. >> just how strong is vladimir putin?e will be looking at that question in one minute here on dw. ♪ ♪ >> everyone knows things are bad. every time we checked in news, we have been hit by a quake forced former financial disaster. they are crazy. 1 billion suffer hunger. that is crazy. i want you to get up and yell i am mad as hell and will not let 1 billion people go hungry. you tell them. >> welcome back. campaigning is under way for russia's presidential election in march of next year, and opinion polls are showing vladimir putin has a strong lead. the race is heating up though, with a billionaire oligarch thrown his hat in the ring and with the opposition organizing resources. we spoke to two men who took part in reason and i-putin demonstrations to gauge the strength of a growing movement -- to depart in the recent anti- put in demonstration. >> he's protesting for a free and democratic russia. he is part of a moderate liberal opposition movement. the group is opposed to violence and is seeking dialogue with russia's l

kind of vladimir putin to 0.0.hese strong anti-western comments we have heard today are all kind of software. the kinds of comments we have heard from them over the past few years. in the past he has been accused of fanning the flames of revolution on the russian doorsteps. it seems he has reached the conclusion that america is trying to get rid of him as well. there were strong comments directed at the u.s. state department, accusing them of funding, setting the tone, giving the signal to russian opposition leaders to start their work, as he put it. he called for a tightening of laws against those russians that were working for foreign governments. to change the situation here. >> when he talks about there being consequences, it does not bode well for russian politics between now and the elections he is facing. >> it does not. he has messaged to opposition leaders that you can only protest according to the law, and if you break the law, the with the consequences. >> thank you. the skies over europe were closed for

. >> tension in moscow -- demonstrators called for vladimir putin to go. 70 years after the u.s. was attacked at pearl harbor, we look back on that fateful day with some of the veterans who were there. >> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. is this iraq all over again? that's the question being raised in afghanistan after a day of unprecedented sectarian violence. at least 56 people were killed and hundreds injured when a suicide bomber targeted a crowd of shi'ite worshipers. the country have not seen a tax like this since the fall of the taliban. from the afghan capital, we have this report. >> afghan's a beat themselves and a traditional mourning ritual. then this. [explosion] a massive explosion and the suicide bomber peers through the crowd. it chaos. hundreds are injured. at a city hospital, they struggle to cope with wave after wave of victims. on the pavement outside, a mother mourns for lost a son. my heart is broken, she cries. desperate and in despair, more gather for news of missing family and friends. >> this is a day of mourning. it's an at

this is a critical moment for vladimir putin. will the protests here out or will the momentum built? >> the latest on the eurozone crisis. >> absolutely. the british prime minister, david cameron, said he will not agree to measures aimed resolving the eurozone crisis if they do not protect british interests. germany and france proposed a new amended treaty that would impose further discipline on countries to use the single currency. >> if european countries do need to come together, if they choose to use the european treaty to do that, britain will be insisting on some safeguards too. as long as we get those, the treaty will go ahead. if we cannot get those, it will not. >> this is a critical week for the e4uro -- for the euro. european leaders are trying to find a way to save the common currency. timothy geithner has travelled across the atlantic to stretch the urgency of resolving europe's debt problem. >> and our meet our. the u.s. treasury secretary and his counterpart shoulder to shoulder as they try to work out how to keep

for vladimir putin two. a figure of the united states, this will appeal to certain portions of the russian population. -- for a vladimir putin to point to the united states, that will appeal to a certain portion of the russian population. >> i understand why he may be appealing to his political base at a time he feels honorable, but given that the americans will clearly have to deal for couldn't for a long time -- he is going to run and be elected and, what would hillary clinton choose this moment to destabilize the relationship? is that helpful in the scheme of their relationship? >> there are two trends year. if you seen a retreat in russia a democracy of the past decade and you know how of blood near prudent, he has been in power for 12 years. that is a 12-year term in essence. that trendline concerns the united states. this is not the first and united states has expressed its concerns about political developments in russia. on the other side of the coin, from the russian standpoint, they are looking arou

