#3 - JRL 2007-242 - JRL Home
Putin to address nation Nov. 29 ahead of parliamentary
polls
MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, the top
candidate on the ruling party's election list, has recorded an address to the
nation that will be broadcast November 29, three days before the parliamentary
elections.
Russia's leading business daily Kommersant said on Friday that Putin's speech
had for the first time been recorded in the Ostankino TV center in northern
Moscow and not in the Kremlin, where other media events are traditionally held.
The paper said the president wanted to be seen as the lead candidate of United
Russia's election list rather than as the head of state.
Kommersant said it was unclear what Putin would say in the broadcast, but the
paper hinted that details of the relationship between the president and the
pro-Kremlin United Russia party could be revealed.
There has been wide speculation about what Putin, whose second presidential
term expires in the spring, will do after he steps down. His popularity rating
at home remains impressively high against the background of relative stability
and economic growth.
The president has pursued an intensive election campaign for United Russia,
promoted as a pledge for continued stability and sustainable growth. On
Thursday, he addressed thousands of United Russia supporters at the country's
major stadium in Moscow.
|