To Dismay of Some, Bush Takes Gentler Approach Toward Putin

Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin chat ahead of the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg. (By Dmitry Astakhov -- Presidential Press Service)

ST. PETERSBURG, July 15 -- The last time they had a serious talk about Russian democracy, the room bristled with anger. President Bush, aides recounted, pressed President Vladimir Putin about his crackdown on dissent. And Putin threw it back in his face, asserting that Bush was no different because he had supposedly fired CBS anchorman Dan Rather.

As Bush arrived here for four days of meetings at which democracy again is at issue, he and Putin appeared intent on avoiding the same sort of crackling confrontation of that day 17 months ago in Bratislava, Slovakia. After landing on Friday, Bush offered symbolic support for democracy by meeting with embattled activists, but then he and Laura Bush joined Putin and his wife for dinner.

Dressed casually in open-necked shirts, the two presidents hugged in front of the cameras, and Bush admired Putin's 1972 Zaporozhets, a cheap, sturdy Soviet-era subcompact that was the first car he owned. "Solid friendship," a smiling Bush called out to reporters asking about their relationship before the two couples disappeared into a cottage on the grounds of a presidential palace outside this former imperial capital.

Bush no longer views Putin as warmly as he did in 2001, when they first met and Bush said he had got a sense of Putin's soul. But after Bratislava, aides said, Bush concluded that challenging Putin directly only backfires, so he has taken a gentler approach and plans no direct debate over Putin's authoritarian path when the two stage a joint news conference Saturday.

This strategy has disappointed people who want him to speak forcefully for democracy in Russia. Tatyana Lokshina, head of the human rights group Demos and one of 15 activists invited to meet privately with Bush at the consul general's residence here Friday, said the president opened his discussion by speaking of his relationship with Putin and the value it has.

"He said Putin was his friend and partner and he likes him on a human level," Lokshina said in an interview. "That is fine, but he also said -- and this is frustrating -- he feels that private criticism, closed-door criticism, is better."

Lokshina said she challenged Bush. "Your domestic audience and ourselves are expecting you to deliver on your message that you want to promote democracy, and you cannot but react to the dramatic deterioration in Russia," she said she told him.

In the days leading up to the summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations, which starts with a banquet Saturday night, Russia's struggle over political freedom was on display. Authorities harassed Kremlin critics attending an alternative conference in Moscow called the "Other Russia" and arrested some, according to participants. About 200 people trying to go to St. Petersburg to stage a protest in a stadium far away from the summit sites were detained en route, organizers reported.

"Russia's attempts to stifle an independent gathering speak louder than the lip service it pays to democracy," said Holly Cartner, director of Europe and Central Asia programs for the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. "G-8 leaders must tackle Russia's 'Potemkin democracy.' "

As evidence that Bush's understated approach works, White House aides point to Putin's decision to soften a new law restricting grass-roots organizations in Russia, following quiet U.S. objections last winter. But those groups say that even the moderated law puts them under enormous pressure from the Kremlin.

Bush tried a quiet tack before this trip as well, to no avail. As critics at home called on him to boycott the first summit of the G-8 hosted by Russia, U.S. officials gave Russia a list of concrete actions it could take before the summit to show commitment to democracy. These included registering certain advocacy groups and allowing independent monitors to observe local elections. Russia largely disregarded the advice.

Complicating the situation for Bush are the many other issues on which he needs Russian help, particularly Iran's nuclear program. Bush wants to show progress in relations beyond issues of democracy and plans to announce Saturday that the United States and Russia will craft their first cooperation deal on civilian nuclear technology.