this has been a bad month for vladimir putin. first he was booed in public and lost one-third of -- one-third his seat. and then the target of this demonstration. the opposition are not well organized and is not clear they can sustain this level of protest. >> a series of bomb attacks in iraq have killed more than 25 people. at least seven were killed and 13 wounded by a roadside bomb pilgrims. she goshia is tightan's security ahead of the day of a sherra -- ashura. pro-taliban sunni militants are carrying out the attack to curb what they called a growing regional influence of neighboring iran. our correspondent reports from the provincial capital. >> nothing has been done, she says as her children hug her, tears flowing for her husband. a former champion boxer, he was revered as one of pakistan's most celebrated sportsmen. an olympian and an asian games gold medalist. he was targeted for being a minority. his murder could have been stopped. >> there has to be will. they do not have the will. this is a small city. we have decent

they're demanding an end to vladimir putin's political career.hey're willing to risk jail to make their point. gorbachev says he agrees. he says that it does not reflect the will of the people. on sunday, putin's united russia apart and came out -- brushup party came out with the majority. -- russia party came out with the majority. >> we are here to recounting the vote could we do not recognize these authorities or the election results. i want these election results canceled, says another protester. there was a great deal of falsification, he claims. i saw for myself and it was also witnessed by my friend. we cannot do anything to stop that happening. this man really gets to the authorities, urging people to stay put, telling them not to be afraid. minutes later, he was carted away by police. the police are out in force in moscow and in st. petersburg. the demonstrations may be smaller than the previous night, but it has been a long time since russia has seen protests like this and the authorities are taking no chances. make no mistake. vladimir

this is a critical moment for vladimir putin. will the protests peter out or will they build?> let's get the latest on the eurozone crisis now. >> the latest is that the british prime minister david cameron says he will not agree to measures in resolving the eurozone crisis if they do not protect british interests. >> what i am saying is that, if the eurozone countries need to come together and do need to do more things together, if they choose to use the european treaties to do that, britain will be insisting on some safeguards, too. as long as we get those, then that treaty will go ahead. if we cannot go -- if we cannot get those, then it will not go ahead. >> european leaders are scrimmage to find a way to save the common currency. underscoring the global implications of the crisis, u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner has travelled across the atlantic to emphasize the importance of the problem. >> the u.s. treasury secretary alongside his german counterpart, shoulder-to- shoulder, as yours a leaders try to figure out how to keep the currency -- as eurozone leaders trie

but vladimir putin changed that to russia day because he didn't want -- independence from what? they weren't independent. they were head of an empire. people today in russia, i know this from my own family and frequent visits back there. they look at the soviet era as an era when people were bombing airports, when the nationalities were reasonably well together, there was a degree of education for every body, when there was little in the shops but everybody suffered in the same way except for privileged members of the party. and -- >> host: connections matted but there wasn't the pervasive corruption that runs daily life. >> guest: and the national pride of being a superpower. one of the two great powers in the world. the 7 twenty-fifth, 1991 marks the day they ceased to be standing in the world. one of the reasons vladimir putin as president brought back some of the symbols of the soviet union, the red flag on that day, he allowed the russian army to adopt the red flag again as their emblem without the hammer and sickle of course. he also, the russian national anthem which russ

prime minister vladimir putin accuses america of promoting protest. elmo goes to islamabad, could "sesame street" pave the way for better relations between pakistan and america? welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. never has europe been so necessary, never has it been so much danger. those are the words of nicolas sarkozy and head of the summit which is billed as the last chance to save the europe. the stumbling block is not financial, it is political. how much power should brussels have over the eurozone countries? >> in brussels, there is some christmas cheer. mention the euro and the gloom sets in. sarkozy, merkel, they're coming back here. will make a difference? >> they are not moving forward, he told me. the leaders meet again and again but there's never anything concrete. some fear that the single currency might not survive this crisis. we found them still turning out new coins at the belgian meant. there is a crisis of confidence. investors are not convinced that if they planned a eurozone country some money, they wil

but make no mistake, vladimir putin has his supporters, too.y held their own rally in the capital. the prime minister has a reputation for taking a tough stance against those who oppose him. how he deals with these latest protests may well determine his political future. >> you are watching news day on the bbc live. still to come, the former u.s. governor who tried to sell barack obama's senate seat is sentence for corruption. ♪ states remembers the attack on pearl harbor. one of italy's most wanted mafia leaders has been captured after more than 15 years on the run. he was found hiding in a concrete bunker beneath the building in a -- beneath a building in the city of naples. police were able to get to him by cutting off his electricity and air, and then cutting through the thick walls. this does contain a flash photography from the start. >> moments after the arrest cannot police officers -- month after the arrest, police officers are delighted by their success. they just captured the most wanted man in italy. he was detained after more than

