Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov on Wednesday accused Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin of failing to modernize the country and suggested the president should tear his head off.
Speaking after Kudrin delivered a report to the lower house of the Russian parliament, Zyuganov criticized the government's lack of progress in realizing the modernization program pushed so strongly by President Dmitry Medvedev.
"Alexei Leonidovych, if I were in the president's place, I would tear your ears off together with your head," Zyuganov told the finance minister in the parliamentary hall. "You are sabotaging the president's key program".
Zyuganov said the United States had budgeted $400 billion for modernization in 2010 and was taking serious steps to improve the social situation in the country, while Europe was also striving "to muzzle bank speculators".
"As for our government, it is doing everything exactly backwards," the Communist leader said.
Using Soviet-era language, Zyuganov said "not a single kopek has reached the fields or the factories" but the government had increased utility charges and pumped $200 billion into banks.
He also accused the government of hiding the deplorable state of the economy and blasted the finance minister for shortchanging pensioners.
"You added an average of 1,020 rubles ($32.80) [to pensions], but inflated utility tariffs by 20 percent this year plus 15 percent next year, plus prices of fruits and vegetables have doubled, plus the consumer basket has become approximately 40 percent more expensive, so pensioners don't even get a sniff of your raises," Zyuganov said.
