6 Annual Big Press Conference Part 6
February 1,2007
President of Russia V.Putin
Round Hall,the Kremlin,Moscow
R. VERDIEV (AZERROS Media Holding, Azerbaijan-Russia):
Vladimir Vladimirovich, the country is now entering a very important period. Much has been done over these last years to strengthen Russian statehood. What do you plan to do with regards to cooperation between the state authorities and public organisations and political groups to resolve ethnic political issues?
Thank you.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Do you mean creating some kind of new body? Could you please make your question more precise?
R. VERDIEV: Russia is a multiethnic country and has quite a good degree of effective cooperation between its various peoples and ethnic groups. But, as you said yourself, Russia is entering a politically active year and the ethnic issue is one that could also come to the fore. What will be done this year, therefore, to ensure that cooperation between state and civil and political organisations on resolving ethnic political issues is as effective as possible?
Thank you.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Now I understand.
I think it would not be right to start meddling in the work of public organisations under the pretext of organising better cooperation. This does not fit with our view of how we should form our relations with public organisations in general. But the authorities should be and are open to dialogue with public organisations.
As for the question of playing the ethnic card, that is the worst direction an election campaign can take, because people should be elected not on the basis of their ethnic identity, but on their professional and personal qualities.
As for passive electoral rights, all citizens of the Russian Federation are equal before the law, regardless of their ethnic and religious identity.
Y. ROZHKOV (Vesti news programme, Rossia TV channel): Good afternoon, Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to know your view on an issue that has been coming up quite often. Why, in your opinion, is there in our country, which defeated and crushed Nazism in its time, still the soil for various nationalist, racist and xenophobic ideas?
Thank you.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: This is something that worries all of us, the authorities and the public. I think that there are many causes for this situation, including a certain lack of direction, a certain ideological vacuum that arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and a certain frustration among the main ethnic groups, the biggest ethnic groups.
I try to be absolutely objective, but we cannot take a superficial attitude towards this matter. The authorities do not always react appropriately, unfortunately, to problems in this area. But if we look at the causes, one of them is undoubtedly that, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, our borders remain open. The former Soviet republics have all become independent countries, but labour market issues, for example, have not always been settled to the benefit of Russias own people, its own citizens. The authorities should have taken timely action to resolve this situation in such a way as to protect the interests of both Russias own citizens and foreign citizens (for we know that the foreigners who often come to work in Russia end up in a situation where they have no rights at all, and the media has raised this issue often). And leaving it unresolved is harmful to everyones interests, both those of the foreign workers and those of our own citizens. Among other things, this situation also contributes to the emergence of xenophobia and nationalism. This is not the only cause, of course. But whatever the reasons, we first need to eradicate the causes and fight their manifestations. I very much hope that we will do this together with the public organisations, with the media, and of course, with the state itself, with the state authorities
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В.Путин.6 Ежегодная большая пресс-конференция (Putin) Part 7by niknikolay1,905 views
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