Expectantly Waiting

for the President’s speech to the Federal Assembly.  Unfortunately, the Kremlin is not big on posting the President’s schedule.  The only thing that they have posted is that Medvedev is visiting Germany on Monday.  So, I assume that the speech is later next week, or possibly the week following.  However, Medvedev did meet with the Federation Council Board today, and gave some remarks.  It will be interesting to see if what he said today is repeated in the speech.

Something interesting from today’s remarks:

I have already mentioned that last week amendments to the law on defence were approved, ones that I introduced to the Parliament on your initiative. The idea is to create a legal mechanism that would allow the President of Russia to make quick decisions on the use of Russia’s Armed Forces beyond its borders. You’ll recall in which circumstances this problem arose.

I now think that from a legal point of view this matter has been resolved. Of course such decisions would only be made in absolutely extraordinary situations and obviously only if they were absolutely necessary. But as recent experience has shown, we need this sort of legal framework. All of this is predicated on the eternal principle that our citizens must be protected everywhere in the world and must feel that their country is there to defend them.

I can already see where this is going to end up… Georgia Part 2 (otherwise known as Ukraine).

I am Wearing Black

today because I assume you are in mourning.”

Note the use of the pronoun “you”.  Not “we are in mourning”.  But “you are in mourning”.

When I first saw the video, it appeared as though Medvedev was wearing a red shirt, and I wondered at the significance of that.  But then I looked for pictures, and he is wearing all black.

I am also having difficulty identifying everyone at the table here.  But I found a list of names, and their titles in Russian.  Those in attendance were:

Boris Gryzlov — Duma Chairman;

Sergei Mironov — Federal Chamber Chairman;

Vladimir Zhirinovsky — Liberal Democratic Party Chairman;

Gennady Zyuganov — Communist Party Chairman;

Igor Lebedev — Faction Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in the State Duma (also happens to be the son of Vladimir Zhirinovsky);

Nikolai Levichev — A Just Rusia Party Chairman (next to Gryzlov in the photo);

Vyacheslav Volodin — Deputy Speaker of the State Duma;

Ivan Melnikov — vice-chairman of the Communist Party;

Vladislav Surkov — First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration.

For more pictures go here, here, and here.