By Peter Baker and Peter Finn
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, July 15, 2006; A13

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.

Negotiators also raced to reach an agreement allowing Russia to join the World Trade Organization. Susan Schwab, the U.S. trade representative, made a breakthrough with the Russians on financial services but has been snagged on agricultural issues.

"I'd be surprised" if they reached agreement in time for Bush and Putin to announce, a senior U.S. official said. But talks stretched overnight. "While a bilateral agreement has not been finalized, significant progress has been made," Schwab spokesman Sean M. Spicer said at 3 a.m. Saturday.

Such issues weren't on the minds of the Russian activists who met with Bush. Among them was Irina Yasina, head of Open Russia, a charitable foundation. It was created by jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose politically charged prosecution has been widely criticized in the West.

Yasina said she described to Bush how Open Russia was shuttered in March after prosecutors froze its bank accounts. "I told him about my dreams for a free country and that my dreams seem to be dead," she recounted afterward. "It's a very big tragedy for me." She told him that the new law on grass-roots organizations "will be the end of Russian civil society. He asked what we need to change. And from my point of view, I said, 'Everything.' "

Yasina also appealed to Bush to raise with Putin the case of Svetlana Bakhmina, 36, a former attorney at Khodorkovsky's oil company who was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion. Yasina called the allegations bogus.

"I was impressed that Mr. Bush seemed to be so interested, and he showed a deep knowledge of the subjects," said Maria Gaidar, head of the youth movement Democratic Alternative.

Gaidar, daughter of former prime minister Yegor Gaidar, urged Bush to show broader support. "I said to him it's very important to get wider support for democracy -- not just supporting ultra-liberal human rights organizations," she said. "Russian people are quite conservative, and human rights activism often doesn't work with their sense of family values and patriotism."

Bush said later that he promised the activists he would convey their concerns to Putin. "I assured them that the United States of America cares about the form of government in Russia, that we believe in the universal values embedded in democracy," he told reporters.

He added, "I explained to them my strategy of dealing with Vladimir Putin, who is my friend. Some asked me to deliver messages, which I'd be more than happy to do. I explained to them that it's in the U.S. interests to remain engaged with Russia."

Finn reported from Moscow.