Putin Warns Everbody: Don't Mess With Russia !

by Emilio Lizardo | December 20, 2008 at 09:46 am

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Warning essentially everybody everywhere, Vladimir Putin says don't try to sabatoge Russia's ongoing efforts at regaining the solidarity it had more or less enjoyed prior to 1989.

Indeed, in a relative sense as of late things have been moving along nicely for Mr. Putin toward his ambitious objective - no less than the restoration of the Russian Republic once again to full super-power status.

Don't destabilize Russia, Putin warns foes

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Russia's foes on Friday against trying to destabilize a country facing broadening economic crisis, Russian news agencies reported.

Putin did not specify who might pose a threat to Russia's stability. But in the past, he has often blamed Western security services of trying to destabilize the country using opposition groups and non-governmental organizations as their instruments.

"Any attempts to weaken or destabilize Russia, harm the interests of the country will be toughly suppressed," they quoted ex-KGB spy Putin as telling an annual meeting of top spies and security officers ahead of their professional holiday.

Putin, who was the Russian president in 2000-08, has contributed greatly to the growth of influence of Russia's FSB federal security service, a successor of the Soviet-era KGB.

Many ex-KGB officers became key government and regional officials during his presidency forming his power base, which largely remained intact after Putin handed over powers to his successor Dmitry Medvedev in May.

Critics say that under Putin, security services have become excessively influential and expressed fears Russia could one day become a police state.

Rights campaigners have urged Medvedev to veto a cabinet bill ordering that professional judges rather than juries run trials involving terrorism, civil unrest and several other serious crimes.