LENIN & MEDVEDEV, ANCESTORS & THE FUTURE; ALSO LIBYA & PUTIN

RED SQUARE 

AT DUSK 

LENIN'S MAUSOLEUM (right) 

ST. BASIL'S CATHEDRAL (left), 

AND A BABUSHKA 

SWEEPING RED SQUARE 

AT DUSK, MOSCOW, 1984 

Following up on yesterday's post about the exhibit in the State History Museum that quotes Lenin's sister on their maternal grandfather's ethnicity and religious conversion (see here), another photograph of Red Square back in the day.  A generation after the photograph was taken in 1984, and almost two decades after the Soviet Union fell, Lenin's mortal remains still remain in the mausoleum that once held Joseph Stalin as well. 

Meanwhile, in Deauville, France, today, the G8 met with Libya on its mind.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev let it be known through his press secretary that the NATO members of the G8 had asked Russia to take on a mediating role in the Libyan crisis.  There was, Reuters tells us, no word on whether Medvedev would undertake such a mission.   There was moreover some suspicion cast on the news the Russian president's office was putting about:  "a G8 diplomatic source" was quoted as saying, "We must have not heard the same thing."  A tad catty for a diplomat?   Truth-telling?  Or a failure to get the memo? 

AP had another angle on the story:  Asking Russia to mediate was not a sign of Russia's indispensability, but a ploy to placate a supplicant still at the fringes of the action.  The American president's National Security team threw in a few flattering words:  "Russia has relations, not just in Libya but across most of North Africa. ... We can benefit from those types of consultations and contacts with them."  And President Obama himself was said to be "'leading that initiative to work with the Russians' on Libya." 

Well, Russia still does have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.  And it did not use its veto power back when authorization was sought for this campaign against Libya, or against the present Libyan authorities, or to preserve human life in Libya.   This was President Medvedev's choice to make, and suddenly the other half of the Russian ruling Tandem, Prime Minister Putin, the once and possibly future president, seemed to beg to disagree (details here). 

"IS THE COLD WAR STILL OVER?" LIBYA MEDVEDEV NATO OBAMA PUTIN RUSSIA SERBIA

"IS

THE COLD WAR

STILL OVER?"

KOSOVO 1999

LIBYA 2011

GERMAN CHANCELLOR GERHARD SCHROEDER

GREETS RUSSIAN PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN

AT THE 1999 G-8 SUMMIT IN COLOGNE, GERMANY

Stay Tuned

Meanwhile, related material here

PUTIN SAYS NO SPLIT WITH MEDVEDEV ON LIBYA

PUTIN 

PLAYS DOWN 

TANDEM 

BREAKDOWN 

VLADIMIR PUTIN 

HOSTS RUSSIA'S ONE & ONLY (SO FAR) 

G-8 SUMMIT 

ST. PETERSBURG July 2006 

 A KEY PREROGATIVE OF BEING "PRESIDENT" OF RUSSIA 

What looks like a possible area of disagreement between the two halves of "Russia's Ruling Tandem" has materialized in the international sphere, on what to do with Libya.   Current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed his foreign ministry officials "not to use our power of veto" in the U.N. Security Council.  "Russia did not use its power of veto for the simple reason that I do not consider the resolution in question wrong," explained President Medvedev. "It would be wrong," he continued, "for us to start flapping about now and say that we didn’t know what we were doing."  And furthermore, "we need to be very careful in our choice of wordings. It is inadmissible to say anything that could lead to a clash of civilizations, talk of ‘crusades’ and so on."  

So who had been talking about Libya and crusades, earlier that very day (Monday, March 21)?  Vladimir Putin, the current prime minister, and once and possibly future president.  He carefully said that his portfolio as head of the Russian government does not include "foreign affairs and foreign policy," and that he was offering his personal opinion.  He stressed that Russia did not vote for Resolution 1973, and that he was "concerned with the ease with which a decision can be made on the use of force in international affairs nowadays."  The Security Council Libyan resolution reminded him "of a medieval call to crusade, when someone calls upon others to go somewhere and free someone else." 

It no doubt bears mentioning that Putin made these remarks to workers in a ballistic missile factory in the Urals, the Votkinsk plant in Udmurtia.  So while he noted that Russia wants peace with everyone, "what is happening in Libya today proves once again that what we are doing to reinforce Russia's defence capabilities is right. And the new government armament program that I've just mentioned is designed to address these issues."  And, Putin concluded, "the Votkinsk plant has a large role to play in this program, and we are counting on your help."  

Today there came a clarification:  The Prime Minister denied there was a rift with the President. 

The next Russian presidential elections are due next year.  Putin will finally be eligible to run for a third term (always very interesting that he followed the constitution on this matter; after picking Medvedev as his successor, of course).