The coronavirus pandemic and the prospects for compulsory vaccination in Russia, high food prices and social problems became the main topics of the first in two years of communication between Russian President Vladimir Putin and citizens, which took place on Wednesday, June 30. The main questions from the sphere of foreign policy concerned Ukraine and the incident with the British destroyer Defender against the background of the international military exercises Sea Breeze-2021 in the Black Sea.
The situation with the vaccination of the population in Russia became a topic that opened the “direct line”. At the same time, Putin urged Russians to listen to specialists and get vaccinated, adding that he himself had been vaccinated with the Russian drug Sputnik V. As for the compulsory vaccination for certain categories of citizens, the governors can introduce it in order to avoid a lockdown, Putin said.
Inflation and social problems in Russia
Another voluminous block of questions that the head of the Russian state answered during the “direct line” was related to the social problems of the population. As in previous years, citizens turned to the president en masse because of the emergency state of schools and kindergartens, problems with the registration of social benefits, garbage dumps in residential areas, the lack of gas heating and clean water in their homes, as well as rising prices. As in previous years, Putin promised to “sort out” all these problems.
Referring to the situation with inflation, Putin admitted that in 2021 its indicators will exceed the planned level of 4%. However, according to the president, it “may not exceed 5%.” According to Rosstat, by June 21, inflation in Russia was 3.9%, and annual inflation in the country reached 6.2% by that day.
The question of the transfer of power in Russia
Answering the question of whether he has a politician in mind to whom he could transfer power in the same way as Yeltsin transferred power to Putin himself more than 20 years ago, the current President of the Russian Federation said: “Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin did not transfer power to me.” Under Russian law, the leadership of the country passes to the chairman of the government if the president resigns. This is the situation in Russia in early 2000, Putin said.
Earlier, at the end of 2019, the former head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation Valentin Yumashev said in an interview that Boris Yeltsin began to perceive Putin as his successor since 1998, when the latter was appointed first deputy head of the presidential administration, and Yeltsin himself he specifically resigned six months before the elections in order to give Putin “a head start against Primakov and Luzhkov” (the then ex-Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Primakov and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov – Ed.).
During the “direct line” Putin did not directly name the person whom he would like to see in the presidency after his departure, but promised that he would give this name later. “Of course, the time will come and I hope I can say that such and such a person, in my opinion, deserves to lead such a wonderful country as our homeland,” Putin said.
Putin about Ukraine
Soon after the start of the “direct line”, the first question about Ukraine was also asked. The person who turned to the president wanted to know why she was not included in the list of countries unfriendly to Russia. Answering this question, Putin said that he himself does not consider the Ukrainian people unfriendly. Moreover, from Putin’s point of view, Ukrainians and Russians are “a single whole,” while the “unfriendly” at the moment, according to the President of the Russian Federation, is the Ukrainian leadership. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the law according to which the Russian people are declared non-indigenous in Ukraine, Putin said.
On June 21, former Council of Europe expert Francesco Palermo explained in an interview with > that ethnic groups of Russians, Belarusians and Moldovans living in Ukraine “are by no means indigenous peoples”, but constitute national minorities. In particular, because one of the hallmarks of indigenous peoples is their lack of public education outside the country.
Putin on the Medvedchuk case
Continuing the Ukrainian theme during the “direct line” on June 30, Vladimir Putin said that today in Ukraine “decisions are being made that are absolutely illegal and unconstitutional.” As an example of such a decision, Putin named the house arrest of Viktor Medvedchuk, a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Opposition Platform – For Life (Opposition Platform – For Life) faction. In Ukraine, he is suspected of treason. At the same time, a number of international media outlets draw attention to his closeness to the Russian president and call Medvedchuk in their publications “Putin’s godfather.”
Putin on British destroyer Defender and World War III
Commenting on the international military exercises Sea Breeze-2021, which started on the Black Sea coast of Ukraine on June 28, Putin said that he was very worried about “the beginning of the military development of Ukrainian territory.”
At the same time, he noted that he does not believe in the prospect of the Third World War.
So, commenting on the incident with the British destroyer Defender, which also took part in the Sea Breeze-2021 exercises, and towards which the Russian military opened warning fire, believing that he had invaded the territorial waters of the Russian Federation, Putin said that it was difficult for him to imagine that the world would rise to the brink of World War III, “even if we (Russia. – Ed.) sunk this ship. “
Putin called the situation with the destroyer Defender a “provocation” in which not only the British, but also the Americans took part.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed out that the destroyer Defender, whose appearance near the annexed Crimea led to a shooting incident, defended the country’s values by adhering to internationally recognized rules of maritime navigation.
“We do not recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia – it was illegal. These are Ukrainian waters, and it was absolutely right to use them on the way from point A to point B,” the British Prime Minister stressed in this regard.
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