I tried so hard to think of a witty intro to this post, but I couldn’t think of one. So, here it is - a collection of the finest music videos paying tribute to Russia’s leaders. In no particular order. Enjoy!

Vladimir Putin - Putin on the Ritz

Two lame duck leaders and one classic song can only add up to one thing: DANCING!

Gorbachev - saving hot girls from Stalin Zombies.

This one’s in hi-def, so may take a bit longer than the other videos to buffer.

Dmitry Medvedev’s own Russian Obama Girl

Like Obama, Dmitry Medvedev is Russia’s new hope. And the chicks clearly love him.

Medvedi Nevedi

Just in case you’ve not had enough of Dmitry Medvedev.

I want a man like Putin - Такого как Путин

Everyone likes a man like Putin… or do they?

I think, on balance, I prefer Dobby.

Someone still loves you Boris Yeltsin

OK, I admit it. I couldn’t find a song about Yeltsin. So here’s a band named after him instead.

And that’s it. The end of my brief collection of tribute songs to Russian leaders. Have I missed any?

The high point of President Putin’s visit to Libya this week was the announcement that Russia was to write off Libya’s $4.6 billion debt. In exchange, a number of massive bilateral trade deals have been agreed.

A cheerful, but slightly over-heated President Putin told reports

“I am satisfied by the way we have solved the debt problem. The deal will not only employ Russian defence enterprises but will also help strengthen Libya’s defences.”

I must say, I find it fascinating that both Putin and the world’s press have been majoring on the military aspects of this deal.

True, the Russian defence industry will benefit to the tune of a couple of billion dollars worth of new business as Libya modernises its military after decades of sanctions. But in pure money terms, the $3 billion deal to build a new coastal railway line and Gazprom’s proposed gas exploration deal are likely to be far more valuable.

For the press, the attraction of explaining the deal in terms of debt for arms is obvious. But for Putin, it’s yet another opportunity to emphasise Russia’s remerging military muscle. After all, selling arms to an African country is a much better way to promote your military prowess than invading a neighbouring country. And much less risky…

But, I digress. Next stop for Putin is a trip to Sardinia, where he’ll be meeting new Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi. No debt to forgive there, and no chance of arms sales. But Italian energy giant Eni has significant business interests in Libya, and would make a useful partner.

Following the March elections, many in the international mass-media have begun to state that Russia is again on its way to authoritarianism, and surrendering its democratic achievements.

But which way is Russia really heading today? Is Russia on the way to leadership by personality cult, or on the hard way to true democracy? And what will be better for this country – further development of rights and liberties according to the Western example or the necessity of a strong hand able to rule such a big state?

Personality cult is an element of state rule, but only during certain stages of society’s evolution. It is necessary to consolidate the separate tribes and territories around one figure. But for a personality cult, there must be a very strong reason. Usually such reason was the divine origin of the leader.

However, even ‘progressive’ states that have rejected religion don’t refuse to canonize the leader.
To rule society successfully, any power (including the dictator’s one) needs to have the confidence of the nation. This confidence is possible if it is based on canonization of the power (as in totalitarian states) or it could be based on a unification of the power and of the nation behind some common ideas and values, as happens in democratic states. We can’t say anything about ideological unity of the power and of the nation in modern Russia, because current ruling party doesn’t have any ideology. It would be more correct to say that Russia instead has personal confidence in Vladimir Putin (because the confidence to Dmitry Medvedev is too early to mention).

In such conditions it is possible for new personality cult to be born. And it will be born if Russians are unable to find another basis for their national unity. Because to believe sincerely in the image of current or elected president it is not enough.

What could be another basis for Russian national unity? Some experts say that democracy is necessary. But I don’t think so. Democracy is not a source of the power. Pure democracy doesn’t decide anything, because the society must have some idea that it can apply democracy to.

The personality cult in Russia: President is the God or the Leader with a strong hand?

The official ideology of Russian Empire and the Soviet Union was based around the divine origin of the leader and the concept that all the people are only servants of the State. Now, in present-day Russia, we have the same situation developing. Personality cult could appear from this point of veiw, and it is not dependent on whether we have democracy or not. In the time of Yeltsin’s rule, Russia had a lot of democracy, but still lacked something.