prime minister vladimir putin's united russian party is expected to win. it has long dominated the politics of the country, but there are signs his popularity is slipping and it could lose their two-thirds majority, a majority which allows it to make constitutional changes. a growing number of russian said they are not happy with the way their country is run. many complained of corruption, injustice, and agreed to. one opinion poll suggests one- fifth of the population would like to leave the country. perhaps the most frustrated are highly qualified young people. in this special report, we caught up with two people very divergent views on the future of their home country. >> this person is a loyal supporter of vladimir putin. the 26-year-old sociologist believes in the russian prime minister's words and deeds and as a candidate for the governing united russian party. stefan wants to pack up and leave. he does not see a future for himself in russia with putin in power. two young people and their perspectives of russia. this is the city of penza, about 560 k

he got rid of a lot of these ngos, coming of its this obviously got to vladimir putin. he knows that he had created a situation now where people enter politics not for public service but for what they can get out of it. judges obey the kremlin and also for the police to obey the kremlin rather -- the rule of law in russia, the hard way there. it stalled. that gives gorbachev a lot of credibility when he criticizeds vladimir putin over that. >> host: let me bring the discussion back to the united states. in your book he remarked on the dramatic change in u.s. political rhetoric about december 25th, 1991, and i think you're making a larger point, president george h. w. bush famously said he wasn't going to dance on the berlin wall because he was more concerned about a cautious and prudent and stable process and wasn't going to do any of this triumphalism because he saw it would backfire. same is true all the way up to this day when he cautions the white house, don't be declaring victory out there. don't do that. as you point out in your book, within a month, there is geor

vladimir putin had lost to a large degree his legitimacy, and perhaps even his inevitability. considering everything that preceded these elections, the results are truly remarkable coming of vladimir and i coming in as you said, you got it wrong a few weeks ago and we were just beginning to talk in the elevator how surprised we all were because i think any of us were thinking about being here with you today and beginning to prepare our thoughts we were somewhat stunned when the actual results began to come in. despite overwhelming state control of the media, it's deployment now over a long period of time as a personal propaganda tool puts up the kremlin and of putin personal income and of course the increasingly narrow and dangerous scope permitted for any sort of a genuine free press in russia. despite the targeted persecution prosecution and even the alleged murder of those who have been seen as opponents of or simply credible critics of the kremlin and the names of course of more than 150 slain journalists come to mind. despite enormous electoral fraud, and we are not simpl

out. -- ruling out. >> the message from vladimir putin is that he is not in the mood to compromise. the key demand made by the demonstrators on the streets of moscow was that the results of the parliamentary election should be cancelled and a fresh ballot held. mr. putin said that without happen. the elections have taken place, the parliament is functioning, there can be no talk of review. he went on the offensive criticizing the opposition. he said they have no united program and their aims were not clear. one other important development, the kremlin's chief strategist, a man who is described as the top tier of the kremlin, has been moved out from the kremlin to the russian government. that marks the end of an era. this is a man who helped vladimir putin create the putin system of power, this very tight control system. this has to be the result of the political earthquake over the past few weeks. >> there was a time at the cinema when the words "at the end" meant precisely that. this year, it has meant, don't worry, there will be a sequel. hollywood released a record 28 sickles thi

this has been a bad month for vladimir putin. first he was booed in public. then he lost a third of his seats in the parliament. now we have seen the biggest demonstration in moscow for more than a decade. but the opposition are not well organized. it is unclear that they can sustain this level of protest. bbc news, moscow. >> for more on the election results and the blow delivered to putin's party, i spoke with matthew from the carnegie endowment for international peace in moscow. thanks for joining us. i wanted to start with those protests. thousands of people in one of the biggest opposition demonstrations the country has seen for a long time. how serious is this for putin? >> i think we have to put this in perspective. remember that several thousand people on the streets of moscow, relative to a city of more than 10 million, where you have literally hundreds of thousands of security forces on election day to maintain order, as your screen showed earlier, members of the kremlin youth group on the streets in tens of thousands -- they have been bused in from

