Не было. Перешли ли наши стратегические предприятия во владение иностранного капитала? Не перешли. А потеряли ли мы с вами суверенитет, хоть частично? Не потеряли».
«И вот хочется обо всем этом рассказать тому самому социуму, который, что самое интересное, сидит в дорогих ресторанах, где нет ни одного свободного столика, ест вкусную итальянскую еду по 1200 рублей за тарелку и страдает о Родине».

Оригинал публикации: A Changed Russia Arches an Eyebrow at Putin’s Staged Antics

Опубликовано: 05/10/2011 16:08

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