this is understood is a form of etiquette for others it is a clumsy attempt at thought control. and today my guest in the studio is. present has appointed a new head of dealing with democratic institutions human rights experts say the weight nominee has enough experience. to fill the champ today the head of the presidential council on civil society and human rights will tell us about the first steps he's getting to take in the new position. of his well known on both the domestic and international scene of the. democratic mr was the minister of press

and information he was one of the authors of the medial censorship and freedom journalists after leaving this ministerial position mikhail was appointed the permanent representative of the russian federation to unesco. as a member of the council on human rights and culture of peace now he's to the presidential council on civil society and human rights. thanks for coming to the show congratulations on your appointment. as head of the presidential council of human rights was hardly a surprise to anyone but there was also mr lookin. you both come from the same generation he's also very well known too can you explain the difference between the two of you. that's what people are going to call you right. of with i hope not here

i mean the country only has one ombudsman and that's what demerol lookin. the difference between us is that my mobile phone was off all day today because i was working with torn alist so we were in a programme about the nine hundred ninety s. and even then i was telling them about the coming east party trial which i took poured in representing barry seal senator and then i got a call it was demur look when he told me that i was appointed head of the presidential council for human rights or to the city at the pulpit so the reason very big difference between us he knew bugged my appointment before i did let on to say he's your boss right he's above you in the hierarchy well he certainly knew north of the problem because he got on the internet weaker. but still there is a difference between you in jurisdiction and your functions certainly in this and

the position health and human rights envoy in the constitution mr lookin was chosen to occupy this position it's because i have to say that we are old friends i like and respect the man and i appreciate his contribution to the human rights cause in russia should i admire his position he has a stance of he's own no matter what position in the government he me occupy so he's the classic the kind every country is supposed to have what about you that i'm the chairman of the presidential council on human rights in the development of civil society. school i fail to grasp the difference. it's a very simple mr looking who are goes on with so many is based on a federal constitutional law the law states that he has to let the state zero when they were human rights are violated. so he can go to courts on cases over.

human rights violations at least one if you know the words he works with individual cases according to him in the. church so people write letters to him yes and what about your council there. are council he's an advisory body under the president the president he is the protector of constitutional and human rights and our councils job is to help the president exercise he's a constitutional authority in that sphere there used to be a presidential commission for human rights but now it no longer exists because it has been integrated into our council so no our council works both on human rights and on the development of civil society and i think that's a very a wise decision because you know take the environment protection for example but it is a problem of developing civil society. because it has to do with the development of social institutions the protected environment and i mean protectors

who will use various means to do want to protect our right for a safe and clean environment so there is a very close connection between human rights and the development of civil society. so if i understand you correctly the man has to make the president follow the human rights situation. help the president do that. you know the young man can't make anyone do anything. well and remind him of the situation with u.b.s. but not just the president the government in general or future including the president yes and you have to help the president exercise his authority. yes we have to help the president when i met with the president told him that i think the councils that should bear. collective advisor now what does an advisor do you say he gives

a good advice. the president has to be hearing this advice implemented and achieve a positive effect. on this position was. a woman from our generation very well known dignified and very liberal she resigned saying that she didn't fall into step with the authorities. she said she confronted the ruling party. she said in one of her interviews that the president was her only ally. that really happened. i think you know better than us because because you are good friends with. business certainly. ella was the first person i called after i found out about my appointment unfortunately her phone was off. we

still haven't talked which makes me very unhappy i have to say that. i had the position of the council's cheer for eight years eight years and this means she had a lot of resources to use in the battle for human rights. nevertheless i'm sorry but. when she left she said the human rights situation in russia was quite hopeless does that mean that she wore out her resources. in a way. you know human beings don't last forever. our capabilities are limited so naturally she just got tired. solving human rights and civil society is a struggle. there is always a resistance. but this resistance is not true and by specific people. it's

driven by wrong decisions mistakes that's what i've been fighting with throughout my whole life but the more mistakes of stupidity. if you and i'm going to continue to battle these things but it's not about me. i'm just the chairman of the council i'm not the council chief i'm not the minister for civil society on only the chairman yes. the council members. and there are over thirty people in the council and actually i'm hoping it will bring in even. though you preparing a route of escape for yourself right now in case the council fails to make progress under your chairmanship yes it's still going to be responsible to spawn going to be responsible yes what about your resources council members on my resources are you

