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Putin attacks democratic 'colonialists' in Russia
By Sebastian Smith
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com 04 26 07President Vladimir Putin launched a stinging attack on Thursday on what he described as colonial-style foreign support for democracy in Russia in what could be his final state of the nation speech.
"The flow of money from abroad used for direct interference in our affairs is growing," Putin told both houses of parliament in the nationally televised address.
"Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal affairs," he said.
Putin, who is due to step down in 2008 at the end of his second term, began the speech with a tribute to Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first democratically elected president, who died this week.
He also trumpeted Russia's booming, oil-fuelled economy.
However, the attack on what he called foreign interference in Russian politics stood out as a rebuke against Western critics who accuse Putin of having rolled back democracy during his seven years in power.
"It was in the colonial era that they talked about the so-called civilising role of the colonising states," Putin said.
Democratic slogans are being used "for one purpose: to gain a one-sided advantage, personal profits and to secure personal interests," he added.
The attack appeared to be a thinly veiled reference to Western support for small liberal forces opposing Putin's policies.
These include The Other Russia coalition, headed by chess legend Garry Kasparov, which was in the headlines earlier this month when riot police violently dispersed attempts to rally in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Putin also highlighted Russia's growing wealth.
"Russia has not only fully halted the fall in production but entered the 10 biggest economies in the world," Putin said to applause from both houses of parliament gathered for the annual televised speach.
The state of the nation speech was likely to be Putin's last before March 2008 elections when Russians will elect a new president.
Highlighting successes are seen as helping Putin burnish his legacy while preparing the ground for a chosen successor to take his place in the Kremlin.
Deteriorating US-Russian relations, particularly over Washington's plan to deploy a missile-defence shield in eastern Europe, could also feature in the annual declaration.
Washington and European capitals were watching carefully for any signs of retreat on Moscow's firm opposition to a Western-backed plan that would put Kosovo on the road to independence from Serbia.
All of Putin's major policy pronouncements are scrutinised for signs of his plans beyond 2008. Polls show many Russians would like Putin to stay on and his critics claim the ex-KGB officer will change or manipulate the constitution in order to do so.
Putin has consistently denied that he has any such plans. Nonetheless, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, Sergei Mironov, raised the possibility last month and suggested that regional assemblies discuss lifting the constitutional term limit.
This was the Russian president's eighth state of the nation speech. It had been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed because of Yeltsin's funeral.
AFP 26 0909 GMT 04 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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