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Studying Putin’s 15 years at the helm crucial to seeing future with confidence — Peskov

Understanding of where Putin succeeded and where he didn't and what has happened to Russia and to the world in 15 years is extremely important, the Kremlin spokesman said at a round table discussion
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov Artyom Korotayev/TASS
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Artyom Korotayev/TASS

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov believes it is important to comprehensively study and discuss Vladimir Putin’s fifteen years at the helm of power.

"The theme is simple, but it looks extremely important — fifteen years since Putin was elected Russia’s president. The date is too important to remain without a discussion, because without the understanding of where Putin succeeded and where he did not and what has happened to Russia and to the world during that period of time is extremely important for looking into the future with confidence," Peskov said as he opened a round table discussion at TASS on Tuesday.

Peskov thanked the organizers: the TASS agency’s research center and its chief Semyon Sorkin.

Peskov said that the public opinion studies fund FOM has drafted a special report — a sort of a curve that shows changes in the dynamics of various processes — (Putin’s) popularity and confidence (Russian people have) towards Putin.

"There has emerged the idea of projecting these curves to other parameters — various international events, the growth of the conflict potential in the world and the Russians’ attitude to various processes and to make an evaluation of these trends," Peskov said.

Among the participants of the round table discussion are head of the public opinion fund FOM Alexander Oslon, former finance minister, leader of the Civic Initiatives Committee Alexey Kudrin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, president of the All-Russia Union of Insurers Igor Yurgens and others.

"By and large they are people who throughout the fifteen years been involved in all processes and are in the position to pass judgement and offer evaluations and forecasts," Peskov believes. He also welcomed the media who "since the early 2000s have been in the presidential pool and were able to get a deep insight into how Putin worked, what he did, what decisions he made and why."

Putin was for the first time elected Russia’s president on March 26 by collecting nearly 53% of the votes. In the 2004 election he received 71.31% of the votes, and in 2012, 63.6%.