Putin gives instructions to both Russian voters and foreigners

Four days before the parliamentary elections on Sunday, President Putin summoned Moscow’s diplomatic community to the Kremlin. Foreign ambassadors and envoys of international organizations, 200 in all, gathered in the St. George Hall on Wednesday. Addressing his audience, Putin said he would focus on Russia’s home and foreign affairs, but his speech appealed to Russian voters rather than foreign diplomats, writes Analytical department of RIA RosBusinessConsulting.

“Russia will be promoting a positive unifying agenda for international relations,” Putin said. “This is the main idea I would like you to bring to your capitals,” he stressed.

However, it was another message that caught the attention of foreign observers, namely Putin’s warning against attempts to orchestrate a flower revolution in Russia. “We have done everything to safeguard Russia from internal disturbances, and to put it firmly on the road of evolutionary development, and we will not allow this process to be corrected from outside,” he told the meeting.

Putin described Russia as a stable and predictable country with a growing GDP, a high level of integration in the world economy, and keenly interested in fair and open elections, which are vital for the country’s public and political stability. Russia’s political course is clear and unalterable: democratic development focused on ensuring human rights and freedoms, helping all citizens to fully use their potential. Though open to interpretation, this statement positions Putin as a liberal who favors evolutionary rather revolutionary scenarios.

Turning to foreign affairs, Putin said relations with CIS countries were an “unconditional priority” for Moscow. “For us, this space is not a chessboard for geopolitical games. Peace, quiet, and flourishing in this region are vital for the normal democratic development of all CIS countries,” he underlined. However, CIS ambassadors were seated at a different table, which somehow contradicted Putin’s rhetoric. His mention of a chessboard was aimed at Washington rather than at CIS partners.

Stanislav Belkovsky, head of the National Strategy Institute, interpreted Putin’s statement as preparations for the role of Russia’s envoy to G8 and other international organizations. “This option is being debated,” he told RBC Daily. In his view, Putin’s key message was not to warn foreign partners against meddling, but to reassure Russian voters that neither Putin nor his successor were pro-western politicians, and that Putin himself would not seek another term in office.

Alexei Makarkin, Deputy General Director of the Political Technology Center, disagrees. “It will be difficult for Putin to formalize the position of a special envoy to G8,” he believes. Putin will use the image of the national leader to influence both home and foreign affairs, and his speech seems to have been addressed to both Russian and foreign audiences, according to Makarkin. “The warning for foreigners not to meddle was his message to the Russian audience, in order to mobilize voters, while his efforts to protect Russia’s democratic record were aimed at the foreign audience,” he concluded.