Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday urged “very tough” measures against terrorism, as he sought to assure Russians shocked by a deadly train bombing that killed dozens of people.
“We have done a lot to break the spine of terrorism, but the threat has not been fully liquidated ... The threat of terrorism remains very high,” Putin said.
“It is necessary to act in a very tough way against criminals who carry out these kinds of terrorist attacks,” he said in a phone-in show broadcast on national television where he took questions from ordinary Russians.
Putin insisted that Russia had “enough firmness and decisiveness” to prevent attacks like last Friday’s bombing, which killed 26 and injured around 100 passengers aboard a train heading from Moscow to Saint Petersburg.
“We need all of society — every one of us — to be aware of this threat which has been with us all these years,” said Putin, who earned a reputation for toughness by cracking down on Chechen rebels during his rise to power a decade ago.
He said it would be “very difficult and complex” to prevent attacks on infrastructure targets across Russia’s sprawling territory, but insisted it would be possible if citizens cooperated with the state.
“We need to act pre-emptively. The law-enforcement agencies understand perfectly well what I mean,” Putin said, without elaborating.
In one his few forays into foreign policy during the phone-in show, Putin lashed out at the US for “hindering” Russia’s bid to join the WTO.
“We have the impression that for reasons unclear to us, certain parties, including the United States, are hindering our accession to the WTO,” Putin said.
Russia began negotiations for WTO membership in 1993, but the talks have hit numerous roadblocks over the years and today Russia remains the world’s largest economy still outside the WTO.
Ahead of the show more than a million questions were also sent in by telephone, SMS and e-mail.
Putin said Russia’s new rich have a problem spending their money in a tasteful way, commenting on the ostentatious spending by the small proportion of Russians who enjoy massive wealth.
“The noveau riche all of a sudden got rich very quickly but cannot manage their wealth without showing it off all the time. Yes this is our problem,” he said.
Putin was responding to a question about a crash involving rich Russians in Switzerland, which local media said involved a Lamborghini sports car and a Bugatti Veyron.
“In the Soviet times some of our rich showed off their wealth by having gold teeth put in, preferably at the front. The Lamborghinis and other pricey knicknacks — they are simply today’s gold teeth which are shown off to everybody,” he said.
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