Strident Putin says Russia must diversify its economy

RUSSIAN PRIME minister Vladimir Putin emphasised the dangers of political instability, liberal “experiments” and foreign interference in his final annual report to MPs before parliamentary and presidential elections.

In an appearance at the State Duma lasting some four hours, Mr Putin said Russia must diversify its economy from energy and metals, tame inflation and provide social protection for its people to ensure the world’s geographically biggest country does not witness the kind of unrest that has gripped the Middle East.

Mr Putin did not reveal whether he would seek to return to the Kremlin in next March’s election after a four-year break but his strident and self-congratulatory tone, as well as the rapturous applause of most MPs, gave his address the feel of a campaign speech.

It also strengthened his image as the guarantor of Russian stability against domestic and international threats, and as an advocate for only very gradual change, in contrast to President Dmitry Medvedev, who portrays himself as an eager moderniser with a liberal streak.

Mr Medvedev has also not announced whether he will run for the presidency next year.

“The country needs decades of solid, steady growth without going back and forth with ill-thought-out experiments based on often unfounded liberalism and social demagoguery,” the 58-year-old Mr Putin told the MPs, who will face re-election in a December ballot.

“I believe it is our joint achievement that Russia – in this very difficult period of global crisis – managed to avoid serious shocks and risks,” the former KGB colonel said.

“We have to be independent and strong . . . If you are weak, someone will come and try to push you to follow a certain policy, pick the path to follow for your country in the form of friendly advice that in reality is a gross diktat and interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”

Returning repeatedly to possible threats to Russia’s well-being, Mr Putin warned that excessive reliance on revenue from raw materials made the economy vulnerable to sudden price falls.

“The current beneficial environment in the raw materials and hydrocarbons (markets) should not make us relax. The oil boom we are witnessing only underlines the need to move quickly to a new model of economic development.”