It was lack of ideas, which could consolidate the society. We are looking for them still.
So, is it possible that a personality cult is developing in Russia right now? We have the absence of criticism, and to criticise the leadership in mass-media is forbidden at all. These are both early signals that Russia is developing on the path to authoritarianism. I don’t doubt that Russia’s future it is authoritarism. But… it’s a progressive authoritarism.

Russia is following the path of Franco and Pinochet, where a strict leader takes control to avoid chaos in the State, helping to build democracy by being strict. Such a leader leaves the post and gives all the power to legal Parliament, government and the court. And all these three power branches are separated and independent.

Unfortunately there is no political regime which could be ideal for all times and all situations. The way to democracy passes through cruel transformation periods. Otherwise it will be cruel period without transformations and without democracy.

Is there no end to Vladimir Putin’s ambition?

Not content with being Russia’s next Prime Minister, it appears that Putin also has his sights set on being the head of the ruling United Russia party.

Current party leader Boris Gryzlov announced the move (in what would in Western Europe be regarded as an almost total lack of political ambition) saying deferentially:

“If Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin headed United Russia, it would be the very best option. Such a proposal will probably be made at our congress [on April 14].”

This seems like a sensible approach for Putin to take. As Prime Minister, Putin is technically beholden to President Medvedev, who can sack him at will. But the Duma has to give its approval for any such move, and it would be difficult for a political party to approve the firing of its own leader.

It does make you wonder, though, whether he’s been listening to all the analysts who were predicting a power struggle between Putin and Medvedev a few years down the line…

My favourite bit about this story though is the way it will be stage managed. With typical Russian showmanship, Putin will become United Russia’s 2 millionth member.

How have the party managed to arrange this? Simple - after the 1,999,999th member joined a while ago, they stopped accepting new members. Presumably, prospective members will be allowed entry again only after April 14th.

Tonight, for the first time in more than a decade, top-flight Russian football will be played in Grozny, capital of war-torn Chechnya.

Terek Grozny, the city’s professional football team won promotion to the Russian Premier League last year and, after years of playing in exile, have finally been granted permission to play their home games inside of Chechnya.

The match between hosts Terek Grozny and visitors Krylya Sovietov Samara has attracted so much attention that the match will even overshadow this weekend’s match between last year champions Zenit St Petersburg and runners up Spartak Moscow.

Excitement

To celebrate, Chechnya’s Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov has announced that tickets for the match will be free to home fans, who will be able to take their first look at the inside of Grozny’s rebuilt 10,300 seater stadium. He’s also promised that Chechen fans will show “the real meaning of Chechen hospitality.”

Terek fans might be celebrating, but Leonid Slutsky, the Samara coach doesn’t sound entirely convinced the decision to host games in Grozny was a good one, though.

“If the FA decided that Terek should play their home games in Grozny, then so be it. I just hope they don’t change their mind a few weeks later and we would be the only ones who had played in Grozny.”

Chechnya is safe

Samara’s travelling fans will understandably be nervous ahead of tonight’s game - two wars in 15 years and an ongoing low-level insurgency aren’t exactly reassuring.

But Vladimir Putin, Russia’s outgoing President, has a lot riding on this game, as bringing Chechnya back into Russian society has been one of the key promises underpinning his eight years at the top. Any trouble tonight would reflect badly on him.

The Guardian newspaper reports that the Kremlin put heavy pressure on the Russian FA to allow Terek to host home games in Grozny, and demonstate that peace and stability has returned to the one time rebel capital.

You can bet that the police and army will be out in force today, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is confident that the game will go well.

“I can give a 100-percent guarantee that there are no terrorist threats here. I’m confident that the ability to see Premier League matches will be the most precious gift for our people.”

Terek’s Troubled History

Formed in 1946, disbanded in 1994, and re-formed in 2001, Terek Grozny have had a troubled history. But not a history entirely without success.

For much of the past two decades, Terek have been forced to play their home matches in exile, in Pyatigorsk. But since reforming in 2001, Terek have gone from strength to strength.

The high point of the club’s history surely came in 2004, when Terek Grozny stunned Samara to win the Russian Cup. The victory gave them a slot in European football’s prestigeous UEFA Cup. Sadly, after a qualifying round victory against Polish club Lech Poznan, Terek found the Swiss team FC Basel too strong for them in the first round.

