KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 quote below: The only child of his parents, Medvedev is a fan of hard rock from his early age. He lists Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin as his favourite bands. http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=l...mp;newsid=69598 Moscow, March 3 (Xinhua) Dmitry Medvedev, first deputy prime minister of Russia, has won the country's fifth presidential election by a landslide, the Central Election Commission (CEC) declared Monday. Medvedev garnered 70.23 percent out of the 99.5 percent of counted ballots, CEC Chairman Vladimir Churov told a press conference here. A candidate must obtain more than 50 percent of votes for an outright victory. Otherwise, a run-off is held between the two frontrunners. Medvedev, a lawyer by training, was backed by incumbent President Vladimir Putin as his successor, as the latter is constitutionally barred from a third consecutive term after eight years in office. During his presidential campaign, Medvedev, a long time friend and a close ally of Putin, vowed to continue the political strategies set by Putin and further the economic growth and Russia's prosperity. Putin has said that he will accept the post of prime minister if Medvedev becomes president. Putin and Medvedev graduated from the same law school of St. Petersburg Leningrad State University and have been known to each other for 17 years. More than a decade apart, they both took courses under the guidance of Anatoly Sobchak, an outspoken democrat, at the university. Sobchak later became mayor of St. Petersburg and he brought the two men together in the city hall, where Medvedev served as a legal consultant to the committee for external affairs, which was headed by Vladimir Putin. Putin brought Medvedev to Moscow in 1999, shortly after the then president Boris Yeltsin resigned and handed Putin the presidency. Medvedev joined Putin's staff and headed Putin's election campaign in 2000. From 2001 to 2003, besides his day-to-day responsibilities in the Kremlin staff supporting the president's duties, Medvedev was also assigned to special projects. These included heading the commission that oversaw the drafting and enactment of framework legislation on the reform of the civil service and looking at ways to best overhaul the judicial system. Medvedev also helped Putin end the popular election of governors and pass other laws strengthening the Kremlin's grip on politics. Immediately after his arrival at the Kremlin, Medvedev took an active role at Gazprom, Russia's natural gas giant. As its chairman, he helped Putin restore Kremlin's control over the massive monopoly. For most of his professional career, Medvedev had been a behind-the-scenes player. However, all that changed in November 2005, when Putin appointed him to a specially created post as first deputy prime minister in charge of five national projects. The appointment made Medvedev the early favourite to succeed Putin as president. He also enjoyed extensive media coverage as a result of the national projects he oversaw, for which the government earmarked billions of dollars to improve health care, education, housing and agriculture. On Dec 10, 2007, Putin publicly voiced his support for Medvedev to contest in the presidential race at a Kremlin news conference. The following day, Medvedev said, if elected, he would ask Putin to serve as his prime minister. Medvedev was one of several St. Petersburg colleagues Putin summoned to Moscow when he ascended to power in the Kremlin. Inside the Kremlin, Medvedev aligned himself with a group often described as the St. Petersburg lawyers or technocrats. He has brought several of his university colleagues to Moscow or placed them in prominent positions at state-controlled companies like Gazprom. They are said to have a more liberal view on the state's role in the economy, foreign policy and civil liberties than the Siloviki, the group of former security service officials. Soft-spoken, and often described as friendly, Medvedev seems a far cry from what the public expects in a leader. However, people who know Medvedev personally said he has many leadership traits, including a knack for learning quickly, the integrity to stand by what he believes, and the aptitude to work as a team player. Medvedev's colleagues in government describe him as loyal, competent and pragmatic. The only child of his parents, Medvedev is a fan of hard rock from his early age. He lists Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin as his favourite bands. He married his childhood friend Svetlana and they have a son named Ilya. New Russian president to continue Putin's policies As he cruised to victory in Russia's presidential polls, Dmitry Medvedev Monday said his presidency would be a "direct continuation" of the policies of his predecessor Vladimir Putin. The first deputy premier of Russia, whose candidature was backed by his mentor Putin, polled 70.11 percent of the vote with about 96 percent of the ballots counted in Russia's presidential polls till Monday morning, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said. His nearest rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, was on 17.84 percent, while Nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got 9.43 percent and the leader of the pro-Western Democratic Party Andrey Bogdanov managed only 1.28 percent of the vote. The overwhelming lead is enough to give Medvedev victory in the first round of voting. The voter turnout is 69.6 percent, the CEC said. Speaking to journalists at a news conference, Medvedev said that his presidential programme would be "the path chosen by our country eight years ago." This path, he clarified, was the one "being followed by President Putin". Medvedev was publicly backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as his successor in mid-December, and was later nominated by the ruling United Russia party as a presidential candidate. Putin later announced that he would take up an offer by Medvedev to become prime minister if his "heir" were to win the presidency. Many political analysts suggested that Medvedev would struggle to make an impact as president with Putin as prime minister, and there were also suggestions that a change in the constitution may give Putin more power. However, Medvedev seemed to rule this out Monday, saying: "According to the structure of authority, the president has his own powers and the head of government his own. This is derived from the constitution and the law. No one is proposing to change this." Medvedev is to take over the trappings of the presidency from his patron in May. Many Western observers, including the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) main election arm, chose to boycott the election over restrictions imposed by Russia. Moscow, however, rejected the claims that it had imposed restrictions on monitors. Critics also pointed to pressure on voters to cast their ballots, especially employees of state-run organisations. The refusal of the Russian election authorities to register a number of candidates from Russia's opposition due to "irregularities" in their applications was also cited, as was the lack of media coverage of the candidates given permission to stand. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) election-monitoring mission said the elections had been held in accordance with the law. The CIS is an alliance of a number of former Soviet republics. Election monitors from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have yet to comment on the polls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain67 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 wow. that was long. but long story short a russian government official isn't going to convince robert to tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 wow. that was long. but long story short a russian government official isn't going to convince robert to tour how bout the KGB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain67 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 ^ if anything, MI6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 ^ if anything, MI6 But which "James Bond" could handle Robert Plant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain67 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 who do you think ? sean connery of course ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 who do you think ? sean connery of course ! I hope "Q" can come up with some cool gadgets ..... this is gonna be a tough mission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain67 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I can just imagine robert plant sitting in a chair petting jimmy page's hair waiting for bond too walk through the room. Like blowfeld and his cat. "Checking in mr. bond ? you won't be checking out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 I can just imagine robert plant sitting in a chair petting jimmy page's hair waiting for bond too walk through the room. Like blowfeld and his cat. "Checking in mr. bond ? you won't be checking out. now that is funny Mr. Bond .... you have meet your match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 The problem with heads of state is they are too busy telling people, including artists, what to do. If a head of state can't respect an artist's choice, that is utterly disgusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 now that is funny Mr. Bond .... you have meet your match. BUT WAIT........ Bond reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a lazer..... A GREEN LAZER........ A pyramid appears ..... Bond reaches again into his "bag 'o tricks' and pulls out a bow and guitar Jimmy leaps from Roberts lap and bgins to play. Can Robert resist the allure of 'DAZED AND CONFUSED'....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain67 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 bond expires jimmy with his laser. as a last resort robert brings in his number one henchmen: John Paul Jones ! he defeats bond with his silence ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEVIN Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 bond expires jimmy with his laser. as a last resort robert brings in his number one henchmen: John Paul Jones ! he defeats bond with his silence ! As Bond dies a horrible death the last words he hears are" no comment" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bga Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 BUT WAIT........ Bond reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a lazer..... A GREEN LAZER........ A pyramid appears ..... Bond reaches again into his "bag 'o tricks' and pulls out a bow and guitar Jimmy leaps from Roberts lap and bgins to play. Can Robert resist the allure of 'DAZED AND CONFUSED'....... bond expires jimmy with his laser. as a last resort robert brings in his number one henchmen: John Paul Jones ! he defeats bond with his silence ! That made me smile til my face hurt haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain67 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Stay tuned for the next bond film entitled: "Dead Silence for Dead Zeppelin" ...Coming Soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeman Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Well.. Assuming that I am from Moscow, if Medvedev will be able convince Led Zeppelin to do at least a concert in Moscow that would be totally awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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