This is very dangerous and telling photo. Mr. Medvedev is not only very young but very naïve as well. All he has to know is how Mr. Big Muscle , anabolic steroid dropping terminator has run the 8th largest economy in the world to the grounds in just few years! Is this the vision Mr. Medvedev has in mind for Russia? What are the useful and supposedly hidden moral and economic lessons Mr. Schwarzenegger can teach the young Russian leader?

Dear Medvedev, Russia should teach and should not learn from America. Because of you we became one of the 3rd world countries. Go away and let Putim come back.

Only the dead have nothing further to learn. And Russia seems very much alive to me. So what does this admission of President Medvedev reveal? It reveals confidence. It reveals a leadership that thinks it can learn and can change Russia for the better. Perhaps this new experiment with a Russian silicon valley won't work. But its failure would still be a valuable lesson for a leadership that can learn. On the net I see that the finance minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Kudrin has won (another ) award for his handling of the financial crisis. So the Russian government has learned at least one lesson better than its Western counterparts. And because the Russian leadership is growing increasingly confident of its own abilities it will be able absorb many other profitable lessons.

Rustov and PR101. You are absolutely right. I have dear friends living near San-Diego. They could tell a few facts about "Big Muscles" capabilities as a Governor or plainly as a politician. He just married a Kennedy girl (that is all). I have difficulties to understand how Mister Putin can accept his president foolishness. If there is a strategy hidden behind the screen; Please explain it; because of Russia's future depend our own. Sorry Future Generations... Your friend: Jean-Claude Meslin

Meslin I think the Russians are playing up the reset to soothe the bruised U.S imperial ego. I also think that the Russians are purchasing time. I am beginning to get some ideas that Russians have more than 1000 years of playing weak and unthreatening and then making their move when the time is right….

You have got to be joking!!! US corporate bank have just robbed the world and corrupted the US government, and you are saying Russia could learn something from America?

There is nothing that Russia can learn from the USA. The USA is bankrupt in every sense of the word: morally, socially and economically. American politicians are the worst that money can buy, who consider Russia the biggest enemy. So, why would you consider even to compare Russia and the USA!

This always amazes me how Russians, standing in and half covered by the stinky dirt, always proudly announce that they do not need to learn anything from anybody (here: from the US). And, that they are going to beat America. Like they have some secret "weapon" or know how to move forward themselves. What is it? The pride, the reality of Russia? Or may be just foolish attitude based on the lack of knowledge and childish bravado? The country where corruption like a spider net covers its population and paralyzes normal life, where young population is turning to the drags and talents give up their ambitions due to inconsistency of Russian politics (and as a result -- unclear future) and inability to do business honestly, this mantra is really sounding "convincing"... Putin? That is right. Personal impotence and lack of desire (or may be ability) to take responsibilities for their own lives Russians would rather convert to the hopes -- the believe that superman will come and save them. Putin already at the top of the Russian government and does the same job as Medvedev. What do you expect more from him? What swapping roles between Medvedev and Putin would change significantly?

I am liking the latest rhetoric from Russia re. west. To all the "US is a falure" brigade, you are forgetting that one can learn from someone else's mistakes too, not just the successes. And the Russian government has already shown their ability to learn by mitigating the credit crunch at home a lot better than Us or EU has managed. I love the fact that the hatchet seems to be buried and the Russian leadership has essentially realised and admitted that technologically and infrastructurally, Russia has a lot of ground to make up, but it is willing to give it a good try! It tells me that no longer some baseless and blind pride is driving the country and this is the first of many steps towards making Russia the economic and intellectual powerhouse it is ought to be. Not an empire that rattles sabres and throws childish tantrums, but a powerhouse that knows what it wants and what it is worth.

Bogdanov I am always suspicious when people who use biomedical terms- such as ‘dirt’ and ‘impotence’ to dehumanize their opponents, or a nation or a people. From the tone of your voice—it is clear that you feel the Russians are dirty and impotent. Hitler also thought the Russians were dirty and impotent. But we know that was not true. Medvedev is thin in political acumen or at least it appears that way according to his public performances. I can look up his speeches in recent months which he gave in California, his pathetic burger meeting with Obama. Only in his recent visit to China did he receive anything worthy of a visiting great leader from a great country. His recent photo ops with Bono and now with Mr. Arnie show he is easy to impress by celebrities. We also know all about his taste for expensive stereos! Of course, Russia can learn great deal from the U.S and the U.S can learn great deal from Russia. However, Mr. Schwarzenegger is very bad teacher. He is a showman. Students of politics must must study how Schwarzenegger, a man with little knowledge in politics and economic, came to seize power in the 8th largest economy and was able to wrack it in few short years and that he is now educating the young Russian President how to do the same in Russia! Yes, Medvedev is really showing his limitation.

PR101, No need to compare me with Hitler -- there is nothing common between us (from what I know about him). Especially, when it comes to Russians. I put different context and different intentions to my words. I emotionally stressed my idea to demonstrate my level of frustration by that baseless arrogance which some Russians demonstrate. The country is behind others technologically, economically, socially, ... (just name almost any area), and yet Russians are standing in the pose of picturing themselves on the top of the world. It is like a drunken, who is barely standing on his feet, refuses to recognize that he is drunk and he is telling everybody that they are doing wrong things... I want to see Russia being prosperous and I want to see Russians having, at least, half of that quality of life which Americans are having today. It is just foolish for Russians to turn their backs to such great opportunity -- to have close economical and cultural relationships with California. I am absolutely certain that both -- Russia and California will benefit from this, because, they have a lot of complementary businesses. Luckily, the leaders understand that. But, "normal" people, seems, lost their vision and senses... By the way, I am not necessarily putting all Russians in the same basket. My comment was primarily addressed to the commentators on this thread...