2004 also saw Terek promoted to the Russian Premier League for the first time - an astounding feat for a club that was only in its fourth season since re-forming. Sadly the Premier League proved too tough for Terek during 2005, and they were relegated.

But two more seasons in the Russian First Division have given them the opportunity to build a solid, competitive side who, especially in front of their own fans, will be hoping to do stick around in the Premier League for quite some time.

Last Saturday Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel visited Moscow. Her visit corresponded with International Woman Day which is celebrated on the 8th of March. More importantly, though, Merkel was the first foreign leader to meet not only the current President, but also with President-elect Dmitry Medvedev. Thus, her visit was divided into two parts – formal part and informal one.

Putin met Merkel in his residence in Novo-Ogarevo and reviewed the results of collaboration between Russia and Germany:

“I hope it is not the last meeting with Frau Chancellor, but it is our last meeting while I am President. Our cooperation has been very good. For last 6 years goods turnover has increased 3.5 times and reached 50 billion dollars”.

Frau Chancellor agreed with him and said that it was necessary to look in future for more intensive cooperation between Russia and Germany. Moreover Putin and Merkel also held two-way negotiations and discussed questions of economic cooperation and current world problems.

Russia & Germany: what awaits us?

Some of the results of these negotiations reported during a press-conference, which was organized for German and Russian journalists.

Russia’s President stated that Russia would provide energy for Europe, and to ensure a more reliable supply, Russia will begin construction of gas-pipe with collaboration of Germany. This pipe will run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea and will provide a permanent supply of gas for European consumers. Also Putin promised to continue cooperation with Berlin to settle the situation about Iran, Afganistan and Middle East.

Merkel agreed with Putin, but added that, when it comes to diplomatic problems, each country has its own point of vew. The difference between both leaders’ points of view became clear when the press began to ask questions. For example, Putin called NATO’s expansion as not efficient and even harmful. He said: “I have the impression that the NATO block wants to replace the UN. It forces Ukraine to enter, but people there don’t want it”. On the contrary, Merkel considered that NATO is open to everybody, and had only function was defence against terrorism and other global chanllenges.

The Russian President also called the proclamation of Kosovo’s independence a precedent which would have consequences not only in Europe, but in many regions of the world. Merkel replied that Kosovo was a unique case.

At end of the press-conference Merkel said that she would be glad to work with the new Russian President - Dmitry Medevev - and she hoped that cooperation between Russia and Germany would be as intensive as it was with Putin.

Putin resumed the press-conference with the provocative statement:

“I see that some people are waiting for me to leave the post. They think that with another person as the President, things will be much easier. Medvedev doesn’t have the label of KGB person, but he is the same Russian nationalist (in good sense) as me. He is real patriot of his country and will be active in defending Russians’ interest in world politics”

In my opinion Putin with his statement gave another opportunity for world society to discuss who is the boss in the duet – Putin or Medvedev? But one thing now is clear: other political leaders can’t be relaxed with Russia’s new president. Russia will continue to defend its interests in the international arena.

We all thought he was laying the groundwork for a new career as Prime Minister… but it looks as though Vladimir Putin may have set his sights on a retirement job as the next great theatre director.

After he and his wife had watched 19th Century Russian comedy ‘Woe from Wilt’ at Moscow’s Sovremennik theater, Putin paid a surprise visit backstage, where he gave the cast and director the benefit of his notes. And, as you’d expect from a man who has led Russia for eight year’s, Putin didn’t mince words.

“Why did you show him [the main character] crying at the very beginning? One gets the impression of him as a weak person. He’s a strong man. He withstands everything that’s there. You showed him sniveling.”

Slightly put out, but knowing his place, the play’s Director Rimas Tuminas carefully crafted a reply that would shift the blame from himself onto the lead actor:

“You’re correct and I’m just glad that the actor has heard this.”

But, if nothing else, Putin’s years at the top have given him the super ability to spot a snivelling excuse at 100 paces, and the Director’s excuse received short shrift:

“The actor has nothing to do with this. He’s done what you told him.”

