this is all a tease of russian presidential election coverage live from moscow prime minister vladimir putin declares victory in his bid to return to the kremlin for a third time as russia's president almost all the ballots counted results so far show him winning sixty four percent of the vote. for him monitors crazy elections as fair and free after all unprecedented measures are taken to ensure transparency a massive network of web cameras were installed at the polling stations across russia thousands of observers monitoring the vote. for the opposition claims

serious electoral violations saying they'll be bringing people out onto the streets once again to protest against the results of this and independent observers have cited irregularities such as people turning up to vote different polling stations several times. the next people are brought in his guests discuss international reaction to russia's election and a special edition of lottie's debate that's crossed. over to the. technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've got the future covered. in.

a low and welcome to a special edition of crossfire computer without decision two thousand and twelve russians have gone to the polls and chosen a new president how is this campaign change politics in russia what does it say about the voters and what does the future hold for the political opposition. in. libya. ok to cross-talk first results of the election i'm joined by eric wahlberg in toronto he's an author and journalist and writes about russian affairs and our weekly in cairo in brussels we have gilbert doctorow he's an independent scholar and author of great post cold war american thinkers on international relations also here in the studio with me is yon hell of a he is the managing partner of the law firm hell of a klein and who served and author of all his art on democratic competition all right gentlemen crossed out rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you

want held you've been writing about russian politics for a long time how is this campaign change the the climate environment of russian politics. well i think we have seen a very big change in russian politics because political has come alive again. first when putin came to power in two thousand there was so huge crisis which he managed and everybody was more or less the my dream and what he was doing so there was no discussion. for it for just a second. during may diverge of spirit inside there came so i mean issues came up but there was no dialogue from the other side he was the other side from the other side who is the other side well that's a very difficult question because in this presidential elections we have actually seen two campaigns. sametime two races one has been the russian presidential elections forth between the two candidates and the second half has been attempting

to discredit. presidential elections to do. them and here a lot of people would say and i'd like to go to eric about that a lot of people are trying to give some eyes to not necessarily the election that hasn't happened in as we're sitting here right now but you know sixty three percent of the vote i mean did western media get it wrong or did the russians get it right well i think that putin benefited very much from the last three months it's very reminds me of what's been happening in egypt where the. where the riots in december in january who knows who actually was responsible they ended up. pushing people towards a more conservative position and that meant the moderate muslim brotherhood benefited greatly because they were provoked and just the same idea i mean there are going to be so many different words i mean at the silent majority came out and

voted is that what you're saying. yes and also people were voting for what they saw as their interest and in both cases i think it's people are worried about stability and are worried about corruption and i think that this will make or break the next four years if it is put its center stage to go against corruption we now have transparent elections we've got the same thing happening in egypt the muslim brotherhood and the salahi's say we've had enough of this corruption and we also now have transparent elections so i think it's very interesting to compare the two cases ok and i can go now to brussels to gilbert doctorow gilbert i mean how do you see this election here because i watched western media very closely and they did try to discredit this election and the russian people in the process because they actually went to the polls turnout is very very good and they made their voice clear how were they going to western media to deal with this now. well i don't

think the level of plurality of london reporting will make any difference on the reporting in the western media they've already prepared themselves well in advance and within the context of an ongoing and heated up information war between russia and the west it's a war that's not of russia's choosing but it's being imposed and i think the most recent example of how this plays out came the. yesterday and the day before yesterday when six of the leading editors in chief of the world daily newspapers in toronto in tokyo in frankfurt and paris were invited to two routines. country russia for what should have been a trauma offensive and then there are the transcripts of their meeting made it plain that none of them prepare themselves for the meeting except the japanese and they came exactly to hector and to lecture. on democracy the that

the newspaper articles which followed and particularly the one in toronto was simply a plus teach of every anti russian stereotype that's been in the air for the last twenty years ok and you are going to see a situation like that there's no way that the russian elections are going to find a fair play in the world media you were scoffing at they were agreeing with what we just heard there i must carry agreeing the end and the idea that there was the west . working to teach a democracy to russia because in fact it with. as little interesting in development of a new democracy in russia as the were in finding a paper so massive destruction in iraq all aim to weaken the target country. ok eric i mean i think it's interesting and i don't want to i don't want to dismiss the opposition here the liberal opposition because i think they enrich the election i think we have

a political conversation in russia now that we didn't have for plus twelve years i think it's very healthy i mean there is turning into a cot hey i'm here to do there's a competition coming here of ideas which is very very important for russia and i think it advances its democracy. yes it's very good the the debate that's taking place now and i think again if i can make the parallel with each of. you know that there were. n.g.o.s arrests americans who were arrested and they only left a few days ago the egyptians and this united egyptians across the spectrum from the mubarak i. right through to the army and the muslim brotherhood and even the liberal opposition were fed up with the attempts to bring democracy to egypt because people realize that's not the goal the goal is to keep egypt part of the american empire as a subsidiary and