going to change the council are you happy with the current lineup know there are some very worthy people there i've checked of course i will not change the current membership i'm very happy with it i think it's green but we currently have three empty cheers. at the first there is the cheer that he has to be occupied by a local. and then there is the cheer off and they'll lead to. a well known expert on culture and the restoration and then there is to cheer that belong to go routine journey or the film director. so these three seats are currently vacant so i think we will suggest to the president that he invited people that he considers worthy to be with to join the council see it going to expand the council do you have any candidacies in mind not yet well i would like to see at least three more people in the council but i have to stress once again

that i'm not the council's boss we are going to discuss these things collectively yes you said that but unlike mrs pedophila you also advisor to the president. does that help. does that give you more influence when you cool in at any time and say hello mr medvedev. well of course i can do that because he's the president and actually i don't know of any person who could just pick up the phone and say you did it. you don't know any people who might. know. but i have been told that if a presidential adviser calls the president then the president will definitely call him back within a day or two. and that makes my position very important because when you and i have to see that it was a problem for me. i was the one who initially proposed that the position of council

head and presidential advisor be held by the same person. but it's the president then told me yes but then he would lose a degree of independence. from that was true formally i would lose some independence. but i told him she said mr min that if you know me i'm a man of ideas but i'm not a man of formal position. whatever position i i i will advocate the ideas. that i personally agree with but i didn't see. you fight disagree i'll just come to you and see mr mid that if i disagree with the ideas you want me to implement they go against my personal views. except my resignation says the presidential advisors and chairman of the presidential

council for the promotion of civil society institutions and human rights spotlight we'll be back shortly after a break stay with us and. the close up has been to the cycling region where the biggest russian salmon caviar processing factories located. argy goes to northern paradise where many still live off the last. few days are being found to fight economic. issues first free elections. thousand years ago. welcome to the region russia close up. forty two thousand americans

die each year car accidents only a thousand. seven hundred thousand people. and thirty two thousand will kill themselves cancer in all its forms kills five hundred sixty thousand of us a year part disease is even more devastating it kills over eight hundred seventy thousand americans every year.

we are all going. to. welcome back to spotlight i'm al gore and often just to remind that my guest in the studio today is me how you'll fit daughter he is the newly appointed presidential adviser and chairman of the presidential council for the promotion of civil society institutions and human rights here in russia. mr tell me what do you currently see as your main goals you. know you as one of the heads of russia's

journalists' union card we know us the author of the russian role see i know you're proud of the law but will even more proud because it is probably the best law on media in the world the idea of that which one of the best in any case. is your viewers who would see you depends on the poll nevertheless the freedom of the press situation in russia is currently not the best in the world the law is the best but the situation is not is this what you are going to work on first and foremost. and you will you know it too will be my primary objective but i mean work and that is. what is your main goal that you're a man of ideas is there an easy fix as all of us would say the brought you to the kremlin. well it was an invitation that brought me to the kremlin it was not part of my plans to become the chairman of this council. but when i got the offer i

realized that i could be of use to the president and more importantly be of use to society. what i see is the main thing in you will be surprised you'll probably say i'm just thoughts ring words that have become. i see modernization as the priority by what i mean by modernization is the modernization of society the modernization of the relations between people modernization of the social system in general the modernization of politics the modernization of the human rights system and the modernization of the media industry and its current situation because i still don't understand why we don't have public television that also list countries that have correlates that have elections that every guard for human rights have a separation of powers all states that have the words rule of law in their

constitutions or almost all of them have public television and they don't have state television companies was it different in russia. i posed this question to the president one and a half years ago and i gave him a traffic bill on public television and radio broadcasting. and i hope now it will be easier for me to explain to the president just how important public television is for us to do you know how many people in russia broke their teeth trying to promote public television famous people people of authority popular influential people but still nothing well i've got good teeth. let's look at what people must go in a russian general have to say about their rights. was today. there today outside to find out from the people of this city to mine which right

