an attack in good standing of the United States

While the global financial crisis threatens the Russian banking system, that of companies start to terminate, that many citizens urged to exchange their rubles into dollars, that the reserves of the Central Bank would have melted 14 due to the defence of the national currency, is that half the price of a barrel fall term to question the budget of the State and many businesses in a more than ever dependent economy oil revenues, the head of the Kremlin, Dimitri Medvedev, yesterday focused his first major speech to the nation on... an attack in good standing of the United States. Certainly, he sent a telegram of congratulations to future US President, Barack Obama. But in his speech to Parliament for an hour and a half to a third party to international issues, he launched strong warnings in the direction of Washington.

In addition to the announcement of the deployment of missiles in Kaliningrad (Russian enclave between the Poland and the Lithuania) in response to the implementation of the US missile shield in Eastern Europe and a tirade on the role of Washington in the outbreak of the war in Georgia this summer, Dimitri Medvedev held the very harsh words on "errors in finance" by the United States. "By inflating the bubble to stimulate their growth, they do are not bothered to coordinate their efforts with other participants in the markets and have ignored any basic sense of the extent," said the President. "The United States have not listened to the warnings on the part of their partners, including ours, and they have therefore affected their interests and the interests of others." According to the head of the Kremlin, the "global financial crisis is far from finished". As from the beginning, he does not even Russia crisis, and also spent little time in his speech to the measures taken by his Government to limit liquidity gaps. But Medvedev however renewed his appeal to "radically reform the political and economic systems" in the world. "The Russia, whatever happens, will insist on this point."

Constitutional reforms

If he has not announced new measures against the crisis, the President has revealed a series of constitutional reforms supposed to strengthen democracy. With a flagship initiative: lengthen the presidential term from four to six years, no doubt from the next elections in 2012. A measure in a larger set: the Duma, the lower House, will serve not four but five years; the small opposition movements will be guaranteed to have at least one or two members; the Government shall each year accountability activity to Parliament...

But Dimitri Medvedev also stressed his great horse of battle: the fight against corruption. "The apparatus of the State is the largest employer in the country, the most active Editor, best producer, a court in itself, a party in itself and, ultimately, a people itself." This system is totally ineffective and only feed on one thing: corruption. "And it leads to contempt generalized to the right", criticised the President. Since his election in March, he launched a "national plan" and has created a special Council against corruption. The Parliament is currently studying a broad measures device: require Ministers and senior officials to declare their income and better supervise their portions of the public to the private sector; limit the traditional practice "gifts" in the Government; protect the rights of copyright; strengthen the judicial system; eliminate multiple bureaucratic barriers for business... "Because the State bureaucracy, as twenty years ago, is animated by the same old mistrust with regard to the freedoms of the individual and the company", regretted the head of the Kremlin.