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HARRIMAN, N.Y. (AP) - Vladimir Putin's aides call him pragmatic and
predictable, but others watching the Russian president say that after
more than a year in power, his vision of Russia is not yet completely clear.
Participants at a weekend conference on U.S.-Russian relations agreed
that after nearly a decade of chaos under Boris Yeltsin's mercurial
leadership, Putin has a mandate to bring order, and with it prosperity - or at least
a measure of economic stability.
But how far he would go to achieve those goals - and at what cost to
human rights and freedoms - was a matter for debate among scholars,
politicians and business people at the annual Harvard-Columbia Arden House Conference
on American-Russian Relations.
Many wondered whether Putin will go far enough, using his broad
popularity and political support to push through the reforms needed to rebuild an
economy heavily burdened by the legacies of communist rule and of
post-Soviet disorder.
Others saw a danger that the Soviet KGB veteran will go too far,
sacrificing some rights and freedoms in his quest to restore order and revive the
economy.
Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko party and a lawmaker in
the lower parliament house, the State Duma, said there are signs Russia may
be moving toward a system restricting democracy.
"There is a very clear feeling that the authorities are absolutely not
prepared to accept any internal criticism," Yavlinsky said. "They are
very rigid to criticism."
Yavlinsky said warning signs include efforts to stifle opposition by
discouraging political pluralism and either co-opting or cracking down
on institutions that criticize the state - in particular the media.
"Attacks on the independent media, on the ability to speak openly, are
becoming tougher and tougher every day," he said, pointing to efforts
to prosecute the owner of Russia's largest independent television station,
NTV, as an example.
Vladimir Gusinsky, chief of NTV's parent company Media-Most, is in a
Spanish prison, and Russian prosecutors want him extradited in connection with
a multimillion-dollar fraud accusation. A decision is expected this week.
The case is a distillation of the questions critics raise about Putin's
motives: Officials say it is strictly an effort to punish financial
misdeeds; Gusinsky and his supporters say it is a political move to silence
critics.
Dmitry Yakushkin, an aide to Putin's chief of staff, said Putin is
trying to establish order but denied any effort to quash political, press or
personal freedoms. Yakushkin was among those attending the conference in
Harriman, about 50 miles north of New York City.
Yeltsin abruptly stepped down Dec. 31, 1999, and named Putin, his prime
minister, as acting president. Putin then won a March 26, 2000,
presidential election with more than half the vote.
Western business people at the Arden House conference said Putin has
brought a measure of stability that encourages economic activity and foreign
investment in Russia, but that his dedication to deep structural reforms
necessary for sustained growth remains to be proven.
See the original at the www.ap.org
See also:
Mixed views on Russia's business climate
Reuters, Daniel Bases, March 20
Grigory Yavlinsky will participate in the annual joint conference of Harvard
University and Columbia University, USA, press-release, March 16, 2001
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