Moskovsky Komsomolets
Putin reveals what it takes to become president
The Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works and several other large enterprises in the Urals joined the People’s Front ahead of Putin’s visit. The assembled workforce had a lot of questions for the prime minister, including what it takes to become president.
Putin visited the plant to attend the commissioning ceremony for the new cold rolling complex, Mill 2000. Thanks to what it produces, Russian-made refrigerators will be more rust-resistant while cars will weigh 30% less and consume 30% less fuel.
Putin pressed the red button starting the mill, and then talked with workers. One of the first questions was what the front will give ordinary people. “Political stability,” Putin replied. “Who is going to invest in a country that is shaking like a leaf?”
He said that stability does not mean stagnation or that people should stop working to strengthen democracy. He said that United Russia is often rightly chastised and some of its members “feel that everything has been provided for them by heaven” and are beginning “to bronze over.”
One worker complained about a decrease in pipe contracts. Putin reassured him: “We are building the ESPO oil pipeline, and we’ll also build its second stage,” and pipes are also needed for Nord Stream and South Stream.
He also said that fuel prices and mortgage loan interest rates would be lowered.
A single mother said she was struggling to pay back the 1-million-ruble loan she took out before the crisis and that her loan has been restructured, meaning that she will have to pay more interest.
Putin replied that the company's management and the governor, who were present, would help her out. “I am certain they will support you,” the prime minister said. This is not the first time he has made such personal assurances.
When another worker asked what it takes to be president, Putin answered that integrity is the key quality but one should also know how to take risks. He said he had made difficult decisions. “I sometimes thought – I’ll do this and what will be, will be. Pack up and go find yourself a new job,” Putin said, recalling how militants attacked Dagestan in 1999 and the authorities “could have spent months procrastinating in search of a better solution, waiting for elections, and fearing that our decision could hurt us because […] society was tired of bloodshed.”
“Yet it was clear – at least it was to me – that we would push the country into a tailspin unless we acted consistently and harshly,” he said. “Frankly, I thought that that was it.” But nearly everyone supported his decision.
He also mentioned his controversial comment about wasting enemies in the outhouse, and said how much better he felt when his friend said ordinary people agreed with him.
Putin concluded the session by talking about the country’s achievements, which should convince the new People’s Front members that they made the right choice.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Judges urged to free Platon Lebedev
Journalists and human rights activists in Velsk have launched a campaign to Free Platon Lebedev. They are gathering signatures in support of the former Menatep chief and Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s business partner and urging the local court not to mar the town’s reputation. Yukos’ defense lawyers thanked the locals and expressed their hope that Lebedev will fare better than Khodorkovsky.
Last week, residents of the town of Velsk, in the Arkhangelsk Region, where Platon Lebedev is being held, were asked to join a campaign for his freedom, which involves gathering signatures to back his release on parole and an appeal to the local court “not to tarnish the town’s reputation.”
“Everybody realizes that the case is politically motivated. Over the past eight years we have often seen the country’s top-ranking individuals and heads of law enforcement agencies exert a strong influence on Moscow court decisions,” the appeal’s authors say.
At the same time, nobody seems to have much reason to expect Velsk judges to rule on this parole request independent of the federal authorities.
“They send people here for a reason. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were transferred to their colonies as soon as they filed a parole request. I am certain this is no accident, it is a sure sign that they will not be released anytime soon,” lawyer Vitaly Losev told the local media.
According to Losev, no inmate in that facility has ever been freed on parole.
But the locals are not losing hope and are taking an active part in the campaign. By the time this issue went to press, the campaign website already had 500 signatures. On average a new signature appears every ten minutes.
Maxim Dbar, who heads the Khodorkovsky and Lebedev press center, backed the initiative in an NG interview. He expressed the hope that a court ruling would be based strictly on the law, rather than on directives issued by the authorities.
The current flurry of activity over Lebedev’s parole suggests he might be freed before former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
“Legally that is possible, since parole decisions are taken on a case by case basis,” Dbar noted. He added, however, that he would not comment on rumors and guesses and would view that scenario as a hypothetical possibility.
“I hope Platon Lebedev gets released early,” Khodorkovsky’s lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant noted.
The Yukos attorneys could not say whether or not a similar signature campaign is planned for Khodorkovsky in Karelia where he is serving time. Dbar said it would make more sense to start collecting signatures once the date when Khodorkovsky’s application is to be considered is made public. All that is known at the moment is that it was submitted to Karelia’s Federal Penitentiary Service. “But our mail service is famously slow,” Klyuvgant complained. “The date will only be set when the court receives the appeal.”
Kommersant
Jailed Georgian photographers confess to spying for Russia
Last Saturday, the last of three Georgian photographers detained on charges of spying for Russia confessed. Observers regard this as proof that the accused have concluded a plea bargaining agreement with the Georgian authorities that would mean they serve minimal sentences or avoid criminal liability altogether.
Meanwhile, their colleagues maintain their innocence and officials in the West also seem to doubt that the photographers are guilty. U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John Bass and EU officials expressed their concern over the arrests and urged Tbilisi to conduct an objective investigation.
The first of the defendants to confess was Irakli Gedonidze, personal photographer to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. On July 9, he admitted that he had been recruited by Zurab Tsutskiridze of the European Pressphoto agency, who has allegedly been spying for Russia for a long time. Then Tsutskiridze also confessed. On Saturday, Georgy Abdaladze, photojournalist for the Alia media holding company and a Reuters stringer, confessed to spying for Russia.
The photographers’ lawyers were baffled by the confessions.
“We went to the prison for a meeting with our client. Georgy Abdaladze told us that he is in no way responsible and will not admit guilt,” said Georgian lawyer Eka Beselia, head of the organization For Prisoners’ Rights. “But ten minutes later, when the investigators entered the room, he suddenly confessed. Then he began to tell us in detail how he gathered classified information and passed it on to Russian intelligence.”
The confessions by Georgy Abdaladze and Zurab Tsutskiridze have not been made public, but the photographers are alleged to have gathered classified information on President Saakashvili's trips and the content of his conversations with top officials. Abdaladze's confession mentions Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov's June visit to Tbilisi.
Observers agree that the confessions most likely stem from a plea bargaining agreement, although no such announcement has yet been made. In exchange for confessing to spying for Russia, the photographers would receive minimal sentences, suspended sentences or would be freed outright. They would face eight to 12 years behind bars if they had pleaded “not guilty.”
Meanwhile, a public campaign in Georgia to defend the photographers is gaining momentum. On Saturday, Georgian journalists held a massive telethon – at 7:00 p.m., the independent television stations Caucasia and Maestro (Tbilisi), Channel25 (Batumi) and Trialeti (Shida Kartli district, near North Ossetia) simultaneously aired a talk show about the photographers’ arrest featuring prominent journalists and politicians.
“We are following the case closely because we believe that the government has detained innocent journalists,” said Nino Dzhangirashvili, CEO and owner of Caucasia. “All we can do is tell the world and the Georgian public about the authorities' arbitrary rule. Our colleagues are counting on our support and we will certainly not let them down.”
RIA Novosti is not responsible for the content of outside sources.