Ouch. By the way, is anyone else thinking of Stalin’s part-time career as the Soviet Union’s “super-movie-producer / director / screenwriter as well as supreme censor“?

Anyway, Putin - ever the media-aware politician - then went on to tell Russian media how the play related to current international politics. Referring to a scene when the lead character criticizes fellow Russians who fall all over themselves to adopt Western customs, he told reporters:

“This is a particular lesson for the new members of the European Union. I’m joking, I’m joking.”

Which will no doubt go down well in Eastern Europe.

Dmitry Medvedev is Russia’s new President. But what kind of President will he be? Will he wield actual power, or will he just be the right hand man of outgoing President Vladimir Putin? Does the Bear have the stamina to survive in the bear-pit of Russian politics?

The way I see it, there are three broad possibilities for the coming years.

1). Putin is really the boss, and he intends to stay the boss. Either Putin will gradually shift power to the office of Prime Minister, or he’ll run for the Presidency again in 2012 after a caretaker Medvedev Presidency.

2). A planned transfer of power to Medvedev. Either Putin plans to gradually groom his successor, or he plans to surprise us all by retiring from Russian politics in May, while he is on top of his game.

3). An unplanned transfer of power to Medvedev. The Presidency is a constitutionally more powerful role than that of Prime Minister, and Medvedev may fancy his chances of success if he can slowly build his real power base to challenge Putin’s influence.

1 - Putin stays in power

Let’s face it, pretty much everyone in the West, and probably most in Russia too, thinks Putin plans to remain Russian top dog for some time to come.

Putin is, after all, a man in his political prime. He is regarded at home and abroad as the architect of Russia’s recent revival (even if the seeds were really sown during the last years of the Yeltsin Presidency, and watered by downpours of oil), and is immensely popular among the Russian electorate.

If I was in Putin’s shoes, I probably wouldn’t want to retire either.

So, if you’re President who has to resign at the end of his second term, but wants to legitimately remain in power, what do you do?

Simple. You find another powerful job, and find someone both reliable and malleable to take on the role of President. In this case, Putin has picked the role of Prime Minister as his ideal job, and Dmitry Medvedev as his reliable, yet malleable Presidential sidekick.

As Prime Minister, Putin has all the official constitutional excuse he needs to wield power. And, working with a President whose power base is thought to be pretty much non-existent beyond Putin, he shouldn’t face any real competition for power. The advantage of being Prime Minister, of course, is that there are no term limits. If he wants to, and he can pull it off, Putin could stay as Russia’s PM until the day he dies.

However, the disadvantage to being Prime Minister is that, technically, he serves at the discretion of the President. If Putin can’t find a way to change the constitution in the next four years, he might well consider that the safest option is to run back to the security of the Presidency in 2012.

2 - A planned transfer of power to Medvedev

Russia’s economy is booming - most people’s incomes have shot up during Putin’s rule, a middle class is forming, and the country seems awash with money. Of course, everyone thinks Putin is great.

But Russia’s wealth is built mainly on energy exports and record high prices for oil and gas. It’s economy hasn’t diversified, and the global economy is uncertain, at best. If oil prices crash, the Russian economy is likely to follow.

And if the Russian suffers another financial meltdown like 1998, guess who they’re going to blame?

Given the global economic uncertainty, now might seem a very attractive time for Putin to retire on top of his game, with his reputation intact. He could crack open the little nest egg he’s supposedly been stashing away over the past eight years and live a very comfortable retirement.

In this scenario, the only real question is when does Putin intend to retire? Does he intend to go out in a blaze of glory in May, or will he hang on a while to show Medvedev the ropes.

Going out in a blaze of glory has its attractions, of course, but it has its dangers too. Medvedev doesn’t have a massive power base and, while watching Medvedev struggle might have a certain appeal for Putin, it also opens him up to dangers. Putin has made many enemies during the past eight years and, in an uncertain country like Russia, protection is vital. A weak President can’t offer much protection.

It may well be best for Putin to hold off on retiring immediately, and spend a little time showing his acolyte the ropes.

3 – An unplanned transfer of power

For Russia, an unplanned transfer of power is probably the least desirable outcome – in the short-term, at least. Journalists probably love the idea, though, as few things sell newspapers better than an epic power struggle.

