after the elections after putin returned to to. becoming the new president elect of the russian federation. did you like wait until the right time has come to to market well it was actually printed before the elections for. place that obviously reflects our confidence that mr putin will be elected i think is called publisher i obviously would be lying if i didn't admit that i think we wanted to take advantage of the election to promote the book i think it's no coincidence but it's just obviously a great occurrence that that mr putin has been just elected i was there at the end . when you tell us when you were working on this book when when you coming to russia interviewing people needing people talking to people who were close to the russian president did you have any sort of deal with putin with the crowd in through alexander or by yourself or did you were just just a just any other ordinary foreign journalist no i didn't want any influence from the kremlin i don't live in a sense of book if i had depended on dmitri task of to to

in fact, putin as we know, arranged for his own succession by placing his protÉge, dmitri, and then putinbecame prime minister. but putin remained at the center of the political system to the great relief of most russians. you may remember that shortly thereafter we had the world economic crisis. and the price of oil on which the russian government and economy is dependent, it is saudi arabia, a price of oil collapsed to about a hundred dollars of our barrels to $30 a barrel. putin had been able to squirrel away enough of that money to be sure that he had a shop absorber of money, finances, reserve funds to be able to weather the storm and the russian economy did not collapse and implode. compare this to two times before, under boris yeltsin, which the ruble is integrated overnight. the collapse of oil under gorbachev come in the 1980s, admitted he had no shop absorber. he had to weather the storm of his own economic reform. putin come under contrast, most adult russians know that. very well, they know this. chaos and collapse very well. they credit putin to a very large extent. they cred

which is get rid of putin, i would probably say i will go with putin because this is the way to do it. it's funny to see that that you know, you expect people to buy a pig in a poke by voting for the opposition when they don't have an economic program. that's pretty farfetched. with regard to putin's extent and term in office, he will be there 18 years, not 24 years. i don't think he's decided and may not decide to run again. but i just want to point out that if franklin roosevelt had lived he would have served 16 years. i myself think that would have been better than having harry truman come in. it is an unprecedented this extent in office of a president. >> not to make a moral equivalence between fdr and putin. >> whatever you want. >> if i can just respond right, once again you had that phrase you know people don't vote for the opposition. you can't vote for the opposition because it's not allowed on the ballot. v vav lynn ski was not on the ballot. you couldn't because they took him off. you can't vote for the opposition. there are no elections. you can't vote for whoever you want

to cross talk i'm peter lavelle returning to the russian presidency for the third time by the mayor putin has pledged to unify the country and continue reforms to expand the economy however this time around he does face growing opposition and a restless middle class russia has been in the process of rebranding itself will putin the same. to cross putin's inauguration i'm joined by nicholas rossi and in new york he is a award winning independent filmmaker and journalist in ottawa we have paul robinson he is professor at the graduate school of public and international affairs at the university of ottawa and here in the studio with me to discuss russia's economy and investment environment is yet to talk lisa volek chief economist at deutsche bank all right gentlemen cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want on the course of i go to you first in new york before we get to what mr putin may do or may not do over the next six years how would you characterize that the coverage of the russian political scene and the presidential election specifically over the last few

putin is fond of for instance quoting study been. a typical example of this someone who believed in a strong stay. who believed in the rule of law who used quite brutal methods to suppress revolution but at the same time tried to entrench property rights tried to hunt civil liberties tried to produce a rule based state look at poll for you to stay with you would you call putin a reformer then. i a gradual on yasser entity that has been progress and the years it has been in office i wouldn't call him a liberal democrats in the senate out in the west understand it but all they see russia is not the same today as it was twenty years ago but it's extremely obvious so the idea of this is some reactionary is very strange ok that kind of dovetails very closely to what i want to ask you i mean let's talk about the nature of reform over the last twenty years i mean people like to look at very specific things media has a very closed very small time frame but i mean as an economist take us through the last twenty years i mean would you call tha

this book is an end to become a part of mr putin's apology. our apology for what it is that i think i think the english korean used to say or it is believed that she used to say that she never apologizes and i think if the queen doesn't i think why put insured. in this book you say putin is the most interesting man the most interesting politician on the world stage today could yes if i want to what you want to sounds and what's so interesting for you a russian proud about about your president well first of all let me tell you about not long ago i was in the philippines i was on the island of mindanao which is obviously worlds away from russia and i was an information about putin's someone when you were out i was talking to. a man who named long time ago still in the late soviet union these he named hughes school football team sputnik after he did that to coca-cola truck arrived with a portable movie screen showing the horrors of the soviet life but that's another story so i asked him what russian words does he know obviously apart from sputnik