a weak element and the same is what the west is trying to do with russia i make the point in my book post-modern imperialism that these countries like europe the european union japan all these countries are subservient they're called the so-called post-modern states they no longer neutered they no longer have foreign policies they do with the u.s. asked them to do and russia was supposed to become part of this club this subservient club and join egypt join let the poland and it's refused to do that and so anything that happens in the russian elections in a matter of god an honest eighty percent that would just be scoffed at and dismissed because. russia is not playing by the scenario that the u.s. has for the world today given what do you think about that and russia is not russia is not playing by the rules go ahead gilbert jump in i want to put a date on the phenomenon that we just called out from a date is february two thousand and seven and that was the the speech live good

interview to the president through the munich security conference i remember it well. what he said of the policies which verd largely are repeated in his february twenty seventh. paper. in a changing world. so there is a considerable consistency there is also enormous consistency in the u.s. led response to it which is the information war that i mentioned a few minutes ago it's precisely contesting the world or us dominated new order that is led by one man cleverly mcclinton and so the the western response is very personalized ok and he turned from time magazine man of the year to through sar putin in a matter of months he hates it you know it's very interesting i mean i always find western media looks at it russia is being very simplistic here but if you listen to the opposition's

a lot they have some interesting ideas about political reform here and the political elite here is responded to i mean there is a dialogue going on here but you don't hear that in western media because it makes it more complicated doesn't it well i don't think that the western governments are interested in developing development of democracy in russia but what is really a horrible thing is that the western media really isn't because they are not at all interested in looking at the issues they have a very strong anti putin and therefore anti russian again and the only discuss the issues that they are in favor of this and i put an agenda well i mean it's a they don't want to listen to the russian people because i do the russian people been lied to they're fools i mean it doesn't make any sense to me well the russian people for western media are fools they show total disrespect for russian people and their choices ok eric it's really interesting to me is that even

the political opposition in russia myths that vladimir putin is the most popular politician so how do why doesn't that translate into more logical coverage of russia you think. well it follows the this is the fact that the media in the west it's an embedded media very much like the media that went into iraq following the american invasion and the you can't get into the mainstream media unless you play by the rules of empire this is the great tragedy of the collapse of the soviet union before that there was a more lively mainstream media in the west where there was an opposition to the empire the empire had to respond there was dialogue the empire has no dialogue it talks to itself now and. it's got a cheering gallery which the globe trotting new york times these are all cheering cheerleaders it's very sad to see that and it's very interesting for me as

journalists the where i get coverage and where i can publish it's on the internet or it's on in an arab english language paper where i where i have more freedom of expression than i do in the mainstream media it's very sad that there's no dialogue going ok before we go to the break here do you think anyone's going to call that a mere putin congratulate him from the west. formally yes that's that's protocol but don't look for substance on those good wishes ok with you on what you think about that before we go to the break yeah i don't know about protocol but i don't think that david even want to do it for a protocol because the west that if the governments and the so-called n.g.o.s which are these pressure groups and the western media they are very disappointed with the elections of the of the russian the choice of the russian people all right gentlemen we're going to go to a short break and after that short break we'll continue our discussion on the outcome of the presidential election here in russia state party.

i'm sure old guard you've got a story around about this crazy lady with a convertible. proof that every time she. was on death row for nineteen years. like that because my. society has condemned these people as less than human it is necessary to punish everything we do to punish crime is unpleasant. but it needs to be done nobody wants to be

linked to the nazis but the historical antecedents of the american death penalty today come in large part from the nazis and the sad part is they take this gets their way and they execute him i won't be allowed to touch him until after he's dead he's. anytime i leave the house. he keeps telling me they can't hear me and they are because it's all cinderblock concrete but i still honk everytime i go by. i won't be there i will not witness for killing myself wealthy british scientists are. sometimes like.

markets why not. come to find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report on r.t. . and you can see. the. welcome here also i'm going to go to my two were talking about russia's new

president. and his. sister did. not go back to you in brussels what do you expect in the next six years the next putin administration. well peter i don't think i have to guess too hard because i've spent the last few days reading the seven papers of libyan reporting published in the various russian newspapers in the over the last month about one hundred fifty pages in which he outlines his vision of the problems that said the task the challenges facing the new the new administration and sets out some very specific and very well thought out proposals this is a unique situation it's just very very sad that the western public being guided or misguided by its media is totally unaware that mr putin stands for anything. he

certainly does and i found it fascinating to see what he was proposing through borrow in terms of best practices from europe from germany in particular and areas of educational policy in areas of health care i found the festering to see his interest in borrowing the best of soviet tradition in the area of high culture and bringing it into the digital age so the man has the man his team because it's clearly a team that produced those one hundred fifty pages have done a great deal of thinking about where they want to take russia air to find out to you and this is the first i'm glad i'm here putin is ever done something like this and running for president this was his third attempt i think the opposition played a role in that and mixing the conversation that i've used before about having a dialogue do you think that had something to do with his seven papers that came out. most definitely i think that putin it my impression is that i don't know if this is true or not that he was

