It's not where the money lies but the passion that makes a difference... sure if Putin didn't have had the oil money Russia would have been suffered a bigger blow.... but Putin's stance with the country would have rendered those difficulties obsolete...........So long as the oil/gas price stays high Czar Putin will be able to sustain his "avalanche of new spending".
In comparison his predecessor Yeltsin the "drunkard" was just unlucky with oil price then at around $20 per barrel.
Without petro-dollars all that popularity would have evaporated.
Too bad China neither has those billions of barrels of liquid gold, nor a patriot like Putin. Try to learn something from him, like how to have a much celebrated victory despite democratic protests. China can only dream of that.So long as the oil/gas price stays high Czar Putin will be able to sustain his "avalanche of new spending".
In comparison his predecessor Yeltsin the "drunkard" was just unlucky with oil price then at around $20 per barrel.
Without petro-dollars all that popularity would have evaporated.
Where I vote, an official takes my ballot and places it in the machine which scores it.Not unlike other western news agencies, BBC has posted a video at the following website:
BBC News - Video emerges claiming to show Russia ballot box 'stuffing'
I saw the video, I did see a person putting in several sheets of paper into the ballot box. Is that ballot box 'stuffing?' Could be, but then, I am not sure.
AK
49 minutes ago
They were arrested for trying to set up tents, not the protest per se (which was sanctioned).
One may argue whether setting up tents in central areas of cities should be allowed or not, but in Russia it is not and the protesters knew it. As illustrated by OWS, the UK and the US are both of the same opinion. This doesn't stop them from cynically slamming Russia for doing the exact same they'd have done in its place.
Incidentally, the detained have all now been released.
Russian riot police break up protest against Vladimir Putin's election win - Telegraph
jamese007uk
29 minutes ago
There no such thing as 'News' of course. It's all designed to fill our
heads with the desired effect. I'm sure there will be some US influence within the BBC pushing this!?
I'm under illusion, the world aint perfect, the human race is absolutely corrupt and is at war .. but this time in a war to win your minds and hearts. It's being doing this for years, but NOW we have TV to soak our heads with.
BTW, I don't pay the BBC license. I gave it up, cos' of all this selective political bias/propaganda.
PS - yes, it's a laugh isn't it!?, the BBC all of a sudden 'concerned' that the Communists didn't do too well.
Russian riot police break up protest against Vladimir Putin's election win - Telegraph
The Guardian, UK"more than 120 activists."
Results from Pravda including the total number of votes each candidate obtained.
With 99.5 per cent of the votes counted, Vladimir Putin has 63.71 percent of the vote, translated into 44.9 million votes. Second is the leader of the Communist Party, Gennadi Zyuganov, with 17.19% and 12 million votes. Third is the Independent Mikhail Prokhorov, with 7.86% or 5.4 million votes. Fourth - Liberal Democrat Leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky (6.23%, 4.3 million votes); fifth - Sergei Mironov, Just Russia candidate (3.85% and 2.7 million votes).
So, Putin gets 45 million votes in a landslide victory. Then, holds a victory rally with upwards of 100,000 people.
The story the DT leads with: 120 people are unhappy.
3 words.
"Out of Touch."
Russian riot police break up protest against Vladimir Putin's election win - Telegraph
Photogrammetrist
5 March 2012 1:16PM
I am no fan of Putin as what kind of president KGB agent can be (there is no such thing as ex-KGB), but ordinary russians like him as they never had it so good. There was no alternative, second in line was communist leader and if he would get to power, there would be no further democratic elections in Russia.
Elections were scewed (airtime on TV, coverage in press) towards Putin, but you cannot rig 15% of the vote. He won and I think these were the cleanest russian elections.
Btw, if ballot stuffing and "carousel voting" are (rightly so) examples of electoral fraud, shouldn't outright lying about after-elections actions (Lib Dems Student Fees) or pushing for policies that were not in manifesto (Torries NHS) also be type of electoral fraud? Because anyone can promise streets pawed with gold and after election claim that there is no money for that gold, so we will now be selling off the asphalt and dustroads will have to do..
Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say | World news | guardian.co.uk
Arapas
5 March 2012 1:18PM
Do not believe all the propaganda about vote rigging.
Putin has 99% support outside Moscow and St Peter.
As for the man stuffing the ballot box with seven papers, as seen on camera, he brought along his entire family's ballots, and suddenly it becomes "stuffing".
So much for having to say a good word.
Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say | World news | guardian.co.uk
jpnortham
5 March 2012 1:21PM
The Guardian's reporting on Russia is deeply flawed ("please send us your videos of election fraud")..
