It was Vladimir Putin's day. Despite protests outside Downing Street where he was called Ras-Putin by pro-Chechen protestors, he stole the show from Tony Blair on a dull Monday afternoon at the Foreign and Commonwealth office in Westminster. At his first press conference in Western Europe after being elected president of Russia, he cleverly evaded questions about his past as a KGB spy in East Germany and came out passionately about the Russian cause in Chechnya. In fact, while Blair spent most of his time on the dais scanning the journalists seated in what is called the 'Durbar' in the erstwhile India office of the FCO, Putin was most articulate about Chechnya. In a long response he stressed that the fight there was not against Muslims or Chechens, but against international Islamic terrorism that could spread to other countries of Western Europe. Western Europe, he declared, was afraid of offending their Muslim populations. "Russia and Western Europe could pay heavily for this," he warned through a sometimes-fading English translator. "Last summer," he said, "they [Islamic terrorists] invaded the Muslim republic of Dagestan shouting terrorist slogans. They wanted to use this as a launching pad for undermining Russian statehood and sovereignty." The Russian president also said he was unaware of the commission set up to investigate all cases of human rights violation in Chechnya. He had heard about it only from newspaper reports. But he assured that it was an independent body which had certain eminent Russians and would work in tandem with international human rights organisations. Standing beside Blair, who amicably addressed the 47-year-old Russian as 'Vladimir', Putin smoothly ignored the question about a member of the former Communist Soviet Union meeting the Queen for tea at Windsor Castle. Though the Sky News reporter repeated his quirky query, Putin was suave enough to move on and oblige the Sun newspaper. Terming the tabloid's query on the Russian mafia supporting the Russian economy as gross "exaggeration' and "what in English is called a hyperbole," Putin said that gangsters were not at the helm of affairs in his country. The visit has been widely considered by the Western media as an attempt by Putin to reach out to the West through the British prime minister. Blair, however, maintained that the best way to register concerns about Chechnya and get results was by engaging Russia and not isolating it. The staff at the FCO revealed that the Durbar Hall was used as a venue for press conferences only in select circumstances. That is, when the number of journalists were more than what Downing Street can accommodate. The Durbar Hall, the majestic central area of the FCO, has a dominant Indian presence. With the names of several Indian cities etched on its stone plaques, it has tiles reminiscent of those found in the palaces of Rajasthan. As a matter of fact, the entire wing comprising the India office resonates with a colonial Indian connection. A Rajput dressed in full armour paying respect to Britannia, portraits of Hastings, Wellesly and the nawab of Lucknow -- an unusual room with six doors leading to different areas. "This was the secretary of state's room. These two doors were meant to grant entry to two Indian princes of the same stature if they happened to call at the same time. The idea was not to offend them," said the tour guide. Restored recently, the huge office, it is said, was gloomy, cold, till a few years ago, thanks to the ancient way of using coal fireplaces for heating. Though the fireplaces remain, it is obvious that the India office has now caught up with the rest of the British world. The central heating is appropriate; the staff say it is much, much better than its earlier glum avatar. Now for the tailpiece. Putin, a fitness freak, skipped his daily 45-minute morning jog in London. Grigori Karasin, the Russian ambassador, had to go jogging alone in Kensington Park. The president descended in London with 50 journalists, 50 aides and reportedly 100 security men. He travelled with a 13-strong motorcade, including two armoured Russian Zil limousines and a Mercedes, specially flown from Russia. Too much for a one-day trip for a former spy in the East Bloc! Assistant Features Editor (News) Archana Masih is currently in London as a British Chevening scholar.
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