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 yes 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. now i was at those opposition protests on sunday of course less than twenty four hours before vladimir putin was inaugurated i was the first time really it should be said that we saw any kind of that kind of violence this is been a very peaceful even really a festive movement it started as one for free and fair elections and have become more of an expression of anti putin sentiment but it is kind of the word on the street that that that moment that movement was was upset really yesterday by just a few

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 blogs twitter facebook or something putin will have to embrace if he wants to stay in touch yes to participate otherwise he'd be excluded and you would have the other russia which talks its own language and the president will talk he's laying there. leaving the question now that he's back can move forward. well on sunday in the mosque out there were pro and anti putin rallies the opposition one did get ugly pictures coming out of there really the most violent scenes that we've seen for what has really been a very peaceful and almost festive movement i did start that way as protesters marched to below where but it changed very quickly when some of the more radical opposition leaders were calling for a sit in bottles began to be thrown there were smoke bombs back and forth it was a very chaotic clearly seen

take place but not for the reason mr putin is a different mr put in comparison with mr putin ten years ago or all ago or in comparison with mr mineta the changes will quite naturally take place for the simple reason russia is changing of the they were all this changing one has to go to to adopt the foreign policy of russia according to these changes but i do not see any crucial differences between mr putin and mr midriff in terms of foreign policy and bill russia has been our strategic partner and will continue to be a strategic partner after a visit to minsk the next foreign visitor of the new russian president will be will be to berlin and paris why these capital is do you think that kremlin once again is thinking in terms of the of the moscow berlin paris axis that used to be functional in the in the beginning of the century two thousand and three is something that well i don't like your we end the lies in the things that i believe that the reasons are both political and practical as far as i am and for the good the trip of mr peter putin will be even longer and will include several

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 yes to participate otherwise he'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 move forward. now what we saw on sunday were pro and anti putin rallies are across the city the biggest one took place on both my a square and it did turn violent it should be said that this is been a quite peaceful if not sometimes festive movement that began in december after claims of doom of fraud it lost a little bit of steam leading up to yesterday's protests but what a lot of people say is that this peaceful movement or at least what has been was pretty much ruined by a couple of provocations very violent provocati

personal friends of vladimir putin. they purchased offshore companies at the recommendation of putin himself. the kremlin has a pet project of its own. >> at the beginning of 2005, they said there was a nice piece of land on the black sea where a small house could be billed for relaxation. the original scheme,hich is clear with our contract, was for just $14 million. this is a small house with a swimming pool, nothing more. >> but today, that little retreat that his company helped to finance covers a whole mountain side. and if our mental activist wanted to discover who would destroy protected forests to build such a huge complex? -- and environmental activist wanted to discover who destroy protected forests to build such a huge complex? they got right up to the palace before they were discovered by security. then, they were approached by other guards with badges more usually seen around the kremlin. >> there were employees of the federal guard service whose job it is to protect the high state officials. they were even

today a great pleasure indeed are you once said the putin's new term as president putin two point zero but putin three point zero what policies do you think will define this. change so president putin has also changed in order to keep. this is science to say he has its interests it's political interests russia. or europe it's. coming from the politics. or positions in business and society who were born after the end of communism remember the cold war and of the remember there is a war and the people who are today the streets in the first cities not only must also be just group of the whole sort of as well and besides all the personal freedoms which is that you're in russia for the first time since history you know them and also political freedom better to say. the civilities for the girl. in parties in public who are are so there's a possibility for political engagement i do apologize for interrupting you but i just wanted to just jump on the next one here because certainly putin has a some achievements to capitalize on that let's talk about some specific accomplishments of medvedev an

we know putin hasn't changed but russia has. it changed beyond recognition in the last six months, especially. beginning in december when 120,000 people came out to central moscow to protest against the rigged parliamentary elections. driven primarily, not exclusively by primarily burr the younger educated urban middle classes, people who have achieved a certain degree of economic well being and who now want to live in a country with rules of law, who want to be cheated as citizens, not as monkeys. this is no economic slogans, no social demands. this is about dignity and right. this is a movement that forced the krutin machine -- when. >> they were forced to change the legislation and political party and opposition -- anti-criminal opposition party which have been banned for years are just beginning to come back. the -- i don't want to overstate this because these are very timid concessions. the fact is still that this is the first time putin's regime has been on defense in the 12 years of its rule. as we've seen in these past c