isupport for the party was down almost 15%, a slap in the face for vladimir putin and. sentiment goes deeper than the results. this shows but for the kremlin a party before the polling stations even opened. observers from the organization of security and cooperation in europe saw similar irregularities. >> there were very serious violations, extra votes a stuffed in the ballot boxes, delays in counting while observers were present, delays until we left. those are the kinds of things that we saw. >> the controversy surrounding the ballot issue is also taking the shine off the united russia and victory and vladimir putin and's bid next to for the presidency. >> talking about the man who may be able to defeat chance alarm -- chancellor angela merkel. a vote of confidence is adding to the buzz around his political future. the social democrats are gearing up to fight the next general election. they work angela merkel's junior coalition partners, but the newly reelected leaders as their aim is to run the country with the help of the greens. to achieve that, they will need to

the protesters have gathered in moscow and lashing out against prime minister vladimir putin that's funny i didn't know there were palm trees in russia certainly isn't the first time the mainstream media has been dead wrong and it probably won't be the last so why is it that the people americans turn to for news won't do a little bit of fact checking before going on air. but. really. the. people and apparently the mainstream media isn't the only one telling little white lies these days president obama is pushing for international internet freedom and yet another case of do as i say not as i do. and speaking of ordering people around police forces across the us have ramped up their raids on the occupy wall street movement suppressing the public's right to assemble one city at a time but with military grade pepper spray and high tech weapons whose interests are they really serving and protecting. it's thursday december eighth four pm in washington d.c. i'm liz wahl and you're watching artsy. well as parliamentary elections play out in russia it seems the u.s. government leaders and the main

speaking of vladimir putin, where does he stand in this equation? >> not very high or not just yet. vladimir putin has always maintained from the outset that the election, he says, was fair and democratic and he's showing no sign of changing that view just on the basis of one process alone. and the organizers here acknowledge that to a significant degree. they believe this is just the first big show in a campaign that will follow. but just getting this many people on to the streets can make this point. they believe it's a significant achievement. and so they are really quite hopeful and quite optimistic that from here this sort of protest can become a regular part of the political landscape in russia, particularly into the 32 months of next year when you're going to see vladimir putin, currently the prime minister, campaigning very strongly to be elected as this country's president once again. >> all right. phil, thank you so much for keeping us appliesed of what's been happening there this morning. >>> meanwhile, the nobel peace prize award was handed out this morning in oslo. look

. >> vladimir putin's party still has a majority but only just. it is midday in london, early morning in washington, 1:00 in the afternoon in paris. five days of diplomacy getting underway. there has to be an agreement on how to curb the budget freefall in europe and has led to the crisis. the french president will meet the german leader. there will be rules on who is in charge of national budgets. germany is pushing for automatic sanctions against countries that break the rules. germany wants a super commissioner in charge. nicolas sarkozy and wants a softer approach with the country's retaining the final say. first to our berlin correspondent steve. how much pressure is angela merkel under to ensure that these rules on budgetary control remain strict? question is under immense pressure because she knows best the euro and euro zone and european project depends on best. pressure that she is under comes from yourself and from the german people. she thinks there should be tight controls, further integration of the euro zone, control of the individua

tens of thousands of russians take to the streets once again to protest the rule of vladimir putin. and operation gratitude. tracy smith talks to the housewife and mother who wants no american in uniform to be forgotten during the holidays. >> a lot of it has to be the belief that someone at home cares. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening, i'm jim axelrod. for even the most hardened of procrastinators time is running out. just two days after a consumer report poll found that 25% of americans had not started their shopping yet, it appears most of the last-minute shoppers were jamming the stores today. tony guida is on the front lines. >> found it! >> reporter: 'twas the night before christmas and all through the mall, holiday shoppers who didn't want to be here at all. >> my mother made me come out here, i didn't want to do it, but she made me come out. >> reporter: there was the occasional exception. >> i think it's more fun last minute shopping. >> really? >> yeah. >> reporter: but exceptions usually prove the rule. i would be willin

