Special topic: Russia opens the era of "Mapp combination"-Medvedev takes office as president
On May 8, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (right) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin talked at the plenary session of the Russian State Duma. On the same day, the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) held an informal plenary meeting and approved the nomination of Putin as the new prime minister by the new President Medvedev. Xinhua News Agency/AFP
Special topic: Russia opens the era of Mapp combination: news person: new Russian Prime Minister Putin
As Putin is about to become the Russian Prime Minister, the media have begun to "summarize" his merits and demerits during his eight years in power. Many people believe that during Putin’s eight years as president, the atmosphere of Russian officialdom has undergone many positive changes. From stopping drinking to reducing privileged cars, Putin has prescribed a dose of powerful medicine, which has eased some stubborn diseases in Russian officialdom.
The alcohol in Duma tastes weak.
Before Putin became president, many Russians remembered the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) as a "place with a strong smell of alcohol", because Putin’s predecessor, Yeltsin, who was a heavy drinker, played an exemplary role.
According to the bodyguard of Yeltsin, Yeltsin has been "drinking hard" since 7: 00 every morning, and has made several "embarrassing things" because of his love of drinking: in 1996, after running for re-election, Yeltsin raised a glass with his colleagues to celebrate, and when he was drunk, he rushed to the stage and danced wildly with rock music. On another occasion, Yeltsin visited Britain, and after his special plane landed, Yeltsin did not appear on the gangway for a long time. It was a long time before he got off the plane with a red face.
But Putin is different. Because he is not interested in alcohol, and he is very disgusted with officials’ drinking, he seldom drinks in public. It is said that he once poured vodka from his cup into the flowerpot beside him at a banquet.
Since Putin became president in 2000, Russia has passed at least two laws to restrict drinking: one is a bill prohibiting beer advertising in 2004; The other is a decree issued in 2005, which prohibits drinking beverages with alcohol content higher than 12% in public places.
Influenced by Putin, there are fewer and fewer scenes of Russian senior officials toasting and drinking in public. According to Alexander Musin, the general manager of the Russian Political Information Center, Russian politicians rarely drink vodka and beer now, even if they drink alcohol. In the State Duma, members who had a good drink chose whiskey; In government departments, the more popular drink is brandy.
Franchise cars are reduced by 85% in one year.
A limousine with a blue warning light runs amok on the road, and other vehicles must make way for it unconditionally. Even if it goes backwards or makes an illegal U-turn, there will be no police intervention … This kind of scene is commonplace in Moscow in previous years.
However, in recent years, this kind of scene has become less and less. This is because since 2006, Putin has severely rectified the privileged cars in Moscow.
According to Russian media reports, before this, there were about 7,500 franchised cars in Russia, including 1,600 in Moscow. Privileged cars are generally high-class cars such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and there is a blue warning light on the roof. Most of the people sitting in these cars are high-ranking officials such as parliamentarians and ministers.
It can be said that the existence of privileged cars has seriously affected the image of Russian officials in the eyes of the people. On the one hand, because of the brutal driving of privileged cars, public anger is aroused, on the other hand, the probability of accidents of privileged cars is also very high.
As a result, Putin signed a decree in September 2006 and began to govern the franchise car. This decree stipulates: "The total number of vehicles (with special brands) shall not exceed 1,000, and these vehicles are limited to those engaged in protecting national security." As a result, in less than a year, Russia’s franchise cars have gradually decreased to the original 15%.
