Do any other leaders give speeches like this? (Medvedev)

[Vympel]

Medvedev to make annual address

Medvedev set for annual address
By Richard Galpin
BBC News, Moscow

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is set to give his annual state-of-the-nation address.

Although the contents of his speech are a secret, the president took the step this year of inviting members of the public to suggest what he should say.

He is expected to call for the strengthening of Russian democracy and for rampant corruption to be curbed.

A year ago, in his first such address, he made a surprise announcement about deploying missiles close to Poland.

He also announced an extension of the president's term in office from four to six years.

There may be more surprises this time.

But the focus is likely to be about transforming Russia into a more modern and open country.

Criticism

This was the theme of a much-talked-about article which Mr Medvedev wrote for an internet site in September.

In the article, the president was scathing about what he called the country's primitive economy and its humiliating dependence on oil, gas and other raw materials.

He went on to criticise the level of corruption and the weakness of democracy in the country.

Now, he said, was the chance to prove that Russia could develop in a democratic way.

These strong words have been seen as a criticism of his mentor and predecessor Vladimir Putin, who is now prime minister.

The president is keen to prove he is his own man and his speech on Thursday could be another chance to do that.

Really, Russian leaders give speeches like this all the time - our economy is too crap, our military is too weak, there's too much corruption - what other world leader talks like this? Can you imagine an American President giving a speech like this? He'd be drawn and quartered instantly.

[Sea Skimmer]

If American fell apart as badly as Russia did after 1991 I’m pretty sure we’d be well into a third civil war by now and have no federal president left to draw and quarter. Either that or we'd have conquered the entire Arabian Peninsula and perfected a means by which blood can be injected into the grounds to force the oil out. I mean they do already do that with seawater. When you have a shitty country and everyone knows it you've got little reason not to tell the truth. Its only places run by the certifiably insane like Zimbabwe or North Korea that still try to keep up appearance.

[K. A. Pital]

What? *slaps head* This talk is just means of trying to be "honest" with the population. It's the same old tune Putin sang when he came along (everything is bad, bad, bad... support ME!), same as Yeltsin, et cetera. Self-criticism is only useful when it leads to action. This does not. Yeltsin was probably the most "criticising" of them all, and claimed to put his head on the rails if there'd be more calamities somewhere in the early 1990s. Well, I don't see his head rolling cut off, and neither is that self-criticism doing any use to Russia.

On the contrary, it maintains the perception of the current administration as capable of correcting failures (if you see them, people rationalise, you might be able to correct them, right?). Which it is not, by a long way.

Nigh all it's promises are full of lies (I still have that 2008 brochure promising the opening of the new Omsk international airport in 2010 - guess what, the fuckers stole every single rouble given to that project, and the last concrete panel was laid somewhere... let me see... 1987 it was when I visited the place in 2006, and I doubt anything changed now).

The Medvedev administration criticizes Putin while at the same time continuing all policies of the preceding ruler. Good going'. This is part of the problem:

Russian leaders give speeches like this all the time

Lots of talk. Enormous volumes of empty talk in Russia. Little action. Just slightly above the zero level needed to survive as a nation. And even that is dubious with the complete population apathy and the rot of society and industry at their very cores.

[[R_H]]

Found this article on Spiegel.de

Medvedev's Plans For Russia 'Far From Reality'

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday gave his second state of the nation address since becoming the country's leader. While German commentators praised his grand vision to modernize the country, many doubted his ability to carry it out.

In his closely-watched state of the nation address, President Dmitry Medvedev outlined the long list of the ailments afflicting Russia, both economic and social. But his prescription for national ills was short-and-to-the-point: modernize and overhaul the country.

Speaking for more than an hour and a half, Medvedev argued that Russia had lost ground to competitors because of its over-reliance on natural resources. Its mauling by the global financial downturn, meanwhile, was seen as partly the country's own fault.

"We need to admit that in the previous years we didn't do enough to overcome the problems we inherited," Medvedev said. "We need to start modernizing and renovating the entire industrial base. Our nation's survival in the modern world will depend on that."

