La Gornada – Putin pledged to take measures to revive the Russian economy in his annual report

Moscow. President Vladimir Putin – with his mind set on the parliamentary elections in September – pledged yesterday to implement measures to revive the Russian economy and mitigate the effects of the crisis on the sectors of the population most in need, while opposition supporters Alexei Navalny despite in fewer numbers than previous occasions due to the risk of taking to the streets to protest In more than a hundred cities in the country, they demanded their freedom.

The activities are parallel as they are different, each activity developed according to its own script. In one of them, the President – upon completing the process of directing his annual message to the nation before members of Parliament – this year focused on the necessity of renewing the composition of the State Duma, in his speech on recognizing that the situation is not the best for reasons. It is beyond his control and will to make exceptional one-time payments to satisfy Russians hardest hit by severe economic hardship. More sounds, more likely.

On the other hand, there may be fewer votes, which is one demand: Navalny’s freedom. Actions in favor of the imprisoned opponent deserve no space in Russian general television news. They reported nothing of the “preventive” arrests of opposition figures the moment they left their home, such as Kira Yarmisch, Navalny’s press secretary, who ended up in a police station when she decided to go buy bread in the morning.

By nine o’clock in the evening, there were already 459 detainees, and the final number would undoubtedly be higher, as on previous occasions. Several young people attended the protest, and at the same time, the number of participants was lower than expected from the hundreds of thousands who expressed their intent to do so online.

When it comes to international politics, using content language that is more than aggressive, Putin – against “self-leaks” that hinted at startling announcements of a break with the West – has done nothing: Russia also does not want to abandon the SWIFT system. Neither abandoning the dollar as a means of payment, nor asking permission from the Senate to use Russian forces outside the country’s borders, nor accepting the accession of rebel regions in southern Ukraine to Russia, nor establishing a military base in Belarus, nor anything that could complicate Moscow’s relations with The rest of the world.

On the contrary, Russia – the Kremlin chief indicated – wants “to maintain good relations with all those who interfere in international communications, even with those who, to put it mildly, recently we cannot have a dialogue.”, Referring to the United States. And some countries in Europe.

Putin added that this does not mean that “we want to burn bridges, but if someone interprets our good will as indifference or shows weakness, and at the same time is ready to destroy those bridges, then he should know that Russia’s response will be disproportionate, quick and strong.”

He warned that “the organizers of any provocation affecting the core interests of our security will regret it because they never regret it.” He concluded: “Russia itself will set red lines that should not be crossed by anyone.”

Putin gave an example that he would not allow what is supposed to happen in Belarus here. “Everyone can think what they want about the (ousted) president of Ukraine (Victor) Yanukovych or (Nicolas) Maduro in Venezuela (…) but organizing coups and planning political assassinations. , Including the assassinations of rulers, which exceed the permissible limits. “

According to Putin, the Russian and Belarusian security services, in a recent joint operation, detained a group of Belarusian exiles in a Moscow restaurant who, with funding from Western intelligence, “planned to carry out a coup against (President Alexander) Lukashenko and were negotiating how to share power, after the assassination of the president. The Belarusian and all his descendants.

It does not appear to be a coincidence that Putin indicated “plans to assassinate” Lukashenko the day before his meeting with him, as he would come to Russia in search of more support from the Kremlin.