Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 5 May 2018
As he begins a new term, Putin pushes lofty goals for Russia

By JIM HEINTZ be no economic growth at
MOSCOW (AP) — If Vladi- the moment," he said.
mir Putin fulfills the goals If the money for domestic
he's set for his new six-year improvements is in doubt,
term as president, Russia in so is the political will to
2024 will be far advanced implement them in Putin's
in new technologies and new term.
artificial intelligence, many In the view of Andrew
of its notoriously poor roads Wood, a Russia analyst at
will be improved, and its Britain's Chatham House,
people will be living signifi- "the main objective of the
cantly longer. incumbent regime is to pro-
There's wide doubt about tect its hold on power."
how much of that he'll Thus, he wrote, "it will there-
achieve, if any of it. Ana- fore continue between
lysts assessing the prospects now and 2024 to follow the
of his term that begins with three main policy guide-
Monday's inauguration lines set by Putin in 2012: to
often use the expression do without significant struc-
"neo-stagnation." And less tural economic reforms be-
than half of the population cause of the political risks
really trusts him, according In this file photo taken on Thursday, April 5, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attached to them; to con-
to a state polling agency. chair a meeting of the State Council in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. trol the population; and to
Putin won the new term, Associated Press pursue 'great power' am-
which will extend his rule in bitions." Putin's most promi-
Russia to a quarter-century the symbolic Putin is omnip- assert Russia's role on the value, but concerns persist nent foe, anti-corruption
if he completes it, with an otent, like St. George slay- world stage, apparently about long-term prospects, campaigner Alexei Na-
official tally of 77 percent ing the Western dragon, committed to military in- especially if Russia is unable valny, is calling for nation-
of the vote in March. Al- but the flesh-and-bones volvement in Syria until the to boost its manufacturing wide protests on Saturday,
though there were com- Putin is barely capable of bitter end and showing sector and wean the econ- two days ahead of the in-
plaints of ballot-stuffing and solving Russians' everyday no signs of backing down omy off its overwhelming auguration. But Russia's op-
other violations, his support problems or preventing from Moscow's support for dependence on oil and position forces are likely to
was clearly high. Yet, when tragedies," Carnegie Mos- separatist rebels in eastern gas exports. remain marginalized — rou-
state pollster VTsIOM asked cow Center analyst An- Ukraine. The government reportedly tinely banned from holding
Russians a month later drei Kolesnikov wrote last Although painful sanctions is raising the age for state demonstrations and all but
which politician they trust- month. have been imposed on pensions as a way to cut ignored by the dominant
ed to solve the country's Putin's strong suit is in pro- Russia for its annexation of expenditures. Deputy Prime state news media.
problems, only 47 percent jecting Russian power. The Crimea, its involvement in Minister Arkady Dvorkov- Since Putin's re-election,
chose Putin. technology and lifespan eastern Ukraine and its al- ich is floating the prospect some notable protests
The apparent discrepancy improvements that he fore- leged interference in the of raising income taxes by have arisen: One was held
between the vote total saw in his state-of-the-na- U.S. presidential election, a couple of percentage over the fire at a Siberian
and his trust rating suggests tion address shortly before Putin appears to be willing points. Dvorkovich, in fact, shopping mall that killed
that Putin is important to the election didn't attract to pay the price, especial- recently acknowledged 60 people, and a num-
Russians not so much for as much attention as his ly because rising world oil that much of Russia's eco- ber of communities in the
what he accomplishes but claim that Russia had de- prices have restored some nomic improvement is con- Moscow region also dem-
for what he is — the em- veloped an array of new revenue. The economy nected to a one-off: this onstrated over hazard-
bodiment of their national and allegedly invincible has partially recovered summer's football World ous landfills. Those actions,
identity. nuclear weapons. from the depths of 2015-16 Cup. "I can say that without however, were focused on
"In this dichotomous world, He is sure to continue to when the ruble lost half its the World Cup, there would local and regional officials'
ineptness or corruption,
while Putin rises above it all.
Wim Alosery, survivor of Nazi camps, Cap Arcona sinking dies The main drama in Putin's
new term may come not
from what he does, but
BERLIN (AP) — The last Alosery, a Jehovah's Wit- from what comes after him.
known Dutch survivor of ness, arrived in Neuen- The constitution bars him
the Nazi concentration gamme from the from seeking a third con-
camp Neuengamme and Amersfoort camp near Am- secutive term in 2024, and
the Cap Arcona maritime sterdam in 1944. it's not clear if he'd want
disaster, Wim Alosery, has In the final days of the war another one badly enough
died. he and about 6,600 other — he will be 72 — to risk try-
A spokeswoman for the concentration camp in- ing to change the constitu-
Neuengamme memorial mates were moved onto tion to stay in office.
center says Alosery died the prison ship Cap Arcona, In a system where genu-
peacefully in his sleep off Luebeck. Believing flee- ine political competition is
Wednesday. ing Nazis were on board, truncated, overt jockeying
Iris Groschek said Friday British planes attacked the
In this May 3, 2015 file photo Wim Alosery, the last survivor of to replace Putin is unlikely.
the sunken NS prison ship Cap Arcona, leans on a rail of a ship that the 94-year-old had ship and two others. Only Instead, he could bestow
at the sight of the sinking of the Cap Arcona which was ladden traveled to Hamburg to at- 450 people survived. favor on a malleable suc-
with forced labourers when it was struck by the Royal Airforce tend an event commemo- A book about Alosery's life cessor and continue to
on board of a ship on the Baltic Sea near Neustadt, Germany. rating the 73rd anniversary was published in the Neth- run things from behind the
Associated Press of the camp's liberation. erlands last month.q scenes.q