Medvedev: The man who kept the seat of power warm for Putin

His four years as president are four days from an end. But why did Dmitry Medvedev fail to transcend his mentor and become a Russian figurehead in his own right?

Previous inhabitants of the Kremlin, whether it be Ivan the Terrible, Joseph Stalin or Vladimir Putin, have tended to inspire both awe and fear. Even with Boris Yeltsin in the late, vodka-infused years, there remained an aura of residual respect for someone who was essentially the most powerful person in the biggest country in the world. But with four days left of his four-year tenure as President, Dmitry Medvedev evokes rather different emotions in his citizens.

The state-controlled news television still gives staid accounts of the President chairing cabinet meetings and meeting the people. But, online, a sphere that the iPad-toting Mr Medvedev himself has been keen to champion, it is a different story: Mr Medvedev is met by many Russians with indifference at best, if not outright derision. On Twitter, users refer to him with the hashtag " the pitiful one".

Mr Medvedev, a diminutive lawyer who has known Vladimir Putin for two decades, was carefully manoeuvred into the Kremlin by Mr Putin in 2008, when the latter had to step aside due to a constitutional ban on serving more than two consecutive terms. Throughout his rule, the majority of people have assumed he was a seat-warmer for Mr Putin, who as Prime Minister still appeared to be calling the shots.

For a while, Kremlinologists looked hard for signs of cracks appearing in the ruling " tandem"; for disagreements between the two men and signs Mr Medvedev might be ready to escape his mentor's shackles and strike out on his own. There was talk that if he won a second term as President, he might be able to enact real reform. Then, last September, it was announced that Mr Putin was coming back after all. Mr Medvedev, apparently, had been a lame duck all along. The quiet giggling at his awkward attempts to emulate Mr Putin's televised stunts and tough talking ended in a sense of disappointment.

Even his wardrobe choices now provoke derision. The ruling duo attended this week's May Day parade together, and while Mr Putin wore a sombre black trenchcoat, Mr Medvedev skipped along in a tight-fitting double-breasted white jacket that came to just above the knee. It looked like the fashion choice one might expect from someone riding a bicycle in Shoreditch, rather than the attire of a President of a nuclear power at a labour march. Within hours, the Russian blogosphere went into overdrive at the President's failed attempt to look cool. A photo went viral of Mr Medvedev in the coat juxtaposed with a photo of supermodel Kate Moss in a similar number.

One of the most popular satirical digs at the Russian President has been on Twitter. Mr Medvedev set up his Twitter account during a visit to the company's headquarters in San Francisco in 2010. He soon began tweeting both official state business and his personal thoughts, which were meant to burnish his image as a modernising President.

 

Голливуд попался на взятках

26.04.2012

Комиссия по ценным бумагам и биржам США (SEC) проводит расследование деятельности крупнейших киностудий Америки, которые подозреваются в использовании взяток для организации съемок и показов кинофильмов на территории Китая. Подобная практика ведения дел в Поднебесной оправдывает себя — быстрорастущий рынок КНР становится настоящей золотой жилой для американских киношников, столкнувшихся с падением прибыли у себя дома.

В течение последних двух месяцев SEC направила официальные письма с требованием предоставить информацию о ведении бизнеса в Китае как минимум пяти американским киностудиям, в число которых вошли 20th Century Fox, Disney и DreamWorks Animation. В запросах на предоставление информации SEC, в частности, интересуется связями студий с китайскими чиновниками различного уровня, а также потенциально незаконными платежами последним за право снимать кино или показывать фильмы на территории Китая. Кинорынок Поднебесной сейчас жестко контролируется государством через корпорацию China Film Group, которая устанавливает правила ведения дел для всех участников сектора.

Начало расследования против киностудий, отмечают аналитики, совпало с существенной либерализацией правил ведения бизнеса в КНР. Договоренности об этом были достигнуты по итогам февральского визита в США заместителя председателя КНР Си Цзиньпина, который вскоре должен стать новым китайским лидером. Пекин расширил ежегодную квоту на показ кинофильмов иностранного производства с 20 до 34 лент, а также позволил иностранным кинокомпаниям получать больше прибыли от продажи билетов. Теперь вместо 15—17, 5% от сборов им полагается примерно четверть.

«Оттепель» на китайском кинематографическом рынке стала настоящим подарком для американских студий, которые столкнулись с падением интереса соотечественников к кино. За прошлый год кассовые сборы в США сократились на 5%, составив 10 млрд долл. В Китае, напротив, был зарегистрирован рост на 35%, до 2, 1 млрд долл. Поднебесная теперь является третьим по величине рынком после США и Японии. Предполагается, что к концу этого года общее количество китайских кинотеатров вырастет более чем на 20% и достигнет отметки 13 тыс. залов.

Вдохновившись подобными перспективами роста прибыли, американские компании стали чаще обращать внимание на Китай как на место проведения съемок или даже размещения собственных студий. К примеру, руководство компании Disney уже объявило о том, что будет частично снимать третью часть блокбастера «Железный человек» именно в Китае, причем при участии местных киношников, а компания DreamWorks Animation в партнерстве с тремя местными студиями намерена открыть в Поднебесной свое подразделение.

Интерес американских властей США к деятельности кинокомпаний неудивителен. В последние годы SEC и Министерство юстиции ведут масштабные проверки национального бизнеса на наличие признаков коррупции. Их жертвами, в частности, уже стали Daimler и General Electric. Значительная часть случаев подкупа чиновников со стороны американских компаний зафиксирована именно в Китае — с 2002 года власти США выявили около 50 подобных случаев. Больше взяток американцы давали только в Нигерии.

 

CARD 10

 

'Government should leave pensions alone'

Chancellor George Osborne has been urged to resist the temptation to treat pensions “like an ATM”, amid speculation that a tax raid on them is being planned for the Budget.

Last month, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said wealthier savers should be stripped of higher-rate tax relief on pensions and insisted the better-off were benefiting disproportionately from the tax break.

Reducing tax relief from 40% to 20% would save more than £ 7 billion and make the system fairer, according to Mr Alexander.

For every 60p currently saved in a pension by a higher-rate taxpayer, the Government contributes 40p in tax relief to make it up to £ 1, but suggestions have been made that this should be cut to around 20p.

But analysts said the Government should leave pensions alone and called for a period of stability at a time when ministers are trying to encourage a savings culture.

The calls come ahead of a huge overhaul of the pensions system this autumn when up to 10 million people will start being automatically placed into schemes to tackle the pension savings crisis.

Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: " The Government should leave pensions alone. Better still, it should give a commitment that it will leave pensions alone for at least the remainder of this parliament and it should call on the opposition to form a consensus that pension taxation is off the agenda for the next 10 years.

" This year marks the start of auto-enrolment. If it fails then there is no hope left for the UK's retirement provision.

" The Government should resist the temptation to treat pensions like an ATM - what we need is a period of stability."

Association of British Insurers (ABI) director-general Otto Thoresen said: " In opposition, George Osborne repeatedly stressed he would be a pro-savings Chancellor.

" At this very difficult time for savers, he needs to live up to his promises and resist the temptation to view pensions as an easy, short-term hit."

Pensioners have been faced with high living costs at a time when they are receiving little return on their savings and new retirees are finding annuity rates, which set the size of a pension for life, have been hit by quantitative easing.

CBI director-general John Cridland said any further reduction in pensions tax relief would be a " breach of trust with those already paying higher taxes, and harm our ability to attract the best talent to the UK...

 

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