Since taking over from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last year, the President has repeatedly insisted that the Russian system become more liberal and flexible.

But, in a sign that any reform will more than likely be in keeping with the centralized-power structures of his predecessor, Medvedev insisted: "Any attempts to rock the situation with democratic slogans, to destabilize the state and to split society, will be stopped."

Most in Russia view Putin as the country's de-facto leader. That impression is shared outside of Russia: On Thursday, Forbes magazine placed Putin as the third most powerful person, while Medvedev was just number 43 on the list -- lagging behind many influential European leaders.

And German editorialists on Friday expressed doubts whether Medvedev would have the power to put his vision of a modern Russia into action. Some also warned that his reluctance to support democratic freedoms would scupper his planned reforms.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Last year, Medvedev came over as a nervous student during his state of the nation speech. Now he has shown that he has grown into his new role as president, and is determined to imprint it with his own character. He won't get another opportunity to do this."

"Medvedev is clearly keen to get on with his job. He showed that when he gave an early signal that he was prepared to run for president again in 2012. But if he doesn't want to go down in history as the longest-standing lame duck in history he has to distinguish himself from his powerful predecessor Putin. Putin's influence is still strong -- stronger than that of the Kremlin leader."

The right-leaning daily Die Welt writes:

"Medvedev has made it clear to Russian citizens, clearer than all his post-Soviet predecessors, that not much is working in Russia. If the country wants to return to a position of global power, something which is a completely desirable goal for most Russians, it must be modernized without delay, he said. According to his state of the nation speech, that includes dealing with the chronic economic backwardness as well as the archaic practices which play a central role for all the decision-making leaders."

"He wants to convince those putting the brakes on his renewal, especially the country's staid bureaucracy, that this is a worthy goal. But in this process he shies away from guarding the intellectual and democratic freedoms which his mission needs if it is to be effective."

"So Medvedev, like his predecessors, presents democracy and stability as opposites. And, when its necessary, he opts for stability. In this way, his modernization project threatens to go the way of many other campaigns -- into the quagmire of bureaucracy."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"Every aspect of Russia should be modernized -- that was the tenor of President Medvedev's state of the nation speech. And, as is typical of such occasions, he mentioned many themes and made many promises: New missiles for the armed forces, the endorsement of a new economic path, one no longer based on the export of natural resources, new atomic reactors and cutting-edge research establishments. He has promised the people, that this modernization, for the first time in the history of Russia, would be based on "democratic values and institutions." Those are big promises. But for all those who would like to see more in Medvedev than a president in Putin's pocket, as yet there is no evidence that he has enough power to realize his deeper insights through necessary actions. It may be that Medvedev and his supporters want to try to overcome the Putin system -- but it remains to be seen if they can."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"Forward Russia" -- this is President Medvedev's variant on Obama's slogan "Yes We Can." But it sounds far dowdier than the original. The national sense of renewed hope that he wants to convey is in extreme contrast to the reality of life in Russia. In Russia the discrepancy between Medvedev's ideas of dynamicism and democratic transparency are so far from reality as to sound grotesque. The president himself ... spoke of a "primitive economy" and a "shamefully low" level of industrial competitiveness because of the nation's dependence on natural resources."

"This description is entirely accurate. All of which makes his plans to restore Russia to a position of global leadership, announced in this very same speech, sound even more hollow. He says modern technologies and innovation will boost the economy, adding that he will also combat corruption. But he fails to give any idea on how such changes will be carried out or how he will steer the country out of the precarious predicament it is currently in."

[Narkis]

Really, Russian leaders give speeches like this all the time - our economy is too crap, our military is too weak, there's too much corruption - what other world leader talks like this? Can you imagine an American President giving a speech like this? He'd be drawn and quartered instantly.

It's just like that here in Greece. Every leader talks about how shitty the situation really is, how it's all the previous government's fault for everything, and how they're unable to fulfill their promises because of this. Nobody deals with the problems. They're happy to stall until they're no longer in power, at which point the other party will blame them, and so on.