RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin of Russia last night mounted an extraordinary defence of policies his critics have labelled as authoritarian.
In a stout defence of reforms that have seen elections for regional governors scrapped and limits put on the number of parties in parliament, Mr Putin said he wanted to defend democracy, not destroy it.
"These proposals are totally unconnected with any attempt by the head of state to obtain some kind of additional . . . power over the regional authorities," he said.
In a series of live TV interviews, he said tough measures were necessary as the fate of the nation was at stake.
"We all know international terrorists and criminals are not planning tank attacks to capture Moscow, Leningrad or Stalingrad," he said, using the old Soviet Union names for St Petersburg and Volgograd.
But he said terrorists were intent on setting up their "infamous caliphate", a reference to Osama bin Laden's vision of bringing the whole Muslim world under one ruler.
"That would mean huge losses of territory for us, mainly in the south, and a possible disintegration of the whole country," he said. "The creation of this threat should prompt us to perfect our government structure, improve its effectiveness and solve a range of other economic and social problems."
As important as the conciliatory tone of his statements was the body language in last night's TV appearances. Gone were the familiar sharp suits and flags and stern image. Instead, he appeared on the main TV news programme last night in a black polo neck and jacket, sitting with three journalists in armchairs arranged around a coffee table.
Together, his day of interviews amounted to the most wide-ranging defence of his leadership since he came to power in 2000.
They come amid an ever-tightening grip on public life by the Kremlin. The government now controls all national TV channels, and Mr Putin's former KGB colleagues have been installed in all areas of public life.
But as the Kremlin amasses power within its walls, so it has also drawn criticism, including from Brussels and Washington which fear he is reversing Russia's democratic reforms.
He has drawn criticism from international business for the government's continuing campaign against the oil tycoon Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been in jail for more than year on charges of tax evasion.
And the Beslan massacre in September highlighted his government's inability to win the war in Chechnya.
Mr Putin has faced problems domestically, with pensioners and housewives demonstrating against increases in the price of heating and electricity.
Mr Putin said he was angry with standards of behaviour of the police, saying ordinary people were more frightened of them than criminals.