Dmitry Mdvedev, the Russian president (right) is trying to bolster his image.
Dmitry Mdvedev, the Russian president (right) is trying to bolster his image.

Stepping out from Putin's shadow



MOSCOW // During his eight years in office, the coarse colloquialisms and bawdy humour of Vladimir Putin, the former Russian president, became a prominent feature of his public appearances. Among other things, Mr Putin, now Russia's powerful prime minister, promised to "waste" terrorists "even in the outhouse". Now, following Russia's bloody conflict with neighbouring Georgia over the breakaway Georgian republic of South Ossetia, Dmitry Medvedev, Mr Putin's hand-picked successor, appears to be adopting the former president's rough language in what political analysts call an attempt to bolster his image as the man in charge of Russia.

Mr Medvedev - whose image is that of a refined, well-mannered man of relatively progressive persuasions - began talking tough after Mr Putin stole much of the spotlight during the first days of the war with Georgia by meeting foreign leaders at the Beijing Olympics and making a dashing arrival to North Ossetia, on the other side of the Caucasus Mountains, after the fighting began. At a joint press conference last week with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, who brokered the six-point peace plan between the warring countries, Mr Medvedev displayed new-found bluster, accusing Georgia of carrying out "bloody adventures" and describing the Georgian leadership as "lunatics" and "bastards".

In a press conference on Friday with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Mr Medvedev said peace needed to be restored to ensure that "no one gets any more idiotic ideas into their heads". The turnabout in Mr Medvedev's rhetorical style seem to have come as a response to the impression that it was Mr Putin calling the shots in the beginning of the armed conflict, said Masha Lipman, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Centre.

"In the beginning he did not project the image of the decision-maker," Ms Lipman said of the Russian president. "But then Medvedev reappeared, travelling around the country, giving lots of speeches and clearly looking presidential." The aggressive language helped Mr Medvedev "send a message that he is confident and knows what he's doing", Ms Lipman said. Opinion polls before the violence in South Ossetia showed Mr Medvedev with a credibility problem.

When asked by the Levada Centre, an independent pollster, "who holds the real power" in Russia, 36 per cent of respondents said it was Mr Putin compared with nine per cent for Mr Medvedev. Forty-seven per cent said they shared power equally, according to the poll, which queried 1,600 Russians nationwide from July 18 to July 22. It had a margin of error of three per cent. Irina Petrovskaya, a prominent Russian television critic, said news reports on state-run channels clearly showed that Mr Putin was in charge at the beginning of the crisis. "Medvedev assumed the role of the interpreter of events, while Putin was the dashing leader of the country, flying to hot spots to fix everything," Ms Petrovskaya said.

Mr Medvedev's sudden decision to coarsen his public speaking seemed affected given his general staid and scholarly demeanour, Ms Petrovskaya said. Mr Putin could pull it off because he grew up in a family of workers and hanging out with a rough crowd in Leningrad courtyards, she said. "But for someone like Medvedev, who grew up in a family of intellectuals, this style just does not fit," Ms Petrovskaya said.

Mr Medvedev's political style has become "more defined, more precise and more hard-nosed", said, Dmitry Orlov, an analyst with the Agency of Political Information. "Opinion polls show that this is the leadership style that Russians prefer." Indeed, it appears many Russians wanted more decisive action from Mr Medvedev. According to a survey made public on Monday by state pollster VTsIOM, 23 per cent of respondents said Mr Medvedev should have acted tougher in dealing with Georgia. Thirty-seven per cent said he had dealt with the situation adequately.

The poll, conducted from Aug 10 to Aug 13, questioned 1,600 people across Russia and had a margin of error of less than 3.4 per cent. Political analysts differ on whether Mr Medvedev came away from the South Ossetia violence - his first major crisis since taking office - as a stronger president. "The situation clearly showed that Putin is still running the show," said Vladimir Pribylovsky of the Panorama think tank. "It was enough to watch television and see Putin telling Medvedev to send investigators to South Ossetia to gather evidence of war crimes by Georgian forces, and Medvedev quickly agreeing."

"There is a mutual agreement that the president will be accorded his proper respect, but this is all a show," Mr Pribylovsky said. Yet Mr Medvedev undoubtedly strengthened his authority in his handling of the situation, Mr Orlov said. "On the other hand, the political system created by Putin and Medvedev - a tandem running the country - was also strengthened," he said. Mr Putin is not dictating Mr Medvedev's actions, but instead has "passed the reins" of antipathy towards the West to his predecessor, who merely takes his cues from the prime minister, said Sergei Dorenko, a talk show host with the independent Ekho Moskvy radio station.

"Putin allows Medvedev to be tough," Mr Dorenko said. @Email:cschreck@thenational.ae

Company%20Profile
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Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible

Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465

Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier

Sunday's results:

  • UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
  • Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
  • Oman v Hong Kong, no result

Tuesday fixtures:

  • Malaysia v Singapore
  • UAE v Oman
  • Nepal v Hong Kong
The%20specs
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SPEC SHEET

Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support

Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR

Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps

Audio: Stereo speakers

Biometrics: Touch ID

I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)

Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular

Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue

Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company%20profile
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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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THE%20HOLDOVERS
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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

LIVING IN...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411


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