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Putin Assails U.S. and Protesters
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Ralphie |
| Last Edited | Ralphie Dec 15, 2011 06:09pm |
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| Category | Interview |
| Author | Nikolaus von Twickel |
| News Date | Friday, December 16, 2011 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ridiculed opposition protesters, assailed the United States and hinted at further political reform in a traditional televised call-in show Thursday that bore all the hallmarks of a presidential campaign speech.
In the marathon show, lasting a record four hours and 36 minutes, Putin took some questions that would previously have been taboo on state television and said it was acceptable to disagree with his "regime." But overall he stuck to his narrative that protests were a dangerous source of instability.
Putin also reiterated a longstanding warning that protesters should not try to force a regime change like in Ukraine in 2004. "Color revolutions are special schemes to destabilize society," he said, adding that Russian opposition activists were trained under former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
In a bizarre twist, he also said he had thought that white ribbons worn by Saturday's protesters were condoms as part of an AIDS awareness campaign.
Last week, he accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of instigating the first rash of protests after the elections. Days before the vote, he said nongovernmental organizations who accept foreign grants were traitors like Judas Iscariot. |
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