a very warm welcome to you from all of us here at r.t. moscow i am with you on this historic day lot of me putin now officially russia's president we saw him sworn in for a third term during a grand ceremony at the kremlin he will now hold the post for the next six years. you were inside the kremlin the jury the inauguration i think people of el coined the phrase earlier on this morning by saying a lot of pomp and circumstance certainly an impressive inauguration in st george's hall as i understand it you were there how was it fact it was in several holes but i was lucky enough to be in send george's hall with a little more than a thousand guests there overall understand the three thousand guests were there including some of the a piece from the military from religious fair sportsmen actors i mean you just name it just all of russian elite was there rubbing shoulders with him was certainly

some exquisite experience the whole inauguration process was quite fast it took less than an hour the whole thing from the beginning to the end first we saw on the life pictures on the television sets in this and george's hall how put in the was travelling from the government building to the kremlin through cordoned off streets of moscow with some amazing simply amazing area aerial shots it's the first time we've seen some novelties high technologies of the television of the way it was filmed then we saw them both entering the kremlin building then it is interesting to see because medvedev looked a little maybe nervous or even sad at times while they would put in was doing it for the third time so he looked calm and collected very cool he just walked in just with so many applause so many people chanting his name in the hall probably be happy that he is being reinstated here as the president for the third time in russia then he took the oath which is only thirty three words long that is three

words shorter than the oath of the american president i believe we can listen to his oath. you know it's as always just killed a jew cheese of the president of the russian federation i swear to protect and guaranteed rights and freedoms of our citizens to observe and protect the constitution of the russian federation to protect the sovereignty independence and territorial integrity of all state of its people faithfully so you can see how calm and collected led him to put in was during the this very nervous moment pronouncing this oath just twenty minutes after the official part of the united nations finished the hall where we stood was practically empty because all of the guests which included the former prime minister silvio berlusconi the former german chancellor gerhard schroeder and many many other guests as i said v.i.p.'s went to a dinner i was said and lucky to be there but i've heard some really tasty things

on the menu there like black caviar style scallops lots of wine expensive champagne so clearly there was a big party and celebration there but certainly the party is over now and still lots of work ahead for what it would. have been some names in attendance to take precedence over you for example gorbachev was yeltsin's widow was a big old old shorts and he was also there as well so better luck next time. thank you. well know there is still a lot of work ahead. he won a large majority to return him to power but it wasn't without the excuse me was and with me the backing of everybody that's not crossed over to our correspondent and he said now we're just outside the kremlin for us and and he said you heard me talking about the opposition here just how much opposition has putin been facing in the lead up to the. well just on the eve of this inauguration we saw for the first time a protest movement which began as one for free and fair elections after

a vast claims of fraud in the doom of december we saw some violets now so far the movement tended to be growing although it has to be said after the winter it started to. a little bit of steam but sunday was the first time that we saw any kind of violence in the movement which so far has been not only peaceful but quite festive as times but when it comes to putin it usually tends to be pretty black and white you're either for or against anti or pro there's few people that will argue with that few people who are on the line and really see things in a balanced way but one thing that a lot of people agree on is that if we wouldn't want to see any success in this third term he's going to have to make some changes. he's back for an unprecedented third term after a break as prime minister and many say russia will need to see putin two point zero any data he's been in power for five six seven years in

a difficult position because people get used to him and the taken for granted he has to then reinvent himself putin has made the promise i had of the poll he proposed vast reforms from a major crackdown on corruption to diversifying the economy and raising living standards is going to still exist students next term will be the one that forms his legacy as a politician in russian history and i'm sure it will be a positive one. but the people to be convinced most are the opposition who gathered in the largest numbers russia has seen for decades after claims a vast front in december's duma vote and clashed with riot police on the eve of a new and you're a suit. he needs to set out for reform and not a reform on paper but something real something that both the opposition and you know the regular people not just in moscow but all throughout russia can see that this

is really putin two point zero the most popular politician no doubt has a majority of support across russia and is credited with extraordinary development in the country. but putin leaves few people in different at home and abroad it usually comes down to love or hate but i don't think that everything that putin has done is defensible or by a by a very wide stretch but there are some people who argue in such transparent bad faith that it's you know it's impossible not to notice that it's just it's a person it's a personality thing in the west he's seen as harsher than me specially on foreign policy which could prove to be a challenge on issues like the reset with the u.s. and pushes for intervention in the middle east but on the economic front analysts have already sense to change at least three key issues to entry profit isolation investment climate reform we see. putin changing his.

