See below for further evidence that Putin lacks either the ability or (more likely) the inclination to play well with others. Although Lenta convincingly argues that Putin was misquoted on the "limited mental capacity" part (though not the preceding comments), the fact remains that VVP seems unable to get past the fact that admitting Russia's IT sector might be able to use Dell's help to develop does not mean that Russians - or their IT specialists, who are indeed some of the best in the world - are "invalids."
As I've pointed out in the past, the only people who suffer when Putin rejects offers of assistance from abroad are Russian citizens. I doubt the inflated sense of patriotism which some of them derive from Putin's displays of attitude will compensate in the long run for the opportunities many of them have missed out on thanks to a government that wants to be the only benefactor its people know.
After so many years of watching him, it's hard to be surprised at such a stupidly cocky comment, but it's still jarring:
Putin-Dell slapdown at Davos
The Russian prime minister tells the Dell CEO: 'We don't need help. We are not invalids.'
By Peter Gumbel, Europe editor
January 28, 2009: 2:34 PM ET
DAVOS, Switzerland (Fortune) -- Ever since Vladimir Putin rose to power in 2000, his political opponents and entire countries have learned to their cost that he has a tough, demeaning streak. Wednesday it was Michael Dell's turn.
At the official opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Putin, now Russian Prime Minister, delivered a 40-minute speech touching on everything from why the dollar should not be the sole reserve currency to how the world needed to enter into a smart energy partnership with Russia. Then it was time for questions. First up: Dell. He praised Russia's technical and scientific prowess, and then asked: "How can we help" you to expand IT in Russia.
Big mistake. Russia has been allergic to offers of aid from the West ever since hundreds of overpaid consultants arrived in Moscow after the collapse of Communism, in 1991, and proceeded to hand out an array of advice that proved, at times, useless or dangerous.
Putin's withering reply to Dell: "We don't need help. We are not invalids. We don't have limited mental capacity." The slapdown took many of the people in the audience by surprise. Putin then went on to outline some of the steps the Russian government has taken to wire up the country, including remote villages in Siberia. And, in a final dig at Dell, he talked about how Russian scientists were rightly respected not for their hardware, but for their software. The implication: Any old fool can build a PC outfit.
4 comments:
Such touchiness seems to betray some sort of inferiority complex.
Kolya
That's certainly one very plausible explanation. Either that, or he knows that the folks at home love his "Putinisms" and this is just another one of them.
Actually, those two explanations are not mutually exclusive. If such a statement actually has popular resonance in Russia, it reflects the kind of national inferiority complex that people often talk about but that's very hard to pin down.
If IT is so well advanced in Russia, why is internet banking for private citizens non-existent?
You are not right, Tim.
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