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"My sacred duty is to bring together the Russian people, unite the people around clear tasks. We have one fatherland, one people and a common future"
- Vladimir Putin, in The Guardian, 2007
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His face is emblazoned on tee shirts and mugs and his piercing blue eyes gaze even from mouse pads. Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, has just completed a power-packed reign lasting a decade and continues to enjoy the raging popularity of a rock star.
When Putin came to power at the turn of the century in 2000, he was virtually unknown, a man who hunted rats with childhood friends while growing up in a Soviet era communal apartment. A former KGB official with a black belt in judo and a cool, emotionless exterior. As the new Russian leader, Putin steered a Russia still tattered from the ravages of the debt crisis of 1998, and in his characteristic measured manner, worked methodically to cut taxes, bring budget reforms and rein in spending.
Under Putin’s watchful eye, Russia’s oil wealth was prudently used to repay debt and build reserves, with rubles packed into the country’s stabilization fund, a piggy bank for oil revenue established in 2004. A free market economy was highly encouraged and new legislations made the judicial system more transparent. Russians began to travel extensively, shop in glittering malls and acquire foreign cars. The average monthly salary shot up from $80 to $640 and Russia leapt to the position as 11th largest economy in the world in 2006, up from the 22nd slot in 1999. Russia found itself part of the esteemed Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC) quartet and even chaired the Group of Eight Summit (G8) in Moscow in 2006.
Then in 2008 Putin shocked the world. Bowing to the Russian constitution that bars a third consecutive presidential term, Russia’s powerful leader stepped down. Distraught Russians and Putin supporters called for a repeal of the ban. Still, the former KGB strongman has managed to wield his tremendous political clout. Although he named his protégé Dmitry Medvedev as his successor, Putin has been accused of holding the virtual puppet strings. In “A Conversation with Vladimir Putin” a televised phone-in program, an annual ritual, Putin continues to field questions from Russians who believe that he makes the key decisions. During his latest phon-a-thon, Putin assuaged callers sickened from the economic crisis, pledging to raise pensions, avoid layoffs, support factories and slash allocations for foreign workers.
People across Russia have cheered him. The rest of the world took notice as Russia bolstered its presence on the global stage.
But Putin has his dark side. As the rising “Tsar,” as he has come to be known, Putin has handcuffed press freedom, flattened any form of dissent and incarcerated oligarchs who did not swear loyalty. He has often displayed ruthlessness. In the dead of a Russian winter, the diminutive 5 ft 6 inch Putin ordered gas supplies to be cut off from the Ukraine over suspicions that the country was siphoning gas.
Yet despite the unbridled corruption and loss of freedom characterizing Putin’s regime, the Russian people have been content to see a stable force in charge. It has been a good trade off. As Dimitri Simes, an expert on contemporary Russia observed, Putin emerged “as an elected emperor, whom many people compare to Peter the Great.” Russians have seemingly ingested Putin’s heady cocktail of patriotism, traditionalism and liberalism, all mixed with a steely hand of control. As Prime Minister, Putin has taken charge of the economy and his approval ratings continue to hover around 75%, despite rampant layoffs and pay cuts.
What is the reason behind the adulation of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin or VVP as he is fondly known? Igor Boiko, the founder of a Putin fan club for teenagers, says that Putin “outlined the most important problems facing the country, many of which have been solved with visible results.” And for those who remember a poor and hungry Russia, Putin is the healer who smoothed out the rough edges of the country.
This resilient politician, who is arguably the third most powerful politician after Obama and Hu Jintao, can choose to return to the Presidency in 2012. Putin himself has said that he has ‘not ruled out the possibility.’ And given his popularity, Russia’s future might lie in this modern day Tsar’s hands.
Image Credit: The Kremlin under a Creative Commons license
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