The past, present and possible future leaders of Russia will meet participants in the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009, the global meetings of the world's press, which will be held in Moscow from 4 to 7 June. версия для печати
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a speaker during opening ceremonies on 4 June. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the USSR, will have an open discussion during a conference lunch on 7 June.
Among other speakers could very well be the future leader of Russia.
A frontrunner is Dmitry Medvedev, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the energy giant Gazprom, who many say is Mr Putin's favoured successor. He will be speaking at the conference lunch on 6 June
Another candidate is Vladimir Yakunin, Head of the Russian Railway Co., who has also been mentioned as a successor to Mr Putin, though he has denied the speculation.
The independent Russian opposition will also be given a conference platform when Vladimir Ryzhkov takes the floor.
The 59th World Newspaper Congress, 13tth World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009 are the global meetings of the world's press, organized by the World Association of Newspapers. More than 1,500 publishers, chief editors, managing directors, CEOs and other senior newspaper executives from 103 countries -- a record number of participants -- will be attending the events.
Full details, including the programme of business sessions, where leading executives and editors from the world-wide newspaper industry will share their strategies, are available at www.moscow2009.com.
President Putin's appearance will be an opportunity for him to address international concerns about the state of press freedom in Russia, where government authorities have taken direct or indirect control over all nationwide television outlets, and where pressure on independent newspapers and magazines is mounting. It also comes shortly before the G8 Summit, which Mr Putin will be hosting. The Chairman of the Russian Federation's G8 Commission, Igor Shuvalov, is also on the conference programme. .
For Mr Gorbachev, the architect of the break-up of the Soviet Union, the meetings will be an opportunity to discuss his views of Russia's current direction. Mr Gorbachev was recently quoted as saying, "Putin sometimes, or even frequently, applies authoritarian methods, but this is not authoritarianism." His appearance provides an opportunity for participants to question him further on his views.
Mr Medvedev is one of the political leaders closest to President Putin, having served as head of the presidential campaign office during the 2007 elections and on Mr Putin's presidential staff. Shortly before being appointed First Deputy Prime Minister in November last year, he warned that a sharp change in Russia's political leadership in 2009 elections would be disastrous.
Mr Ryzhkov, who holds an independent seat in the Duma, the Russian Parliament, says that those who run the country have three principal attributes: "corruption, corruption and corruption once again." Mr Ryzhkov, the co-founder of the "2009: Free Choice" committee, will give the conference his views of the future of Russia as the country moves toward both Duma and Presidential elections.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations, newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.
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