Translated material
Sochi revelations
The President of Russia has been thinking about a successor for seven years
Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Sochi last Thursday, will stay at his Bocharov Ruchey residence until the end of the month. The program of his meetings promises to be more intense than ever. And the most important event of the “Sochi period” will be the Russia-European Union summit on May 25.The residence was thoroughly prepared for the arrival of the head of state: a new four-meter concrete fence was erected around the entire territory of the complex, and if previously “presidential” palm trees and cypresses peeked out from behind the old one and pleased the eye, now the gaze rests on a huge gray wall...
On Friday, the Russian President received his first distinguished guest - President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. The visit was short and was called a working visit. Typically, such negotiations in Bocharovo Ruchey end with a press conference or the so-called approach to the press, and the heads of state explain in detail what they discussed and agreed upon. In the case of Islam Karimov, whose visit was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the tragic events in Andijan, nothing like this happened. Journalists were given the opportunity to be present in the fireplace room of the residence, where Vladimir Putin met the Uzbek guest, only at the very beginning of the negotiations. Therefore, all information about the meeting was limited only to what the presidents themselves considered it necessary to report.
Vladimir Putin was brief. He said that he signed the law on the ratification of the Treaty on Allied Relations between the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan (the State Duma adopted it on April 21 of this year, and on April 26 it was approved by the Federation Council. - Ed. ), and emphasized that this is “a stage in formalizing the quality of cooperation between the two countries." Vladimir Putin noted the growth of Russia’s political contacts with Uzbekistan: in 2006, the speakers of both houses of the Russian parliament, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and “our other colleagues” had already visited Tashkent.
Islam Karimov burst into a flowery speech in response. It lasted so long that even Vladimir Putin’s labrador, Koni, could not stay in the owner’s chair for so long and began to walk among the journalists. And when the Russian president tried to catch his beloved dog by the collar, she deftly dodged and began posing in front of photo reporters, diverting attention to herself.
Mr. Karimov thanked Vladimir Putin for ratifying the treaty on allied relations and praised the document as “opening new pages and opportunities for both bilateral and multilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Russia.” The agreement, according to the Uzbek president, creates not only conditions, but also guarantees to ensure stability and security in the Central Asian region.
Islam Karimov further informed Vladimir Putin that in the first quarter of 2006, the growth rate of trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Russia amounted to 24.5%. The head of Russia replied: “Not bad!” But, according to the Russian side, the growth in trade turnover was slightly less - 21.6%. In total, in 2005, trade turnover between Russia and Uzbekistan reached $1.8 billion, an increase of 27.7% compared to 2004. This year it should exceed $2 billion. According to Mr. Karimov, there is a prospect in economic relations, and for this, as the Uzbek president put it, “we need to find operational solutions” to the issue of Russia’s presence in the market of Uzbekistan and increasing the efficiency of investment activities . And then he began to attract Russian investors.
“There are many states in the post-Soviet space that offer Russian companies their opportunities for privatization,” Mr. Karimov said confidentially. “But if you seriously analyze this, then there is nothing special to offer, everything has already been sold out...” But Uzbekistan is different from everyone else: it was in no hurry with privatization and retained the “tidbits” - strategic objects. So Mr. Karimov invited Russian entrepreneurs to become owners of “very many significant pieces of property.”
Later, the press service of the Russian president reported that Vladimir Putin and Islam Karimov, in addition to problems of trade and economic relations, discussed in Sochi the issues of Uzbekistan’s full participation in the EurAsEC, prospects for further political contacts and military-technical cooperation. We also considered issues related to the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the context of the upcoming summit in Shanghai on June 15.
Vladimir Putin started Saturday in Sochi with congratulations on the 15th anniversary of the first broadcast of VGTRK’s “Vesti”. On this occasion, executives and journalists of the television and radio company were invited to the Bocharov Ruchey residence, which over the years has become, as the president said, the largest television and radio broadcasting corporation in Europe, the product of which is used by 98% of the country's population. “This is a very important product for any society, but it is especially important for a country like ours, which is at a turning point in its development, and here every word matters for millions of people,” the head of state emphasized.
The meeting between Vladimir Putin and VGTRK journalists took place, as reported, “over a cup of tea.” It was actually an informal breakfast. In the press center of the residence, tables were arranged in the form of a large rectangle, and it was bursting with snacks. Breakfast lasted about forty minutes. After the head of the company, Oleg Dobrodeev, spoke about plans to launch a 24-hour news channel in July and then gradually switch to digital broadcasting, journalists took the opportunity to ask Vladimir Putin questions.
First of all, they asked how the message to the Federal Assembly was prepared. The President explained that the point of all messages is that, as he believes, each of them should be devoted to one or two topics that can be designated as priorities for the long term, for ten years. Now the most important topics are the danger of a technological gap between the Russian economy and the economies of the leading world powers and the demographic decline. Moreover, the last issue, according to the president, is “uniting the entire nation.” “What kind of country are we that cannot ensure the reproduction of ourselves?” - Vladimir Putin asked the journalists. The journalists did not answer.
Work on the message, as the president said, was not easy. First, he formulated to the leadership of his administration what he would like to say. But he was not satisfied with the draft document, and then Vladimir Putin simply dictated a point-by-point plan to the head of his administration, Sergei Sobyanin. Then ministers were invited to the president, and issues of financial support for initiatives were worked out. At the same time, disagreements arose that were not immediately overcome. The final decisions were made by the president himself. As for the “lyrical digressions,” as journalists called them, they, according to the president, were born directly in the process of presenting the message. That is, they were impromptu.
Of course, journalists could not help but ask the head of state about the large-scale resignations that occurred the day before in the law enforcement agencies - customs, FSB, prosecutor's office, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Vladimir Putin said that these resignations had no connection to the message, which also spoke about the fight against corruption. “When I was preparing the message, I knew that operational work was underway,” the president said.
Vladimir Putin was also asked a question about his successor. More precisely, about whether the president has identified the candidacy of the person who will run for the top post in 2008. He replied that he had been thinking about this since at least 2000 and that he had ideas about how the situation in the country should be structured during the upcoming period of transfer of power, so as not to “destabilize the situation, not to frighten people, not to frighten business.” Vladimir Putin assured that he will be responsible in fulfilling his duty “until the last minute of fulfilling the duties of the president of the country” and will never say: “That’s it, guys, I handed over my post, hello warm, whatever you want, deal with it.” And then he added that he has the right to express his point of view on this or that candidate and will definitely do so. But obviously not now.