Russia’s Putin urges tough action against terrorists in live television broadcast

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Putin: Russia to take tough action against terror

MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday that the Russian government will step up the fight against terrorism following a deadly train bombing that killed 26 people last week.

Putin admitted that the threat of terrorism remains “very high” and promised that the authorities would act “very harshly” to root out militants.

“We have enough resolve and firmness for that,” he said, opening a question-and-answer session broadcast live by Russia’s state television and radio.

The bombing last Friday of the Moscow-to-St.Petersburg express train fueled fears that Russia could face another wave of terror attacks outside the volatile North Caucasus region following years of relative calm and official claims that Islamic militants had been defeated.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Russians protested against terror in both Moscow and St. Petersburg after Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for attack on the train.

Putin’s televised comments sent another strong signal that he remains the dominant force in Russian politics, overshadowing his designated successor, President Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev has never made a similar appearance since his March 2008 election.

Putin’s marathon performance, which was similar to previous call-in shows he did when he was president, is being closely watched for clues to whether he plans to regain presidency in Russia’s 2012 elections.

By law, Putin had to shift into the premier’s seat in 2008 following two consecutive terms in office, but since then the presidential term has been extended to six years and Putin is eligible to run again in 2012.

The train bombing was the first deadly terrorist strike outside the North Caucasus since the bombings of two airliners and a Moscow subway station attack in 2004.

Russian investigators say a bomb was place under the train tracks and traces of explosives and a crater were found at the disaster site. Top government officials were among those killed.

“We have done a lot to break the spine of terrorism, but the threat is still here,” Putin said. “The entire society, all of us must be aware of that threat.”

He urged a stronger pre-emptive action by law-enforcement agencies and called on the Russian people to show more vigilance.

Putin also focused heavily on economy during Thursday’s show, which featured televised hookups with workers from several provincial towns, casting himself as a paternal figure capable of fixing the nation’s problems.

Putin said Russia has moved past the worst phase of the economic crisis and claimed credit for softening its impact.

Russia is weathering its worst economic downturn in a decade as commodities prices — the backbone of its economy — collapsed late last year. But it emerged from the recession in the third quarter rising by a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent.

“We can say with a large degree of certainty that the peak of the crisis has been overcome,” Putin said, adding that the government will have to spend more money to support the economy for the time being.

“The exit (strategy) will take time and effort as well as substantial funds,” Putin said.

In contrast with a bookish Medvedev, who was out of the country Thursday to meet the pope in Italy, Putin has deliberately burnished his common-man appeal.

He promised a tough action to clean up the nation’s police forces, which have faced mounting criticism for rampant corruption and other abuses.

Speaking to a widow of a worker who was among 75 people who died in a disastrous accident at Russia’s largest hydroelectric plant, Putin called it a terrible tragedy and promised state support for her children and other relatives of the victims.

He promised to raise wages and social benefits and solve other social problems, and demonstrated his knowledge of regional issues.

“If the situation demands it, I will come to you or to any other place in the Russian Federation, it’s my duty,” he said.

He also delved into foreign policy issues, sharply admonishing the United States for failing to abolish Cold War-era trade restrictions imposed to penalize the Soviet Union for its refusal to allow free emigration of the Jews.

“The Soviet Union is gone, but they (restrictions) have remained,” he said.

Putin also accused the United States of hampering Russia’s accession into the World Trade Organization.

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Associated Press writers Steve Gutterman and Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed to this report.