PR101, Schwarzenegger -- "the incapable one". We may argue about capabilities of Schwarzenegger as a governor. But, you need to take in account a couple of facts. a) California was already falling apart (mostly, financially) with the previous Governor. And it was falling very rapidly. I would say -- that was practically a "deadly dive". I think, these days, any Californian leader with any capabilities has limited power to change things radically. The fact that Schwarzenegger manages California still being afloat -- already a big thing. b) California is a part of the entire US system. And this state is its biggest part. The current disaster, the country found itself in, was being designed and implemented mostly on the East Coast (Washington and New York (Wall Street)). The federal government sucking everything out of this state and determines its political and economical climate... My point -- you cannot fix the "tail" when your "head" is suffering from madness... Medvedev -- "the weak one". Look back in the history of Russia. What you will find -- the political oscillation between "strong" and "weak" leaders. The problem -- Russians do not know what they want. When the strong leader comes -- Russians complain that he is too tough and doesn't provide them enough freedom. The political and economical system becomes over-centralized, narrow focused (mostly converted to serving military needs), and corrupted. The quality of life is dropping. When the liberal leader arrives -- Russians complain that he is too soft and cannot hold country together. The country becomes more diversified, more dynamic, but the forces of disintegration getting stronger and the country may end up in the chaos. I think, these cycles will go forever, until a) government start believing in Russians and b) Russians take responsibilities for their lives and stop putting their hopes on the government.

“This always amazes me how Russians, standing in and half covered by the stinky dirt, always proudly announce that they do not need to learn anything from anybody (here: from the US). And, that they are going to beat America” To : Bogdanov The above quote taken one of your previous posts fits clearly with Hitler’s view of the Russian as “half covered by stinky dirt” . This is the reason why he thought the Russians could not resist the superior march of the Teutonic German race. But we know Russians proved to the “Aryan” fascists that they- the Russians- were neither dirty nor weak but strong and resilient and determined. In the same way, today, Russian is society on path to recovery after 10 years of plunder and misrule. In all the adjectives available to you, you have chosen “dirt” the most adequate adjective to describe the Russian people. Thus, according to you what do Russians need is to be taught the civilizing virtues of racial hyeigene and the clean whiteness of the American civilization. This is indeed the same language used by Hitler against the Russians and also the same language used by western colonizers against colonized brown and black races. Russians are inventors and explorers; they do not need to be civilized by Schwarzenegger!

America may be a great country,with its technology,and its people capabilities of getting of they backsides and taking the opportunity to get ahead,but also it society also has the biggest drug related crimes on the planet.,its subjects totally and psychologically disturbed and streesed out. Anyway did Arnie say He will be back.Well is acting one line saying.

For all of you US haters, tell me where else you can be broke one day and a millionaire the next? Given all of its faults, the US is still the land of opportunity...and I don't think we have a problem with a mass immigration exodus from the US...only to it.

It is also amazing how so many commentators on the RT Forum, and one in particular can read, this article and interpret it as saying Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to teach Medvedev something. It reminds me of people who can only be happy when they are upset, so they look for and twist thinks until they are "happy". Arnold Schwarzenegger is just the political chief of a state in the US, the home state of investors who have or will invest in Skolkovo. Quote RT: "The delegates held talks on Russia’s innovative potential and the ways the development of Skolkovo – often dubbed Russia’s Silicon Valley – can learn from the experience in the United States." Secondly, the story said "Russia can learn from America"...it did not say "we can learn from Arnold Schwarzenegger". The essence of Bogdanov's post seems accurate to me, without condoning the adjectives he chose. But he is Russian, I believe, living and working in America, and I have come to appreciate his depth of knowledge of Russia, Russian society and history , and his intellectual balance in interpreting events in light of his background and breadth of experience that few on this forum can match. He can defend his position much better than I.

Our anti-American friends here should divert their attention to the yesterdays Chilean celebrations - all 33 miners ,presumed dead six weeks ago, have been rescued. Chilean government and whole nation focused on positive outcome and used American drilling technology to succeed. Incidentally, it's either unique or odd of this Russian media outlet to give no coverage of the rescue operation when dozens of other international channels had it live. Perhaps, it's Russian pride indeed that some here should overcome first.

To: Svetlana, I do not think that there has been any "anti-American" commentary in this blog! I also thought that why RT has not joined the western media's around the clock coverage of the rescuing efforts of the trapped Chilean miners. However, after reading the following article about the deeper meaning of media event by award winning journalist John Pilger, I can see clearly see that this globalized media event was more than just report on the rescuing trapped miners. RT is one of important part of an emerging alternative media—in the new digital media. In the new paradigm of alternative progressive media the revolution will be televised and the imperialists will not be able to frame the truth and lies for the rest of us. Do not get me wrong- I am deeply happy for the miners and their families and friends but more important thing to report is that the mineshaft in question was unsafe and the authorities in Chile have refused to increase safety of the mineshaft in question before the accident. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21443

PR101, I'm not sure about your point with regards to safety and accident, and even less sure about your understanding of the alternative media's role in uncovering the truth of revolution to overthrow imperialists. My view is simpler - that American technology has proven to be essential in common rescue efforts after the Northern Chile's earthquake nearly two months ago. Moreover, we've seen that Russian, American and Chilean miners face the same dangers and fatalities from time to time. This latest success story should be shared and learnt from regardless our political preferences and where we are. Yet another area for common sense cooperation.