Putin & Medvedev – Anti-Populism

Russian PM Vladimir Putin has likened situation in Russia after the abdication of its last Tsar with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Speaking to a group of veterans and pensioners on Thursday, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev criticized populist rhetoric ahead of approaching parliamentary elections in December.Putin said that he considered populists everyone who was not doing anything but making promises.“We are now in view of elections, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that now we still we have a lot of problems. We should not let the populists speculate and reap dividends,” the prime minister said.Addressing the pensioners, Putin also said that he still considered the collapse of the Soviet Union “the greatest shame”. “We did not have enough pride to keep the country undivided. The majority thought that it could not be worse. You all know very well to what it all has led to – unlimited gangsterism and unprecedented looting of the state,” the PM said.Putin said that Russia had undergone two terrible periods in its history: 1917, when the Russian Emperor abdicated from throne, and 1991, the year of the Soviet Union’s collapse. Medvedev said that the Soviet legacy had some positive points relevant to bringing up the younger generation. “For example, they were creating a so-called single unity – the Soviet People. Despite all the problems, this model worked. We were all friends, we communicated and this was a completely appropriate objective that now has no ideological tint,” Medvedev said, adding that the concept helped people survive together in the huge country.