to stamp out electoral fraud joins me in a few moments more on this plus all the key points from vladimir putin's four and a half hour question and answer session. also stop fighting stop talking the message of a russian draft resolution on syria to the u.n. security council appealing for both the country's leadership and the opposition to search for a diplomatic solution. to moscow says all of the eurozone can solve its own problems but it will help deal with the blocks that crisis is president medvedev meets top technocrat sim process. stronger ties and ironing out differences when it comes to the energy sector between russia and the join me for more details on that very shortly. it's midnight here in moscow a very warm welcome for me kevin owen here with r.t. tonight our top story from the recent parliamentary election to russia's foreign policy vladimir putin has tackled all range of questions from the public including a number of tough topics to the prime minister's annual televised q. and a where the nation lost a record four and a half hours later all over this and the. prime minis

but all that was swept aside as vladimir putin dave a -- gave a bravura performance. he gave no concession of cheating in the election. he said that is what opposition parties claim everywhere in the world. bbc news, moscow. >> it is a question whether he exhausted himself for the viewers on that one. that is an awful long time. today, former french president jacques chirac was found guilty of corruption, getting the dubious distinction of being the first french head of state of being convicted since the first world war. christian fraser now reports. >> in office, and he was shielded by presidential immunity, but today, jacques chirac finally answered the allegations that followed him throughout his career. guilty of collusion, embezzlement, abuse of power, alongside eight two-year suspended sentence, a stinging rebuke from the judge's. mr. chirac used the civic payroll to support his own election campaigns, paying his friends and allies with funds that did not even exist except for taxpayer money. he initiated it in contempt of people who voted for him. his adopted d

our correspondent explains the significance of vladimir putin's remarks. >> it's a mixture of carrot and stick, on one hand he holds out the possibility of dialogue but then states opposition are in the minority and says if people abide by the law, they should be given the right to express their opinion but if someone breaks the law then the police should enforce the law and says some of the protesters who are on the streets pursue selfish political aims but the majority in russia do not want the protests to develop like neighboring states saying chaos and blames hillary clinton who had dismissed the parliamentary election as neither free nor fair and says she was too quick to do that and that her comments gave signal to opposition members and said there was a foreign state who was trying to influence the political situation in russia. so quite firmly he's taken the line that it's the west to blame for stirring things up. >> yes. certainly come out fighting. and sometimes it's difficult press to gauge real views. >> it is. just a couple of interesting papers. not many interesting pic

in parliamentary elections come up to vladimir putin's party received a surprise setback.ts one, but with less boats than last time. he was clearly -- less votes the last time. it is the latest sign that russians may be losing patience with him. >> boo! >> last month, he was booed and hissed when you put in the an appearance. >> he is still expected to win at the presidential election last month. but the signs of dropping report will be a worry for him. he prepares to launch his campaign to get back into the kremlin. there was more criticism today. international observers said his party have an unfair advantage in the elections. >> slanted in favor of the ruling party. the partiality and the interference of state authorities at different levels. >> these people do not agree. it is the kremlin sponsored -- their party to mark the end of the elections and to support putin and president medvedev. >> for more on the election results and a blow delivered to vladimir putin and his party, i am joined live by our next guest from the carnegie endowment. i want to start with those p

some 5000 vladimir putin supporters came out to join the largely choreographed a display of support. a further attempt to dilute allegations of vote rigging. >> supporting united russia, showing that we are the majority, not the opposition. it was a conscious decision. >> we do need the opposition. our society needs dialogue, so that there is someone to talk to. >> the russian president posted on his facebook page that all allegations of election fraud would be investigated. many russians are not convinced. >> i think that his post is inadequate. we support the protests. i am sure that in this election, we have had the wool pulled over our eyes. i am sure that the share was overstated. >> many russians are also appalled by internet videos like this one, purportedly showing one woman turning in a stack of ballots for a united russia. at today's protest, russian security forces were conspicuous by their absence. a detail that will not help to dispel the growing resentment. >> here in germany, the number of traffic fatalities is set to go up for the first time in two decades. one reason

activists who believe the december 4 elections were rigged in favor of prime minister vladimir putintinue their protests and once again called for new elections. as a gesture to the opposition, the new speaker of the lower house promised more open debate and compromise in the assembly. >> vladimir putin's united russia party garnered fewer votes than expected in national elections. but it still has a majority of seats in the duma and insist they were won really and fairly. >> this duma want to produce a legitimate. i can only say to the demonstrators that they should have got up early on election day and voted. >> the legend videos of electoral fraud are fake. as for illegal -- irregularities in the election process, you get them in every country. >> but there is an unprecedented number of people in russia disagreed. many gathered outside parliament to protest against the results and a rerun of the elections. dozens were arrested. >> parties that are critical of the kremlin were not even allowed to take part in the election. vladimir putin change the law so much that we do not have a

