Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (1952- )… don’t forget, he’s a black belt judoka… and that judo uses one’s opponent’s strength against them…
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On Friday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged his challengers in the presidential race to drop nationalist slogans, warning of the possibly “fatal” consequences of fuelling Russian chauvinism. At a meeting with World War II veterans in St Petersburg, Putin pointed up that a nationalist problem does exist in Russia, and that we should address it properly, saying, “Instead of proposing a solution to these problems… our politicians have started to exploit these difficulties” in order to achieve “selfish political goals. For a multi-ethnic country such as Russia, this behaviour can be fatal and lead to the destruction of the country”. Putin said this in response to a veteran who expressed concern over slogans such as “Russia for Russians” that he said have frequently popped up in Russia, including in the media. Vladimir Vladimirovich said that he believed Russia’s ethnic diversity was an advantage, “The broader and richer the genetic code is, the stronger the nation is”. The most obvious target of Putin’s remarks was Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the ultra-nationalist LDPR party, who will challenge Putin in the 4 March elections, along with three other candidates.
Meanwhile, critics say both Russia’s ruling élites and the opposition benefit from flirting with nationalist sentiment. On Thursday, Putin pleased Russian nationalists by proposing an array of robust measures, including stiff laws, to deal with the soaring numbers of illegal immigrants in Russia. The issue has long been a source of huge public discontent among Russians who fear being “overrun” by people from the former Soviet republics. Speaking during a meeting with the Federal Migration Service, Putin said that his friends told him, “In some large cities people are afraid of leaving their homes on holiday” because of the fear of “strangers”. Putin’s proposals come less than a week after he wrote an article on modern problems in a multiethnic Russia as part of his election programme. He said that migrants should respect the customs and traditions of regions they come to live in, and that the authorities should properly address any aggressive or disrespectful behaviour on their part. On Thursday, Putin proposed making exams in Russian, history, and the basics of Russian law mandatory for migrants from 2013, saying that would help them to adapt to life in Russian society.
27 January 2012
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/society/20120127/170986032.html