The position of President of Russia is a powerful one. As noted above, the President can technically fire his Prime Minister and Government at will. Both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev know this.

Much has been made of Medvedev’s political weakness compared to Putin. He is widely regarded as Putin’s man. And, in a very real sense, he is. Without Putin’s sponsorship, Medvedev would probably be muddling along in regional politics, or have given up politics entirely in favour of a steady management job somewhere.

If he were to try and fire Putin this year, no-one would stand for it. Medvedev simply couldn’t rule today without Putin’s active support.

But there’s something about being President of a powerful country that increases a man’s stature in the eyes of his people - and increases a man’s stature in his own eyes. Surely, one day, Medvedev will get tired of being told what to do by his supposed subordinate?

Will we see another battle for the White House?

Vladimir Putin gave his final annual Press Conference as Russian President on Thursday.

According to Kommersant, at more than four hours, it was his longest ever and, as usual, Vladimir Vladimirovich has thrown out plenty of media-worthy quotes to excite press interest. Some crude, some scary, some twee.

To give you a flavour of the event, I’ve compiled some of my favourite quotes from the press conference and grouped them together around a few key themes.

On political leadership

It seems as though Putin wasn’t impressed with Hillary Clinton’s recent quip about his not having a soul. When asked what he thought of Clinton he quickly snapped back:

“A state official must at least have brains.”

Current President George W Bush, on the other hand, is clearly Putin’s soulmate:

“Sometimes you have to make decisions that nobody else can make… Do you think Bush has it easy?”

In his own job, Putin confessed that he works “like a galley slave”, but didn’t ask for any sympathy:

“Heads of state have no right to whinge, or drool for any reason… If they are going to slobber and blow snot and say things are bad, bad, then that’s how it will be.”

I don’t know about you, but to me those sound like the words of a man with a cold.

On being the richest man in the world

For a while now an unsubstantiated story has been floating around about Putin’s $40 billion wealth - his alleged ill-gotten gains from 8 years in the Kremlin. Putin clearly isn’t impressed by the man who has been spreading the rumours, bringing out the snot reference yet again:

“They picked it [the story] out of their noses and smeared it on paper.”

But in one sense, he really is the world’s richest man:

“That is true. I am the richest man in Europe and the whole world. I collect emotions. I am rich because the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the top position in such a great country as Russia. I think this is my greatest wealth.”

On the future

Of course, the main question on everyone’s lips was “So, what are you going to do after the election, Vladimir Vladimirovich, when you have to move out of your shiny Kremlin office?”

For a change, Putin was willing to talk. Here’s a collection of his comments - I’ll leave it for you to judge what he meant:

“I know how the head of state’s job is set up, and assure you that our relations will be quite harmonious. I will never step in for the head of the government. I consider that damaging and counter-productive.”

“I should not cry but be happy that I have the opportunity to work in another capacity, and in another capacity to serve my country. I will be involved in the same tasks as when I was president. I will continue working.”

“The premiership is not a transitional post,” he said. “If I can see that in this capacity I can fulfill these goals, I will work as long as possible. There is no other answer.”

“I was never tempted to stay for a third term. Never,” he said. “From my first day of work as president I decided for myself that I would never violate the existing constitution. […]

Some are addicted to cigarettes, some, God forbid, to drugs, and some become addicted to money. They say that the worst addiction is to power. I have never felt that. I have never been addicted to anything.”

“The president is the guarantor of the constitution. He sets the main directions for internal and external policies. But the highest executive power in the country is the Russian government, headed by the prime minister”

On Foreign Affairs

As you’d expect, Putin was blunt, possibly even confrontational when stating his views on foreign policy. He certainly pulled very few punches. On US plans for a missile shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic he threw out a nuclear threat:

“Our experts believe that the system threatens our national security. If it appears, we will have to react adequately. We will probably have to retarget our missiles against those objects which threaten our security.”

In a move that will please many, Putin drew parallels between independence for Kosovo and other struggles for national liberation around the world. Surprisingly, though, he shied away from traditional examples, such as Trans-Dniester, and instead cited Cyprus:

“I don’t want say anything that would offend anyone, but for 40 years northern Cyprus has practically had independence,” Putin said. “Why aren’t you recognizing that? Are you not ashamed in Europe of the double standards you are applying to settle problems?”

