The Economist: Russia's President "I am doing fine"

Vladimir Putin seemed a fit, relaxed and happy 60 year old, as he addressed this year's meeting of the Valdai club of mostly foreign economic experts over dinner at the Novo Ogaryovo presidential villa outside Moscow on October 25th. He had the air of a man with few worries either about his own position as president of Russia or about his country's future. His most dramatic comments came in response to questions about the Pussy Riot verdicts, handing down jail terms to two young women who allegedly desecrated an Orthodox church altar in the spring. He was unapologetic. In his typical earthy language he denounced the women for practicing group sex, public sex with a woman who was nine months pregnant and for undermining morality. He also drew an analogy with the California maker of an anti Muslim film who is in jail. In this Mr Putin was reflecting broader views of Russian officials who spoke at this year's Valdai conference in St Petersburg and Moscow. Most dismissed both the Pussy Rioters and the Moscow opposition street protesters as elitist, unrepresentative and easily dispersed. Mr Putin echoed officials who argued that Russia was merely applying its own laws, and who even claimed that the police were softer than those who had been dealing with protesters in the streets of Athens or Madrid. The continuing euro crisis offered Mr Putin yet another reason for complacency. He was careful not to blame anyone and also to insist that Russia wanted Europe to resolve its problems, but with half an eye to his own country's Eurasian union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, he deplored the folly of moving to monetary union too fast, and with too many members that were not ready. As for Russia itself, the overwhelming message from this year's Valdai was that things were OK!! At one point Mr Putin even said that "I am doing fine."