The United Russia (UR) party announced on Thursday that it would not delay the nomination of Vladimir Putin as a presidential candidate. This will be done late in November, during the second stage of the congress, Boris Gryzlov, president of the UR Supreme Council, reported on Thursday. Speaking at an investment forum on Thursday, Putin himself spoke about the need for changes in the economy and the policy of the country, which, in his opinion, should go on in an evolutional way. Analysts are warning against the danger of stagnation.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta reminds that UR announced at its recent congress that it was going to support Putin’s candidature at the coming presidential elections. The official nomination did not take place, however. It will take place late in November, when the UR congress continues its work. “It is quite probable, that the second stage of the UR congress, which is to nominate Putin as a presidential candidate, will be held prior to the elections to the Duma,” Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Putin does not show any special activity. He does not stage major public events before his nomination. If he makes a report, he speaks rather carefully, without bright rhetoric, which is his hallmark. The Thursday forum, entitled “Russia is calling,” is a typical example of it. Speaking at the forum, Putin agreed with criticism against the Russian political system. “We have an open society. People openly express their opinion of how our political system should be organised. Much of the criticism is well-grounded,” Putin agreed. At the same time, he urged to be careful about the criticism. “Changes are necessary, and they are sure to take place, but it will be an evolutional way. We do not need great upheavals. We need the great Russia,” he added. According to Putin, the Russian authorities “will act most carefully, when consolidating and developing the fundamentals of the political system.”
Putin, who is going to run for presidency in 2012, agrees that changes in the economic and political spheres are necessary, but they will be introduced by way of an evolution, Vedomosti writes. “It is obvious that economic and administrative risks should be minimized, if we want investments in Russia to be both prestigious and profitable. The predictability of the political course and political stability are needed as much as macroeconomic stability,” the newspaper quotes Putin as saying.
Actually, it is all the same to Putin how successful UR with Dmitry Medvedev at the head will be at the elections, Vedomosti quotes the words of Gleb Pavlovsky, a political scientist. In his opinion, Putin has no intention to withdraw to the back stage. All the main electoral groups are often reminded of his presence. In fact, he has started his electoral campaign already.
September 24, 2011, may be well regarded as the day, when the political life in Russia came to the end, Vedomosti stresses. The opposition and pseudo-opposition inside and outside have been liquidated. The apparatus, the institutions and market personalities are under control. There is no one to fight, and there is no reason for fighting. The problem of power, which was the central problem during Putin’s rule, has been resolved at last. The political agenda of Putin has been completed. There is neither an intrigue, nor incentives, nor, by all appearances, a clear plan of action in it. The task for today is to maintain the rating on the present level and to stick to the protocol.
The newspaper points to the overall feeling that we have reached a deadlock. In fact, one can do nothing at all, only maintain the status-quo, comprehended as senseless vegetating. This is movement by inertia. It is not accidental that members of Putin’s team are often heard praising the period of Brezhnev’s stagnation.