Putin’s “word of an honest party man”

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made it clear in an interview with Kommersant that police will continue to disperse rallies being held without governmental permission. In Putin’s view, there is a very simple connection between the desire to hold a rally and taking a police beating: “You must get permission from the local authorities. Got it? Go and demonstrate. If not, you are not authorized to do so. You have come out unauthorized? Get a truncheon blow on your head.” The premier maintains he has nothing to do with the closing of Triumph Square for reconstruction, and does not even know that protest actions have been held there. “I am telling you this frankly and giving you my word as an honest party man,” Putin said. By all accounts, he is sure that these actions were a provocation: “We will provoke you to hit us on the head with a truncheon, and spray ourselves with red paint — we will say that the antisocial authorities are behaving outrageously and violating human rights.” Putin says he really does not know Yuri Shevchuk, that the recent conversation with him at a charity meeting was not at all tense and was not an “epoch-making event.” As for another sticky issue — the Khodorkovsky case — Putin says he is “serving a well-deserved sentence. If one more trial is going on, this means that it is required by law.” Touching upon the 2012 elections topic, Putin said he considers it an absolutely normal practice to decide together with Dmitry Medvedev which of them will be running for presidency.