By Dana Milbank and Peter Baker
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, May 26, 2002; Page A22

ST. PETERSBURG, May 25 -- President Bush, facing television cameras at a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, announced that the two would meet with media representatives as part of his effort to convince Russia of "the important role of the free press in building a working democracy."

When the meeting happened a while later, it was a Kremlin gathering of a few news media figures who were given four minutes to make presentations to the presidents: two minutes for an American newspaper owner and two minutes for a Russian journalist. Participants said Bush and Putin thanked them without responding to the issues they raised. Although the event was meant to highlight support for a free press, news media coverage was not permitted.

Vladimir Posner, one of Russia's best-known television journalists and Russia's representative at the event, said he was pleased that the subject of press freedom was raised. But, he added: "On the minus side, it would have been good if we could have had a more in-depth discussion. And it would have been better if it had been open to the media, especially because we were talking about independent media."

The closed meeting reflected the tone that Bush has set on his three-day visit to Russia, the first of his presidency. Putin has been widely criticized for closing down an independent television station here, and he has overseen the prosecution of a brutal military campaign against Chechen separatists. But in public appearances, Bush did not confront Putin on these issues.

Bush extolled the virtues of a free and open society, visited a church and a synagogue, and met with Russian journalists, human rights workers and religious leaders. But he emphasized mutual cuts in strategic nuclear arms and cooperation in the war on terrorism. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, summing up the trip today, did not even mention human rights or democracy.

Bush praised Putin and his leadership throughout his visit while avoiding criticism of his host. At St. Petersburg State University, where Putin studied and later worked while also serving undercover for the KGB, Bush spoke warmly this afternoon to the students about "your president and my friend, Vladimir Putin." He told the students that "you've got a leader who understands that freedom is going to enhance the future of this country."

When a student asked about the characteristics of leadership, Bush said, "You have to stand on principle, you have to believe in certain values." But the only value Bush talked about during the appearance was how much Putin and his wife "loved their daughters. That's a universal value. It's an impressive value."

In recent days Bush has set a strikingly different tone than he did in his remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in November 1999. At the time, Putin was prime minister, and the Russian military was pushing ahead with a new offensive in Chechnya. Bush, then on the campaign trail, declared that "we cannot excuse Russian brutality" and argued that "Russia cannot learn the lessons of democracy from the textbook of tyranny." He said there would be no cooperation without "civilized self-restraint from Moscow."

"When the Russian government attacks civilians, killing women and children, leaving orphans and refugees, it can no longer expect aid from international lending institutions," Bush said then. "The Russian government will discover that it cannot build a stable and unified nation on the ruins of human rights."

As with Bill Clinton and others before him, though, Bush has since discovered that it's easier to talk tough as a candidate than as a president. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks led Bush to build an international coalition for the war in Afghanistan, and Russian cooperation was critical for U.S. forces to use Central Asian countries as bases of operations. Other considerations have taken a back seat, and not just with Russia; during a trip to China earlier this year, Bush played down concerns about Beijing's human rights record.

The emphasis on the fight against terrorism has dovetailed with Putin's own agenda. He launched the Chechen offensive after a series of apartment house bombings in Moscow and other cities that he blamed on Chechens, although none was apprehended. From the outset, Putin has cast the Chechen war as a battle against terrorists.

Russian and international human rights groups have called attention to numerous examples of brutality and abuses in the Chechen conflict, including cases in which Russian troops have rounded up civilians and allegedly tortured and killed them. On his current trip, Bush's only public mention of Chechnya in Putin's presence was a neutral line: "We will work to help end fighting and achieve a political settlement in Chechnya."

Bush also mentioned Chechnya to the political, religious, media and human rights leaders gathered late Friday at Spaso House, the U.S. ambassador's residence. A few reporters were allowed to cover his remarks, which were given brief coverage on Russian television.

"The experience in Afghanistan has taught us all that there's lessons to be learned about how to protect one's homeland and, at the same time, be respectful on the battlefield, and that lesson applies to Chechnya," Bush said. "The war on terror can be won and, at the same time, we have proven it's possible to respect the rights of the people in the territories, to respect the rights of the minorities."

Bush also spoke at Spaso House about the need for fair enforcement of law, an "independent media that is respected by the government," freedom of speech and of association for opposition parties and freedom of religion. Bush said both Russia and the United States must "respect the multi-ethnic character of our lands." Like Americans, Russians expect a government "that represents everyday citizens, not a corrupt elite," Bush said.

"We'll be judged by history on how we defend our freedoms," he added. "And we'll be judged by history as to whether or not we defend the universal values that are right and just and true."

Some in the audience noted the difference between Bush's approach and Clinton's. When Clinton visited in 2000 in the midst of a crackdown on Russia's most prominent media tycoon, he offered his support by granting a long interview to the tycoon's flagship radio station, Ekho Moskvy.

Some in Russia said they were disappointed by Bush's approach. "It was interesting to listen to him, but I didn't hear anything new to what he usually says on the subject," said Valentina Melnikova, an activist with the Soldiers' Mothers Committee, a group that has protested military abuses in Chechnya.

Melnikova credited Bush with speaking emotionally about human rights but said she feared that his approach would only encourage Russia to persist in its actions in Chechnya without fear of international condemnation.

"As usual, I was upset at the way he spoke about ways to fight against terrorism," she said. "We know for sure the way he spoke about it gives more freedom to the Russian military." Melnikova approached Bush after his speech, introduced herself and urged him to have U.S. military officers teach the Russians to respect human rights.

"Of course we were not satisfied with that," said Tatiana Kasatkina, executive director of Memorial, a Russian human rights group, speaking of the Bush remarks at Spaso House. "He spoke about Chechnya and human rights only in passing. There was nothing in the speech like what he said during his election campaign. But what could one expect? . . . It's diplomacy. It's politics."