emphasis and direction on particular issues in a way which corresponds with a political shift a shift that is most evident on the web russians have never been more active in politics blocs twitter facebook or something putin will have to embrace if he wants to stay in touch you have to participate otherwise you'd be excluded and you would have the other russia which talks its own language and the president will talk his language leaving the question now that he's back can putin move forward. you know many people are saying that the protests we saw on sunday where violence did break out but it was all due to a few provocations which led to violence and arrest and then today inauguration day we saw protests very small it should be said some even as close as just across from the kremlin online yes where where we're standing there were a rast about one hundred twenty people arrested throughout moscow on inauguration

day one thing certainly is clear rory that people are really really active in what's happening in russia and to talk more about this trend joining me is fred ware from the christian science my. winter fred. never before have you seen so many people involved in russian politics where do you stand on what how do you make what do you make of all this it is long as i've been living in this country which is about twenty six years. people have been saying we want to be more like europe and in the last few years as i cover russian offensive in my newspaper i often get angry mail and criticism from people who say it's just your western double standards and your russophobia you don't see that we already are several istic democratic country much like a western european one and then you get a whiff of european politics and everybody panics i don't see anything out of the ordinary here what is happening is that that facade that. you know that

pretends that all the russian people are united behind their leader is breaking down and it's breaking down and not in the healthy way it's true yesterday i spoke at the rally they were mostly overwhelmingly peaceful citizens who were out to express themselves sometimes you know sharp european style opinions but. peacefully and there might have been a few. people who imagine themselves as leaders of the revolution or something who provoked but it must also be said that the russian police haven't seen your face way of presenting a show of force like their ranks and ranks of armored cops with all the bridges and roads blocked with heavy machinery as if they were expecting a second german invasion or something rather than just the rally of peaceful

citizens would argue that they weren't really am is there yes or they weren't really prepared for any kind of actually confrontation they didn't have any kind of water cannons any kind of gas. do you think they were ready for this. kind of publicly saying if you want my personal opinion and height i have seen this over and over again is that the police are extremely unprofessional they have this show of force idea and they do not have the kinds of methods equipment methods tactics that any european police force does have for limiting those provocateurs for isolating them you know that's why you can have much bigger and even more rambunctious rallies in european countries even in canada where i come from and you don't end up with hundreds of people being arrested it's because the police have this new aunts panoply of ways to deal with them here it's the show of force and if things break down then you get the head beating and tear gas. so

you know i'm not trying to apportion blame here i'm just i'm just saying they could just get everybody could lighten up realize that we're we're just experiencing a little bit of european style politics and everybody could develop from that right fred we are from the christian science monitor talking about his impressions of the russian opposition political life in the country as for demerit putin's third term in the kremlin has officially begun. all right are these and he said i would live just outside the kremlin thank you. bahraini authorities have arrested the country's main human rights activist who's been one of the leaders of the ongoing uprising nabila that job was detained late saturday on his arrival from lebanon that comes just days before his appearance on julian assange just show here are not see whether whistleblower quizzed him and an egyptian activist over the revolutions in the arab states with details on this now. that.

well the authorities of said is that now bill rand job is being suspected of committing a number of crimes punishable by law and he's now being held on charges of inciting and taking part in illegal demonstrations and it should be remembered though that labial right jabs position has landed him in a number of made in the target even of the bahraini authorities before because he is a highly prominent activists there and also one of the most vocal outspoken critics of the country's ruling family and that's really what makes this next episode of two and half times is so significant because this is thought to be. last interview before his latest arrest now is considered one of the heroes of the first protests that took place in bahrain last february he's now got over one hundred forty thousand followers on twitter disease the head of the bahraini center for human rights and he's really the driving force behind the mass demonstrations that we're

still seeing in the streets of bahrain despite a government ban on on public protests there since it became known that he was appearing on sanjay and that's that's what he elaborates on in this next episode when i said in my twitter account that i'm going to meet julian assange and i'm going to speak to me t.v. program my house was surrounded by almost one hundred policemen and. machine guns and i do realize that i was not at home didn't do you just to. be to tell me to come to depopulation prosecutor today at four o'clock where i am here so the very day that he was summoned by the public prosecutor's office in bahrain he actually chose instead to appear on our sanjay's talk show and and appear on t.v. using the platform as an international platform even to criticize the regime in bahrain and it's for this reason they do last stanage things why he's been arrested basically by peering on this. ranch out would indeed be

risking a great deal but even so. he that he would be willing to pay any consequences that come of it because he says he would be fighting in the name of democracy this is what he had to say it's not difficult. but this is the struggle this is the freedom this is democracy that we are fighting for as of course. we have to be a discourse and the course might be very expensive as we have cause. we're willing to pay for the changes that we are fighting for now one of the other guests this week on a do not show is another prominent activist in the in the arab spring his name is our abdel fattah he was he was highly influential figure in the uprising in egypt last year in tahrir square that like right up to has become a target of your thora sees the fact that you know found his speaking to the very people who are making leave things happen in these countries and are willing to face the consequences as we've seen with now with his arrest this weekend well that

really that's what makes this next episode really one that's not to be missed and you can see here marty is being so now eleven thirty g.m.t. this tuesday. to speak to two leading revolutionaries one from bahrain where the revolution failed was a leadership where the revolution is now in turmoil for makes a revolution and where is the arab spring going to go. live from moscow this is our to yes good to have you with us today still ahead for you in this hour. devoted serious holding its first parliamentary election in decades after president assad adopted a new constitution however the opposition val's to boycott the vote calling it all one big. francois hollande has defeated nicolas sarkozy in the french presidential runoff making him the latest

e.u. leader to be swept aside by the crew. playing debt crisis among the first steps the president elect is planning is to push back against german led austerity measures chancellor angela merkel has already invited all on to for talks with us reporter from paris tessa australia it's very quiet because they had big celebrations last night be deliberate steel was certainly having a big party until the morning now for us all and in his acceptance speech yesterday did talk a lot about unity which has been much of the theme of his entire campaign he said he's the one who's going to bring about solidarity and unity in criticizing sarkozy's divisive presidency but of course the unity he's talking about does hinge on his ability to bring about the promises that he had made particularly the practical promises of jobs and employment and this is a no easy feat given the city economic circumstances of france said again the first thing he wanted to do is to talk to german chancellor angela merkel to push for

this growth or yet that approach and he has a lot of supporters on this approach however even the supporters are skeptical as to how much he can really do given the constraints i mean france is a part of the euro zone there are sixteen other nations who are using this currency there are a lot of rules to be followed and so they're looking at how much maneuver room he really has been to comes to international dealings there's going to be the nato summit and he had said that he wants to pull out french troops from afghanistan a year earlier than planned he will have to and he's expected to present this blood to president barack obama and bill the rest of the nato alliance and also when it comes to issues like syria iran observers are saying that we may expect a less aggressive press whatever this observation is based on the rhetoric so far so of course we have to see the actions that this new president will be taking now french people at the end of the day said that they voted for change but let's not forget that when nicolas sarkozy was voted in two thousand and seven they also voted for change so it's in france hold on does have

a lot of work to do ahead of him and prove that he does the service presidency. reporting r.t. dot com today today's presidential inauguration ceremony. in the hot water. for leaving the persian gulf. could be motivating the internet giant. also controversy surrounds pictures of starling placed on public buses in russia on the eve. you can read all about that also dot com. just turning twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow syria's holding a parliamentary election with the ongoing shaky cease fire the first such vote in decades allows the formation of political factions to compete with the ruling baath party let's get the latest now so. good to see you the vote comes amid on going

reports of violence as we continue to hear. that kind of a big impact on the amount of people willing to actually venture out and cast their ballots. well there is no election fever here by any stretch of the imagination and that being said there has been a steady stream of people here in damascus since the polls they pinned at seven am this morning and i think t.v. is already reporting that to turn out his high population and syria around twenty four million fourteen million people are actually eligible to participate in these parliamentary elections votes the polls close at ten pm so it is going to be interesting to see what the actual votes a turnout is won't say as polls have closed as he said here in damascus there's been any big build up to the voting you can see the campaign places all aver the capital that being said damascus can often here feel a bit like a parallel universe another stiff these that have seen fierce fighting and indeed

very close to damascus and some of the suburbs it's a very different story indeed in fact we visited some of these and they've actually had mock ups of the campaign posters instead of the candidates face is that the people have been killed in this ongoing conflict and obviously this election taking place against the backdrop of the u.n. observers being here in the country to maybe see the limitation of the peace plan and so all of this is really let's see criticisms as to the tidings of the election . when you talk about so you describe these somewhat cooler polarized opinions are regarding this election the amount of sarcasm and cynicism in certain towns when you venture out of damascus but the bottom line is this is the first such election in almost half a century in syria many would say that's quite a historic feat. well that's certainly being billed by the government had as a really key step in president assad's political reforms. three months after the

constitutional reforms and so really the very much pushing this is a real chance for the people who've been calling for change to come out to cause the face that's been a lot of the rhetoric to you know gates of the ballots lay down the weapons but of course you know part of what caused this whole conflict in the first place is just how long these reforms have been sick to arrive and really a feeling amongst a lot of people that it's simply too little too late the opposition have boycotted the vote altogether they've called it a shot of a little people have to be said to feel that they should have tried to participate . and at least push for some form of monitoring perhaps of the elections. do you have participated and should have requested some sort of money touring when you tuning teams in order to. scrutinise addictions and sort of elections

this does not happen it is one of the mistakes of the position does not purchase a piece which is one of the mistakes of the government does not encourage your position well the very thing continuing to go ahead at the moment and as you had there is a feeling amongst the opposition amongst a lot of people indeed that these elections simply aren't enough and certainly not at a time when the violence in the country is continuing to claim like i said against that backdrop really there is a sense that the actual impact of the serious change to the serious political landscape won't be hugely affected by these votes but nonetheless they are going ahead and you are seeing very small steps now being taken towards this political reform hard life in damascus to certify thank you. all right and let's get to a reminder now of our top story here on r.t. of law to me a person now sworn in as the new president of russia at

a grand inauguration ceremony in the kremlin dimitri medvedev handed power to the new head of state who took on the constitution thirty one gun salute greeted putin after the ceremony and allah be back in just a few moments with the headlines of a right now let's take a look back at some of the highlights of this morning's event. he was. he. he. he. he. he. he he he he he he. he he he he he. he he he he

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in the main headline today of course of law to. come back in the kremlin as he's sworn in as head of state his third as the country's leader has kicked off the post for the next six years. arrests of human rights activist who's been one of the leaders of the uprising that is just days before. whistleblower julian assange. here on in fact you can watch that explosive interview old day on tuesday . falls under the weight of france's mounting debt a socialist.