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 move forward this time he'll have six years to try to deliver on reforms and change which could make or break putin's presidency and he's now r.t. moscow for more on the reports and return to the kremlin i'm joined now by moscow based analyst and blogger of exxon the. xander thanks for being with us so you've been living in moscow for nearly five years now so i suppose you do know of lead to put in is largely seen by the russian population as the person who brought stability to the one thousand and ninety s. now do

but to me putin. of course the kremlin is no stranger to him. what he's thinking i think you know i mean i think he's got a lot on his mind i mean the first eight years when he was president he had a lot of work to do but it was extensive growth now this country needs intensive growth it needs a lot of reform he's aware of that he's even pointed out as the time is as prime minister he realised just how hard it is to run the economy of this country and the reform this country so he learned a lot as prime minister. mr me did which will take up position very very soon a matter of hours and he knows our position very well on how to run the country so i mean this is something the tandem for for what people say actually works in these two men worked very closely together they're not everyone in this country is satisfied with that but let me putin won the election with sixty four percent of the vote and that is a landslide by any standard. he's described as a tough job before indeed he is he described the big problem mr is a tough job. russia is a very

just a question for we have already mentioned that president putin. has missed the g eight summit in the united states officially because he's too busy setting up this new government and you know yes yes he is busy and he sent his son as prime minister. to sit in for him and there it is it a deliberate guest chair towards the united states which is hosting the summit no no you wouldn't know i don't believe that you know but you understand that if it has been considered in the west as a gesture we've discussed how important it is to find a proper country for the first official visit and in case this is my personal interpretation is mr putin accepted this invitation to go to camp david either this country or would have become the first country to be visited by the new president newly elected president of russia or he would have to do to be in a hurry to visit some other country like bill or russia beforehand both will turn it into our bed because these are extremely busy each each one man the standard easily for for the new president of russia and the i

vladimir putin makes his comeback in the kremlin as he's sworn in as head of state . the country kicked off. for the next six. to. one of the leaders of the uprising. view with. the explosive interview on chief. under the way to france's mounting debt.

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 blogs 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 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 this time he'll have six years to try to deliver on reforms and change which could make or break prudence presidency and he's now r.t. moscow. and just a few hours. as into his role as president vladimir putin wasted no time in putting his skates on but this time he swapped the political arena for the hockey rink where the leader took to the ice he took up the stick to slug it out in the friendly match between his team of so-called amateur players and the legends of the sport here in russia but experienc

war. >> putin's language is sure to get tougher.not think we can expect any major compromises soon. >> putin aims to restore russia's influence as a great power. one of his ideas is a sort of eurasian union made up of former soviet states, and he's not afraid of using energy resources as a bargaining chip to get his way. >>but putin is also keen on havg good relations with the european union, and especially with germany. >> for putin, germany is the most important partner when it comes to modernizing his country. that is also russia's most important export market. >> putin envisions a russia once again pulling strings in world affairs, but his options for asserting power internationally are slowly diminishing. and the continuous protests against his election are a reminder that post -- putin does the biggest challenges are not in the global arena. they are at home. >> coming up, we will have some sports, with a look at the team germany is putting together for the european soccer championships. but first, a look at some of the other

well i think the return of putin to the presidency. heralds a strong not a decisive shift but a strong shift in emphasis away from the failed reset policy that hillary clinton offered when video first came in as president and i think it's been clear that the reset has brought nothing positive for security or stability in russia it was a time bind measure on the part of washington simply to allow it to build more of its political missile defense insulations and put more pressure on the russians for the security situation. what about china of course on a course to economically out run the u.s. in the coming years do you think washington will be watching closely how russia deals with china how do you think putin will develop relations with the the with. well first of all i think russia and china have no choice but to deepen their relationships on a strategic basis economically with projects such as what the chinese refer to as the eurasian high speed rail land bridge projects and a network of rail infrastructure throughout the greater rus

so these words mean that putin will be russia's president for the next six years at least he has begun certainly the people who were there inside georgia greeted that with huge round of applause everyone seemed to be very happy when putin was actually passing through the red carpet beside the people he was shaking hands with with many of them standing in the in the front row those are certainly as i've said artists. different generals great pressure veterans there were a few dozen there very interesting thing to see them there because as we know in just a couple of days we'll have the the day celebrations here in russia and the country the former cia is anyway later on just twenty minutes after it was officially sworn in as the country's president the whole where we do this in georgia was empty because all of those people went to a dinner some speculate it's a million dollar worth dinner it's just speculation possibly but still we heard some things on the menu they can black caviar fried far eastern style scallops different types of expensive wine and champagne regrettably i didn't mak

the favorite retort line of all the putin officials when for instance when putin abolished elections of governors in 2004 and he said well, the united states before 1913 didn't have the direct election of senators. they know how to come up with these retorting lines. the example i like to use, there was a scandal here in washington when it was "the washington post" published some i think it was to do with electronic surveillance but there was a big scandal and they forced essentially a newspaper forced the attorney general at the time gonzales to resign his post about five years ago. in russia, after the ntv channel came up with information that the prosecutor general received an aapartment from some of the people he was supposed to investigate for criminal acts and corruption, the kremlin shut down the ntv channel. that's the difference and the example. s in this is just a small thing. there's several. you mentioned some senators for 30 years. i'm sure there are a couple like lugar who just lost in the primaries so he won't be there longer. so what, the can't be here longer than two