a little bit lazy towards the end of his first presidency and i think this dialogue that has been forced upon him or maybe he may be actually provoked it i have a sense that he wants to see the electoral process after him to be open transparent and he wants to have a stimulating political environment so i think that the dialogue with the opposition has been very good and i think it's also very positive that the communist seven crease their support people are looking back to the soviet heritage they see there's a lot of very good. qualities in terms of culture in terms of social welfare and i think these will now be part of his domestic policy and i could just say a word about his foreign policy i did this will be very important in the u.s. is pushing very hard to try and use hard power to how the world into meeting its agenda where is russia no longer has this ability and instead it's working with

people and with other countries there is dialogue again it's not the empire shouting at people it's a multilateral. situation now where russia is working with other countries china in the c.e.o. with the eurasian union that's coming in the international criminal court to kyoto protocols this is the way to build your allies and to have influence i think russia is much more influential now than the u.s. because of its use of soft i want to talk about for a plus a little bit more but you don't you think the opposition is going to want to talk to putin over the next six years. i don't think so. because they're maximalist in their approach rule. first of all we had a problem with the definition of what's the open opposition but that i would call the opposition now this people who organized the protests and they are not

interested in any kind of day in dialogue or debate that they didn't engage in one they had only one message and that they were trying to convince the words that the russian elections where fraud and would be fraudulent and they're trying to convince that putin is pre-press able to return. person to which he is not at all ok eric i think it's very interesting is that if the opposition doesn't want to talk to putin putin can just co-opt their agenda very easily. well well i think it's not just the dissidents it's looks to me a little bit like the situation in it's late soviet period where you have a small core of very loud this it it's that are supported by the west they get all the press and that get perhaps even funding from the west i don't think that's the only opposition i again i go back to the communists there are strong opposition force and i think that putin is going to co-opt some of their agenda and even the liberals to the extent that they want to clean up the economic system and to cut

down on corruption i think those are elements of the opposition's agenda that i see will be co-opted i hope so i think this will make or break points presidency can he make a dent in the corruption of the past twenty years ok gilbert i look like you want to jump in there go ahead you had cliques you had a little bit more complex when we're talking about co-opting the positions of the opposition in a way these are these positions we're already into separated by the fairness by the government team you don't come out with a legislative program to restore self-government to restore the election direct election of governors and mayors. related matters that were the reasons and the cake of the non-systemic opposition you don't come up with those from one day to the next they clearly were in the desk drawers of of officials in the kremlin.

this. civil awakening was that clearly anticipated by those in power to get you on your green yes i agree and if i also would come back to your initial question what i wake from the. presidency first i have to answer to use that the first part of his presidency was and he could not after. democracy s.t.c. and west but he took over after a criminal anarky total anarchy and he very systematically and pragmatically. created the fundament so given a person in twelve years which is a hundred years seen in twelve years hundred years of your western experience in twelve years now putin can go forward and i think these elections we are today tomorrow we were recalled to the modern russia and putin can then start really to

be the modern reformer that he always wanted to be ok eric you know one of the things that people are going to jump in go ahead ok i just wanted to the point about. direct elections of the governor is i think this is something that is only now possible without creating more chaos because when you had the very strong oligarchy the direct election of powerful officials in the regions would have created a situation of disintegration and of creating five times and. so it's a really to to reintroduce this governor ridge through elections requires a strong control over the very very powerful oligarchy that are still clay you know you know eric you know you're a journalist can you answer a question for me why don't more people know that in the general public there was a very good explanation why the electoral process was changed in russia why has

media of ways maybe assistant failing if it's about horses or interventions or foreign elections go ahead. well it's because it's the same very much the same situation in the west there are strong economic forces that control it's a poly arche it's not a democracy in the united states or in canada it's a it's an economic elite that changes reshuffles the deck a little bit among themselves and keep people happy by having regular elections that look transparent but there really is no democracy there it's money that controls the entire economic process for specially in the us and with the elections and i think this is what the u.s. wanted to see happen in russia and putin put a stop to this thank god after the anarchy of the yeltsin years and i think the the attempts now and this is again going back to egypt the revolution happened

in egypt very much because it became. kind of. a parody of the u.s. system where you have a tiny economically powerful elite that just controls all the political system so i think that this is a very important point that the media cannot pick up on because the media is part of it it's a cheerleader for the poly arche ok gilbert how is the west going to deal with putin at the end of the program i asked if anyone is going to gradually putin i mean russia is a force to be reckoned with i mean you can't ignore it on the international stage you do if you do you do it peril and i agree with you life will go on they will continue to have a stable relationship but the up a sphere is not a good one he's clearly not the united states and its closest allies wanted. they will have to learn who in the world did they want in russia and never got my head around that a communist

a nationalist. ok yawn you want to jump and go ahead you're on a board anybody else but not put in because. if a condom if took a minister than a would have come in in power he would have been there for one or two years and then it would break up again so do you just want a very russian and a weak person and for russia but we've run out of time gentlemen to see where the rest of the count goes many thanks my guest today in brussels toronto and here in the studio and banks who are viewers for watching us here already see you next time and remember rostock will. take you straight.

to the. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered.