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| A Video Shows an Angry Putin Threatening to Dismiss Officials | |
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| MOSCOW — A Kremlin-linked Web site on Wednesday leaked a video clip of an angry President Vladimir V. Putin threatening to dismiss top officials, fueling speculation that Mr. Putin may be preparing to replace Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev and his cabinet. | MOSCOW — A Kremlin-linked Web site on Wednesday leaked a video clip of an angry President Vladimir V. Putin threatening to dismiss top officials, fueling speculation that Mr. Putin may be preparing to replace Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev and his cabinet. |
| The video was published hours before Mr. Medvedev was to report to Parliament, a yearly event in which he is expected to respond to criticism. Mr. Putin’s press secretary called the leak “unacceptable from an ethical standpoint,” but politics here takes place amid onionskin layers of artifice, and many analysts concluded that the Kremlin intentionally released it as a warning shot to Mr. Medvedev. | The video was published hours before Mr. Medvedev was to report to Parliament, a yearly event in which he is expected to respond to criticism. Mr. Putin’s press secretary called the leak “unacceptable from an ethical standpoint,” but politics here takes place amid onionskin layers of artifice, and many analysts concluded that the Kremlin intentionally released it as a warning shot to Mr. Medvedev. |
| Mr. Medvedev’s influence deteriorated sharply when he and Mr. Putin switched positions last year. Each heads a powerful apparatus and has different priorities: Mr. Medvedev cares more about innovation and economic development, whereas Mr. Putin prioritizes the expansive social pledges that were central to his re-election bid, said Aleksei Mukhin, director of the Center for Political Information, a research group in Moscow. | Mr. Medvedev’s influence deteriorated sharply when he and Mr. Putin switched positions last year. Each heads a powerful apparatus and has different priorities: Mr. Medvedev cares more about innovation and economic development, whereas Mr. Putin prioritizes the expansive social pledges that were central to his re-election bid, said Aleksei Mukhin, director of the Center for Political Information, a research group in Moscow. |
| “The population expects these promises to come true,” Mr. Mukhin said. “This can only be implemented by the government, and the government is not in a hurry to implement them.” | “The population expects these promises to come true,” Mr. Mukhin said. “This can only be implemented by the government, and the government is not in a hurry to implement them.” |
| That tension emerged in the video clip, taken as Mr. Putin was meeting with governors and top ministers, among others, on housing issues. | That tension emerged in the video clip, taken as Mr. Putin was meeting with governors and top ministers, among others, on housing issues. |
| The clip shows Mr. Putin asking that the camera be turned off before delivering a blistering assessment of his interlocutors’ progress in fulfilling his campaign promises, like increasing the stock of emergency housing and spots in public kindergartens. He calls the quality of their work “negligible” and, without offering specifics, instructs them to improve their performance or pack their bags. | The clip shows Mr. Putin asking that the camera be turned off before delivering a blistering assessment of his interlocutors’ progress in fulfilling his campaign promises, like increasing the stock of emergency housing and spots in public kindergartens. He calls the quality of their work “negligible” and, without offering specifics, instructs them to improve their performance or pack their bags. |
| “If we do not, it will be necessary to come out and admit it — either I am not working effectively, or all of you work badly and you have to go,” Mr. Putin says. “I call your attention to the fact that, today, I am inclined toward the second option! I think this is clear. So that no one has any illusions.” | “If we do not, it will be necessary to come out and admit it — either I am not working effectively, or all of you work badly and you have to go,” Mr. Putin says. “I call your attention to the fact that, today, I am inclined toward the second option! I think this is clear. So that no one has any illusions.” |
| Mr. Medvedev was greeted with anemic applause at the Duma, Parliament’s lower house, and began his presentation by warning that Russia faces “serious risks” because of a global economic slowdown and a drop in commodity prices. He pushed back against demands that he fire his education minister, Dmitry Livanov, noting that “a minister who is liked by everyone simply is not performing his professional duties.” | Mr. Medvedev was greeted with anemic applause at the Duma, Parliament’s lower house, and began his presentation by warning that Russia faces “serious risks” because of a global economic slowdown and a drop in commodity prices. He pushed back against demands that he fire his education minister, Dmitry Livanov, noting that “a minister who is liked by everyone simply is not performing his professional duties.” |
| “I’ll just say one thing: a minister is not a ruble, something that pleases everyone,” he said. “Moreover, there are a whole lot of positions in the government that could be considered ‘firing squad’ positions. Among them are the responsibilities of the education and health ministers.” | “I’ll just say one thing: a minister is not a ruble, something that pleases everyone,” he said. “Moreover, there are a whole lot of positions in the government that could be considered ‘firing squad’ positions. Among them are the responsibilities of the education and health ministers.” |
| After Mr. Medvedev finished speaking, one lawmaker threatened to put the government to the test in a confidence vote if Russia’s economy entered a recession. | After Mr. Medvedev finished speaking, one lawmaker threatened to put the government to the test in a confidence vote if Russia’s economy entered a recession. |