“I will yet again emphasize that we consider that unilateral support for independence for Kosovo is immoral and illegal.”

The greatest disdain, however, was reserved for those who want to monitor Russia’s Presidential election for compliance with ‘democratic’ standards.

“Let them teach their wives to make cabbage soup”

Indeed. At this rate, I’m going to need to update my Putin quotes to live your life by article.

Update: A full transcript of the press conference can be found at kremlin.ru. Thanks to Ger for the link.

It looks as though the British Council is going to reluctantly cede to Russian demands that it close its offices in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

According to the BBC, the British Council are to release a statement later today:

A formal statement from the director of the British Council is expected on Thursday.

Sources have told the BBC there does not appear to be much appetite for retaliation at the Foreign Office, where there is a recognition that Britain has few options left in the row.

Each and every Russian member of staff at the British Council was either questioned yesterday by the FSB, or received a late-night home visit from an interior ministry official. They were apparently told in no uncertain terms that their jobs were illegal, and that if they continued to work for the British Council, they would be breaking the law.

The British Council, in their statement, are likely to stress that their decision was motivated by a desire to ensure the safety of their staff - and quite rightly so. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Council’s British staff can just go home at the end of this dispute - the Council’s Russian staff have to stay and face any consequences.

One thing that hasn’t been raised is what the immediate future of Russian British Council staff members - I’m sure the Council will do what it can fothem, but in the very near future, they will officially lose their jobs, and their monthly paychecks.

Overall, I agree with the British Council’s decision at this point. Any responsible employer would do the same. The British Council played the hand they were dealt as well as they could, but ultimately it was a weak hand - the Russian government held all the aces.

According to the BBC, the British Council plan to take the ‘moral high ground’ over this issue - to stress that this is Russia’s loss, rather than Britain’s.

This may play on the international stage but, on the Russian domestic stage, I think this will look very much like a victory for Russia, and a triumph for Putin and Medvedev in the run up to March’s Presidential election.

Update: Both the British Council and British Foreign Minister David Miliband have issued statements on the issue. Here are a couple of hefty excerpts:

British Council statement (pdf):

At the start of this week the Russian Government initiated a campaign of intimidation against our staff in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

On Tuesday 15 January, the Russian State Security Services (FSB) summoned over 20 Russian staff to attend individual interviews.

Late that night 10 members of staff were visited at home by the Russian tax police and called to further interviews yesterday.

The interviews had little to do with their work and were clearly aimed at exerting undue pressure on innocent individuals.

Our paramount consideration is the wellbeing of our staff and I feel we cannot continue our work without significant risk to them.

David Miliband statement to Parliament:

The Russian security services summoned over 20 locally-engaged members of British Council staff in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg one by one for interviews. 10 members of staff were interviewed late at night in their homes after calls by the Russian tax police. Questioning ranged from the institutional status of the British Council to personal questions about the health and welfare of family pets.

Mr Speaker, these Russian citizens have chosen to offer their skills and hard work to promote cultural contact between the people of Russia and the UK. As a result, they have been the subject of blatant intimidation from their own government.

Mr Speaker, I think the whole House will agree that such actions are reprehensible, not worthy of a great country, and contrary to the letter and spirit of the legal framework under which the British Council operates - notably international law, including the Vienna Conventions, and the UK/Russia 1994 bilateral agreement on cultural cooperation which Russia has ratified.

Russia has failed to show any legal reasons under Russian or international law why the British Council should not continue to operate. Russia has also failed to substantiate its claims that the British Council is avoiding paying tax. The British Council is in fact registered for tax in Russia and has complied with all requests of the tax authorities in respect of its activities. Therefore, instead of taking legal action against the Council, they have resorted to intimidation of the Council’s staff.

Later on in his statement, Miliband (correctly, but rather smugly, it seemed to me) outlined the moral high ground that Britain plans to occupy:

We regard as entirely separate issues Mr Litvinenko’s murder and the activities of the British Council to build up links between British and Russian schools and universities, to support English language teaching in Russia and Russian studies in the UK, and to promote the best of British drama, writing, music, and art.

