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dmitry
medvedev抯 article, go russia! (september 10, 2009) |
democracy
needs to be protected. the fundamental rights and
freedoms of our citizens must be as well. they need
to be protected primarily from the sort of
corruption that breeds tyranny, lack of freedom and
injustice. we have just begun to develop such
protective mechanisms. our judicial system must be a
central component here. we have to create a modern
efficient judiciary, acting in accordance with new
legislation on the judicial system and based on
contemporary legal principles. we also have to rid
ourselves of the contempt for law and justice,
which, as i've said repeatedly, has lamentably
become a tradition in this country. but the
formation of a new judicial system cannot be
achieved by competitions or campaigns, or idle talk
about how the system itself is rotten and that it
would be easier to create new judicial and law
enforcement systems than to change them. there are
no entirely new judges, just as there are no new
public prosecutors, police, intelligence personnel,
civil servants, businessmen and so on. we need to
create normal working conditions for the law
enforcement agencies and get rid of the imposters
once and for all. we have to teach law enforcement
officers to protect and defend rights and freedoms,
to justly, clearly and effectively resolve conflicts
in the legal field. we need to eliminate attempts to
influence judicial decisions for whatever reasons.
ultimately, the judicial system itself has to
understand the difference between what it means to
act in the public interest or in the selfish
interests of a corrupt bureaucrat or businessman. we
need to cultivate a taste for the rule of law, for
abiding by the law, respect for the rights of
others, including such important rights as that of
property ownership. it is the job of the courts with
broad public support to cleanse the country of
corruption. this is a difficult task but it is
doable. other countries have succeeded in doing
this.
we will do everything possible to allow the people
in russia's caucasus to lead normal lives. economic
and humanitarian programmes for the south of the
country will soon be reviewed and fleshed out. we
will set up some very clear criteria to assess the
performance of heads of governmental structures
dealing with the caucasus. this applies primarily to
federal and regional ministries and departments
responsible for policy in industrial production,
finance, social development, education and culture.
at the same time, law enforcement authorities will
continue to stamp out the bandits who seek to
intimidate and terrorise the population of some
caucasian republics with their crazy ideas and
barbaric customs.
negative demographic trends must be slowed and
stopped. we need to improve the quality of medical
care, promote fertility, ensure safety on the road
and in the workplace, combat the pandemic of
alcoholism and develop physical culture and mass
sport. this requires both a strategic approach and
making such things the everyday tasks of the
government.
whatever the scope or effects of these
transformations, their goal is ultimately the same,
improving the quality of life in russia. creating
better conditions by providing citizens with
housing, employment, medical care, care of
pensioners, protection of children, and support for
people with disabilities -- these are the duties of
the authorities at all levels.
russian politicians often remind us that, under our
constitution, russia is a welfare state. this is
true, but we must not forget that the modern welfare
state is not some kind of bloated soviet social
security system, and benefits are not distributed
from the sky. a welfare state is a complex, balanced
system of economic incentives and social benefits,
legal, ethical and behavioural standards, a system
whose productivity crucially depends on the quality
of work and level of training of every one of us.
whatever is distributed to society by government
should only be what it has earned. living beyond our
means is immoral, unwise and dangerous. we need to
make the economic system more productive so that we
can earn more. not just wait for the oil price
rising at a given moment ?we've got to earn our
way.
we will improve the efficiency of social services in
all spheres, paying special attention to problems of
material and medical support for veterans and
pensioners.
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