protests present a challenge for the man on the left, the prime minister, vladimir putin. kitty logan is live in london. what's the significance of the demonstrations? >> this looks like it's a real game-changer in russian politics. it's the first time in years, decades, even, that so many people have taken to the streets to protest in russia. in moscow in particular we saw a very high turnout there. open defines, really, against the russian authority. people there -- it was a peaceful demonstration but people at the protest are angry and frustrated with vladimir putin's russia and they want fair elections in future. they want sunday's parliamently vote result to be annulled. they believe it was rigged and they want an investigation into what went wrong into the fraud allegations. but so far demands have not been met by the russian authorities. but since these protests have begun, i think prime minister vladimir putin's position has been significantly weakens, his popularity waning ahead of a presidential election in march of next year. >> is there thinking as to how long

boxing now world heavyweight champion vladimir klitschko will be shared you're his canceled fight again john my next march and it could also see his brother vitali fight david haye on the same card the moment fight was due to take place this weekend but was called off after vladimir had a kidney stone removed however his brother vitali here and i'm sure the bat will now take place on march the third and also claimed he could fight britain's daily hate the same evening early this year hey lost his w.b. a belt to vladimir who also holds the. titles and the tali who is the w.b.c. champ says he'd love to have the chance to knock out the brit. after his fight against florida america i was hoping and disappointed as well i was glad that my brother won the fight against due to their last remaining heavyweight championship belt that was not included because brother scalextric i was disappointed just because of the little nuance that. i mean to win by knockout it's only a game i have to fight with. and finally the olympic cities of london and sochi are swapping tips ahead of staging the next sum

the next big tests for prime minister vladimir putin, scott, presidential elections in march. in light of recent events, it would be wrong to suggest the results are a foregone conclusion, but he does remain the favorite. >> pelley: charlie d'agata on the cobblestones of red square. thank you, charlie. today president obama confirmed what we first reported here last thursday. the aircraft captured by the iranians earlier this month is, in fact, one of america's most sophisticated spy planes. the president was asked about it today. >> we have asked for it back. we'll see how the iranians respond. >> pelley: in iran, experts have been poring over the drone. iranian t.v. claimed they've recovered data from the r.q.-170 aircraft and a top iranian military official says they can now reproduce it-- though u.s. experts doubt that. life in iraq as america leaves after nine years. occupy protesters block some of america's busiest ports. and smog made in china that's changing the weather here in the u.s. when the "cbs evening news" continues. ♪ [ male announcer ] campbell's green bean c

to boxing and world heavyweight champion vladimir klitschko will will reshape your his canceled fight against john mark mormeck the next march and it could also see his brother vitali fight david haye on the same card the more might fight was due to take place this weekend but his cancer was called off after vladimir had a kidney stone removed however his brother vitali saying here announce the bad will now take place on march the third and also claims he could fight david haye the same evening early this year hey lost is there will be a belt to vladimir who also holds the w b o and i b f titles and the charlie who is the w.b.c. champion says he would love to have the chance to knock out the brit after his fight against florida or i was hoping disappointed as well i was glad that my brother won the fight against doing haye and to their last remaining heavyweight championship belt that was not included cause brother of school action i was disappointed just because some of the little nuance that couldn't buy a should be struck or i mean to win by knockout it's only a game i have to figh

. >> in russia, there's been a surprise drop in popularity for the prime minister, vladimir putin. his party, united russia, has won the parliamentary elections, but with a substantially reduced majority. the results are embarrassing for mr. putin, who plans to run for president again next year. our correspondent in moscow, steve rosenberg, told me the election results were unexpected. >> the latest projection is that united russia, vladimir putin's party, will have 238 seats out of 450 in the new parliament, the duma. that is considerably down on the last parliament. and i think there's a feeling here that russian voters were very critical of the party of united russia. they blame it for social injustice. they blame it for a rising gap between rich and poor. there's also a feeling that there's growing fatigue with vladimir pickup tifpble he's been in power as president and prime minister for 11 years now. there is a feeling that many russians are getting rather disenchanted with him. >> steve rosenberg there. miriam has all the business markets. how are they looking? >> let's look