Nor do we believe that cultural activities should become a political football; in fact educational and cultural activities are important ways of bringing people together. That is why I have decided not to take similar action against Russia’s cultural activities in the UK, for example by sending back Russian masterpieces scheduled for show at the Royal Academy, or by taking measures against the two Russian diplomats at the Russian Embassy dedicated to cultural work.

We have nothing to fear from these contacts; we welcome and encourage them.

If you believe the rumours, Vladimir Putin has accumulated a personal fortune worth $40 billion dollars during his seven and a half years as President of Russia.

That would comfortably make Putin Russia’s richest man. And Europe’s richest man. In fact, if Putin really is worth $40 billion, he would be the fourth richest man in the world.

The allegations of Putin’s vast wealth come from Stanislav Belkovsky, described as a Russian political analyst by the Guardian. In an interview with them he claimed that Putin was worth:

“At least $40bn. Maximum we cannot know. I suspect there are some businesses I know nothing about…. It may be more. It may be much more.

Putin’s name doesn’t appear on any shareholders’ register, of course. There is a non-transparent scheme of successive ownership of offshore companies and funds. The final point is in Zug [in Switzerland] and Liechtenstein. Vladimir Putin should be the beneficiary owner.”

Belkovsky goes into more detail in the Telegraph, who report that:

According to Mr Belkovsky, Mr Putin controls a 37 per cent stake in Surgutneftegaz, an oil exploration company, as well as 4.5 per cent of Gazprom, the state energy giant, and at least 50 per cent of Gunvor, a Swiss-based oil trading company that has won a series of state contracts.

Not bad for seven years work.

Only one minor detail - Belkovsky doesn’t appear to have given any evidence whatsoever to back up his claims. Which makes it all the more surprising that, since they first surfaced in a book he published last year, his claims have been picked up by Die Welt, the Washington Post and the Guardian - and now are whizzing around the global media as semi-fact.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Putin hadn’t provided generously for his retirement and had a few hundred million, perhaps even a billion or two tucked away somewhere for a rainy day.

But $40 billion??

Come on. How on earth does the leader of Europe’s biggest country, in one of the most high profile presidencies in the world, manage to become the world’s fourth richest man with absolutely nobody noticing? Not even Forbes…

Much as expected, Vladimir Putin has generously offered to serve as Dmitry Medvedev’s Prime Minister.

Assuming, of course, that Medvedev is elected as President… there’s the not so tricky matter of a Presidential election to negotiate first.

“If the citizens of Russia show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him the new president, I would be ready to continue our joint work as prime minister, without changing the distribution of authority,” said Putin.

Medvedev, as is to be expected, followed Putin’s announcement with a bit of well timed sucking up to his future lackey:

“The full implementation of this strategy is possible only together with its author, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin… I don’t have the slightest doubt that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, in the future, will keep using his enormous political and professional resources, his influence both in our society and in the world, for the benefit of Russia and its citizens.”

Well, at least we can stop speculating - Putin will be Prime Minister, while Medvedev sits in the Kremlin as his puppet President.

Unless, of course, we’re wrong…

I love this graphic from German magazine Spiegel Online, which perfectly sums up how the world saw Russia’s election.

No respect at all for United Russia as a legitimate party - all they are is the Putin party.

(Hat tip: Herr Shedd).

Spotted in the Guardian this morning, possibly the most bonkers suggestion ever as to how Putin could stay at the top of the Russian power tree:

Another scenario involves a foreign policy crisis, such as a US airstrike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Under this scenario, Putin holds and wins an emergency referendum and keeps going.

Even 24 wouldn’t go with a plotline this absurd.

Now, I know Vladimir Putin has a certain… mystique. But I must confess, I’d never thought of Russia’s President as particularly sexy.

But, apparently, Putin’s good looks send the Japanese weak at the knees. In a recent poll, they voted Putin the world’s fifth most attractive politician.

Only Junichiro Koizumi (Japan), Shintaro Ishihara (Japan), Tony Blair (UK) and the lovely Hilary Clinton (USA) are easier on the eye than Russia’s beloved President.

As Disgrasian says - we need a recount!

Update: Looks like its not just the Japanese who are fans of Putin. Time Magazine have just selected Putin as their Person of the Year 2008.