Putin defiant in wake of slaughter

A SHAKEN President Vladimir Putin went on national television this weekend to make a rare and candid admission of Russian weakness in the face of an "all-out war" by terrorists.

Speaking in the wake of the school siege in Beslan that left more than 350 people dead, he told the Russian people that they must mobilise against terrorism and promised wide-ranging reforms to toughen security forces and purge corruption.

Putin took a defiant tone, acknowledging Russia's weaknesses, but blaming it on the fall of the Soviet Union, foreign foes seeking to tear Russia apart and on corrupt officials. He said Russians could no longer live "carefree" and must all confront terrorism.