It accuses Putin and his supporters of dishonesty, but is it not a bit dishonest to call the election-monitoring organisation Golos
"the independent election watchdog"
Guardian staff must know that Golos is funded by the USA's National Democratic Institute (funded by the Department of State). And that the UK also provides funds to the Institute, as does Open Society?
And, irony of ironies, so too does the Kingdom of Bahrain:
Who Supports Our Work | NDI
Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say | World news | guardian.co.uk
Exactly. The opponents found some video and are making up stories, methinks:Where I vote, an official takes my ballot and places it in the machine which scores it.Not unlike other western news agencies, BBC has posted a video at the following website:
BBC News - Video emerges claiming to show Russia ballot box 'stuffing'
I saw the video, I did see a person putting in several sheets of paper into the ballot box. Is that ballot box 'stuffing?' Could be, but then, I am not sure.
Arapas
5 March 2012 1:18PM
Do not believe all the propaganda about vote rigging.
Putin has 99% support outside Moscow and St Peter.
As for the man stuffing the ballot box with seven papers, as seen on camera, he brought along his entire family's ballots, and suddenly it becomes "stuffing".
So much for having to say a good word.
Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say | World news | guardian.co.uk
Ya, agree with u that overall speaking, Chinese are not so passionate, not so patriotic. But in another perspective, unlike Russia, China doesn't need a strongman in a post-Deng era. In this sense Chinese politics is getting 'mature'.Too bad China neither has those billions of barrels of liquid gold, nor a patriot like Putin. Try to learn something from him, like how to have a much celebrated victory despite democratic protests. China can only dream of that.
But given what's going around Syria and Iran it seems ok with "liquid gold" to fund that ambitious budget, for a few more years??22 July 2011
Bloomberg
Russia may be able to balance its budget this year thanks to higher oil prices and a growing economy, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said after the surplus widened in June.
"We hope the deficit this year will be minimal, and perhaps we'll be able to make it through this year without one," Putin told a government meeting in Moscow on Thursday. The government expects deficits in 2012-14 and will need "strenuous work" to rein in costs.
The federal budget surplus surged to 640.2 billion rubles ($23 billion) through June, equivalent to 2.7 percent of gross domestic product, the Finance Ministry said Thursday on its web site. The surplus in June widened to 5.9 percent of GDP from 5.3 percent a month earlier.
Russia needs crude to average $115 a barrel this year to balance the budget, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said last month in St. Petersburg. It will average $125 for the next three years, according to preliminary budget parameters the Finance Ministry presented earlier this month.
"I would ask you again to minimize expenses that are non-essential, and state bodies need to take a balanced approach to their spending on state programs," Putin said. "We know what the forecasts are for 2012 to 2014, and it's not by accident that we're planning for a small deficit."
The budget, which usually sees higher spending in the second half, was in deficit at this time last year, Kudrin said at the meeting. The government is maintaining its forecast for a full-year shortfall of "just over 1 percent," he said, down from the 3.6 percent gap projected in the original budget plan.
What, and you call that democracy? Democracy is where you are in charge from the moment you are given the ballot till the moment you drop it into the box. Period. Anything else and you have defied your own definition of 'free and fair'.Where I vote, an official takes my ballot and places it in the machine which scores it.
Vladimir Putin on May 7 will once again become president of Russia after an hour-long inauguration. RIA Novosti takes a closer look at the official ceremony.
After having previously served two consecutive four-year terms of office, this time Vladimir Putin will serve a six-year term.
The ceremony takes place in and around three Kremlin halls. The actual inauguration passes fairly quickly. The symbols of presidential power – the standard, the president's official badge and a special copy of the Constitution usually kept in the presidential library between inaugurations – await the future head of state.
The ceremony will begin with an honor guard bringing in the symbols of the presidential office.
Putin will recite a brief oath on a red-bound copy of the Russian Constitution vowing to serve his country.
A 30-gun salute will be fired from the Kremlin embankment to mark Putin's inauguration.
Six Russian TV channels will be broadcasting the inauguration ceremony live. The broadcast will start at 11:00 a.m. Moscow time [07:00 GMT].
Source:MOSCOW, May 7 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) – Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russian president on Monday in a glittering Kremlin ceremony that took place less than 24 hours after protesters opposed to his rule had battled police in downtown Moscow.
"I swear on the power invested in my as president of the Russian Federation to respect and protect the rights and freedom of its citizens," Putin said, his right hand placed on a red-bound copy of the Russian Constitution.
Russia's nuclear suitcase was handed over to Putin immediately after his inauguration.
Putin's motorcade had sped through empty streets locked down by a heavy security presence on its way to the Kremlin State Palace, where some 2,000 guests had gathered to witness his inauguration for a six-year term. Those assembled included Putin's handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, and Patriarch Kirill, head of Russia's powerful Orthodox Church.
.
.
.