| President Putin is willing to seek advice from a variety
of different sources, according to Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir
Lukin. He said on Russian NTV Mir television that Putin had confided
in him that he believed his experience to be limited in some fields.
"When we were chatting, he said to me: Vladimir Petrovich, I have
limited experience, one-sided experience, so to speak, on some matters
of this kind. I need more diversified experience and recommendations,
and so on," Lukin said on the "Orange Juice" interview
programme.
"I said to him: What do you mean, you also have fairly extensive
experience? He said: No, in the great scheme of things it is just linked
to one field of work, so to speak."
Lukin told presenter Vladimir Solovyov: "I got the impression that
the president wants to obtain a variety of viewpoints on crucial problems,
and not just information from the usual sources, as it were."
Lukin also said constitutional rights should be taught as a subject
at school: "One must know one's rights and the way they are formulated
in the constitution."
He said human rights campaigners should get slots on television: "I
believe human rights campaigners should get at least 10-15 minutes a month
on a state channel."
Speaking on the day of Russia's Victory Day holiday, Lukin said that
the state was failing to look after its elderly people properly, and said
he believed World War II veterans should be exempted from paying taxes.
| 