there is a good deal get violated the transportation could be a bit of salaries not big enough really. the people from other places that live in my city they take jobs away from those who are from here to send prices up too high . salaries too small i can't buy an apartment that is a crime increase to the russian courts of justice where there will be health care system mali business country attacks is a too high it's very difficult for small businesses to get established. well that's the people in this city to say but the violation of that right now let's have a look at statistics according to two thousand ten survey bell about a sense that people are concerned about the full. senate two percent are concerned with rising prices fifty one percent with poverty unemployment thirty eight percent corruption thirty three percent here risen ten percent and only four percent are

concerned with q one rights violations so what's your comment on this why is there such a big gap why only four percent consent of the civil rights and freedoms of their. people don't trivialize the connection between human rights. laws by which they think human rights or something abstract they don't realize human rights are very specific as you mean high prices unemployment poverty corruption terrorism and of course want to high prices low salaries what is a low salary in violation of a person's run for adequate reward for his labor. so in effect seventy two percent of people concerned over the growth of prices know how to fight for their rights while the four percent who say they're concerned about human rights which i don't know what you're talking about is when you know that you're going to know the interesting cuban rights are an abstraction but actually they're not the business of unemployment for example on employment it's

a violation of human rights and poverty is a violation of human rights corrupt. it is a flagrant violation terrorism is the folly of persons right to work. there are all human rights but unfortunately our society isn't educated enough in this hero for human rights. or they mean teach them schools and institutes society does not accept human rights you know how the human body sometimes. medicine it's the same with our society our social organism is being told about human rights but it won't accept. you and president medvedev have found a common i'm sorry this is exactly what has me more than i asked the way people perceive social life. agree on modernization that

you've mentioned the soviet communist party trial that you took part in. you were talking a lot about the need to distill and eyes the public opinion in russia. based on what you've said about this i drew the conclusion that in your opinion it is the society that needs change. not the state. not the media. but the society itself. the people that we all think ready to change society is already in for change it is giving birth to change right now these so-called groups fighting against officials using on license. these things are generated by society so i know of several public commission in provinces like. the ball of the region recently these are all sprouts over the

future of civil society. and we have to support them with us. civil society. organizations it's made up of citizens and indeed every person in our society here realizes that he's a citizen of this country that he has his rights and his responsibilities and he's a member of this huge community called the russian people when citizens realize that it's up to them to decide what course the country will take and that day will be the day we begin an attempt to have a civil society that civil society will monitor government elfish rules and then government officials will change. in your opinion do you think you will have time to let the people influence the new law and police. i mean

it is a very important. extremely important and we are currently preparing for a meeting with the president during which you will touch upon the police and they judicial reform these things are interconnected you seen modernization implies in mordor in the traditional system more than police modern society and most importantly more than people with free and open minded people brady to compete with other use because we don't need to prove that our social system is the best we're done building communism fortunately. and as one of the participants so the communist party trial i can appreciate the progress that we're making you know. but i have to say that we're not done yet.

and i can appreciate it as a former builder of communism. thank you. thank you very much fabian with us and you speak english. next hour here in the studio that it's just to remind that my guest today was the title feedlots of presidential adviser and chairman of the presidential council for the promotion of civil society institutions and human rights that's it for now from all of us going to stay on our team and take it. every month we give you the future we hope you understand how to get there and want

to bring the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world to join us it's acknowledging update on our g.

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chavez once again puts the boot to the united states but offers russia for eternal friendship as the flamboyant latin american leader arrives in moscow on the first day of a state visit energy defense and financial affairs will be on the agenda when the venezuelan leader meets with president medvedev and prime minister putin. female politicians hitting the headlines in the u.s. under the right wing tea party banner but critics say conservatism with a feminine face is getting plenty of press for questionable reasons. hand in hand with hezbollah the iranian leader visits lebanon on a trip called deliberately provocative by the u.s. in israel they accuse president mahmoud ahmadinejad of seeking to launch a proxy war against israel through radical elements in the country but critics say israeli and american arms deals and military activity in the region pose

a greater threat. than the revving up not content with just staging the olympics sochi signed a six year deal to hold formula one motor racing giving it the checkered flag in the race to host russia's first ever grand prix. next debate with the gloves off our team's peter le vallon is across top gas discussed whether the concept of political correctness is necessary for normal most normal political affairs or just a nonsensical nuisance that's coming your way next.