Putin in Crimea: Leader dives on Black Sea shipwreck in minisub

Putin intends to bring in trusted younger people to shake up his team ahead of the 2018 presidential election as he seeks to drag Russia’s economy out of recession, an official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorized to discuss appointments.

Putin, however, batted away the criticism over his visit and insisted the “blame” for a recent spike in violence in east Ukraine lies with the government forces.

“It is a galleon that was transporting civilian cargo through the bay of Balaclava”, Putin said. A stunt in 2011 that saw a wetsuited Putin apparently find two ancient amphorae during a dive off the Russian coast close to Crimea drew widespread derision after it turned out the urns had been deliberately placed there. While the Kremlin previously relied on lavish funding for inefficient state companies, “now there is no money, which means they should be managed better and the railways are a glaring example”. “Now they must work and not just be run by loyal people”, he said. “Otherwise, the economy will simply become catastrophic”. It granted them legal rehabilitation along with other ethnic minorities who suffered under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, and accorded official status to their language.

In the first three months of this year the number of Russian tourists going overseas fell by 40 percent compared to the same period last year, Rostourism reported, citing Rosstat.

Yakunin’s move to the upper chamber may make it more influential politically and much depends on whether he will be appointed to a senior position there, Pavlovsky said.

Off the vessel, Putin was greeted by Medvedev, who did give him a hug, and also by his chief of staff and defense minister.

Meanwhile, the retaliatory sanctions Russia placed on imports of western food products have hurt Russian consumers more than foreign producers, with prices for consumer goods increasing while the economy craters. Russian Federation holds local and regional elections on September 13, including in the Kaliningrad region.