Russian TV Show Presents Putin as ‘Humane Human’

 

Russian government television has a new weekly current affairs program about President Vladimir Putin.

The hour-long show, “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin,” launched September 2 on Rossiya 1 television.

Radio and television reporter Vladimir Solovyov is the host. Solovyov is a supporter of Putin and has produced several documentaries about him.

Viewers of the new show saw Putin spending time outdoors, including during a recent vacation in Siberia. The Russian leader was also shown meeting with young people and visiting a group of miners on the job.

The show included interviews with Putin’s official spokesman and a reporter who covered the president’s activities last week.

The Russian government has continuously expanded its control over the nation’s television stations since Putin took office in 2000. Putin’s activities traditionally receive wide coverage² on state television. But, a weekly show about news events as seen through the work of Putin is new to Russia.

Last month, Putin’s public approval ratings dropped sharply after he supported a plan to raise Russia’s retirement³ age. Strong public opposition⁴ led to protests against the measure.

In the show, a long-serving lawmaker praised Putin for how he dealt with the retirement issue. The lawmaker said the president “wasn’t scared to take responsibility” for the matter.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke¹ about how the 65-year-old leader puts a lot of time and effort into staying physically⁵ fit. He said Putin likes to exercise for about 90 minutes each day, including swimming at least one kilometer whenever he can.

The show included recordings⁶ of Putin’s recent vacation in Russia’s Tuva Republic, where he walked in the mountains with the republic’s leader.

Putin is also shown meeting with schoolchildren and answering their questions.

Later Peskov called Putin, “a very humane⁷ human."

The show had many critics on Russian social media, with many describing it as pro-Putin propaganda. But speaking to reporters after the program aired, Peskov said the government did not order the program to be made. He said the television station came up with the idea and acted on its own. Peskov also said he thought the information in the show was presented in a balanced way.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

scared – adj. afraid or worried

humane – adj. kind, especially towards people or animals that are suffering

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。