Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, August 08, 2011

Putin's lecture at summer camp

Jeff Silva-Brown, teacher at Ukiah High School in Ukiah, California, posted a link to this article on his Facebook page. Thanks, Jeff.

Nashi, the United Russia youth group, held a summer camp, not unlike the camp attacked in Norway. Like the planned events at the Norwegian Workers' Youth League camp, the Nashi camp featured visits by prominent United Russia politicians. In fact, Prime Minister Putin came to speak to the Nashi camp.

Putin says U.S. is "parasite" on global economy

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States Monday of living beyond its means "like a parasite" on the global economy and said dollar dominance was a threat to the financial markets.

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Putin told the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi while touring its lakeside summer camp some five hours drive north of Moscow…

Casually dressed in khaki trousers and a striped white shirt, Putin flew by helicopter to the tented camp as part of a string of appearances that are being closely watched in the run-up to the elections.

He did not say whether he plans a return to the Kremlin or will stand aside for Medvedev, his partner in Russia's leadership tandem, to run for a second term.

But young people crowding round Putin, caught up in the campaigning spirit created by huge portraits of Putin hung from trees, were not shy about saying who they wanted as president…

Nashi, which means "Our People," was created by the Kremlin to counter popular dissent after youth activism helped topple a pro-Moscow government in Ukraine's 2005 Orange revolution.

The group has worked to spread a personality cult around Putin and regularly campaigns against Kremlin critics…