Article published in La Presse and La Tribune de Geneve August 3, 2010.
Moscow - Russian authorities assert control forest fires that raged for over a week in 14 regions of the country. Contradictory information filtering show rather they leave they are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster. Affected by the criticism, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blames his subordinates, says our contributor.
Over 500 000 hectares and 77 villages burned, 7,000 fires still active, 40 deaths and hundreds of people on the street: Russia burns, rescuers are disorganized, but Vladimir Putin is in control .
Yesterday afternoon, while President Dmitri Medvedev decreed a state of emergency in seven regions of the country, the prime minister and strongman of the regime summoned the Russian officials in the affected areas. "I want to hear today How is the reconstruction of homes. I want reconstruction plans for every region, every town, every house. "
The tone is firm, but the requirement impossible to fulfill." I need a list of all the wounded, signed by you, the governors' , "he added.
Obviously, Vladimir Putin has not digested the criticisms that have served him last Friday the residents of Verkhnyaya Vereya, village razed in the region of Nizhny Novgorod." You have nothing done to prevent it burning! "had launched a hysterical woman with a stoic prime minister came to see the extent damage. The sequence "omitted" by the Russian state television has found its way from YouTube a few days later. The independent Russian media have also slammed the lack of preparation by the authorities in the fight against fires.
Therefore, the former president started the blame on regional leaders, however, appointed by himself and by his loyal successor, Dmitry Medvedev, since the abolition of gubernatorial elections in 2004. During his visit to Verkhnyaya Vereya, he advised local politicians who felt he lost the confidence of their fellow citizens to make their resignations.
"To reduce the risk of a recurrence of such events requires future development of federal and regional programs to ensure safety against fire, said the Prime Minister to local leaders.
But this time it is too late. Residents of several villages have been abandoned to their fate. In the Voronezh region, for example, dozens of young people have formed squads of volunteers to tackle the flames approached their home, reported the AFP yesterday. Contradictory information
The distribution of aid Disaster looks laborious. Aware that the country is plagued by corruption, Vladimir Putin has indicated that funds would be released "under the control of the representatives of the Kremlin in the regions, so they are not diverted."
He also expects that citizens and officials dishonest advantage of the situation to get money to which they are not entitled. "The houses will be reconstructed according to actual market prices (...) and the list of victims will be checked thoroughly. The crooks and thugs must not have a chance to take advantage of the situation," said Prime Minister yesterday .
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, responsible for the fight against fire, proved officially optimistic in its efforts to curb the fires. Some 265 villages were spared from the flames in one day through the work of engineers.
"Three hundred new fires occur on average each day and 95% of them are off the day they are located," said a spokesman for the Ministry yesterday. Yet, official data supplied by the same department are talking about a tenfold increase in the number of households between Sunday and Monday, from about 700 to 7000 ...
In the series of contradictory and vague information, officials said last weekend that two nuclear sites were threatened by fires. Other officials were quick to deny the news.
Yesterday the Minister Sergei Shoigu has yet "tenfold" means to fight the flames near the Federal Center for Nuclear Research of Sarov, in the heart of one of the areas most affected by forest fires. Because of the smoke too thick, the tankers could not fly near Sarov yesterday. The extinction of the fire was given this afternoon.
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