Steely blue eyes glare into the camera lens. They are cutting. Yet Vladimir Putin looks tired, and he should be after eight years as the leader of the world's largest country (Russia par 2). "All these eight years I have been working like a slave on a galley, from dawn to dusk giving all my energy, and I am happy with what I've done," said Putin on Russia Today during his last media conference as president. Despite his exhaustion, Putin is not stepping down from his seat of power. While it is true that he has ceded the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev, Putin has now taken up the office of Prime Minister. This decision was met with a standing ovation from the Russia that has come to revere him as its redeemer. How did Putin come to rule Russia, why is he so admired, and is Putin popular or power-hungry? Although Vladimir Putin has built up his country from the rubble of its former glory, his motives for doing so may not be as noble as his cause.
Setting the scene:
During its days as the Soviet Union, Russia was one of the world's great superpowers. For many years it was the antithesis of the United States, our communist counterpart. On Christmas Day of 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved after a coup led by Mikhail Gorbachev failed to prevent the decentralization of the USSR (End 1). Boris Yeltsin, the president of the new Russian federation, immediately began restructuring the government controlled economy into a market-based economy based on free trade. To reduce spending, the government cut back social programs, subsidies to farmers and industries, military costs, and abolished price controls. It then established the basic framework of a capitalistic economy: stock exchange, central reserve bank, and civil law code. Finally, state-owned property was privatized. Much of these assets ended up in the hands of a few former Soviet leaders, creating a business oligarchy in contrast to the emerging democracy. Many believed that the reconstruction of Russia's prior system would be beneficial to the new government and its people. However, the economy was less than half its previous size by 1997, and millions of ordinary citizens were left in poverty (Boris IV). Russia needed a leader.
The Mystery Man:
Prior to his appointment as prime minister in 1999, very little was known about the stone-faced Putin. He had spent 17 years in the KGB, the Soviet equivalent of the CIA, and had spent less than 10 years in politics before being thrust onto the main stage. In 2000, when it became clear that he would be the successor to President Boris Yeltsin, it was necessary that he be "demystified" (Biography par 1).
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, to a World War II veteran and factory worker and his wife. (Biography par 1). According to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Putin experienced a poverty stricken childhood that was alleviated by a good education, a love for martial arts, and spy novels. All of these interests led him to apply to the KGB at the age of 17. He was first turned away and told to return with a degree. This he pursued with a vigor that would help him in his future as a politician (Frost par 3).
As a KGB agent, Putin performed espionage missions that allowed him to climb through the ranks of the secret security organization. Putin was sent to East Germany where he worked undercover to gain information on NATO intelligence and German politicians. When the Berlin Wall fell, Putin and other KGB agents feverishly burned classified documents about agents and their missions before the local KGB headquarters was overrun with angry protesters (Ignatius 3 par 6).
Within two years Putin's career in the KGB was over, and he found himself back in his home town as the assistant mayor, where he helped push reformation. He then followed these ambitions all the way to the Kremlin, the heart of Moscow. After performing his duties as the head of Yeltsin's general affairs, the head of the FSB (the new KGB), and later Prime Minister, Putin was hand-picked as Yeltsin's heir. During an interview, TIME Magazine asked Putin if he thought he would ever be placed in this position. "It never occurred to me. It still surprises me," said Putin (Ignatius 3 pars 7-9).
From the Ashes:
As he spoke for the final time in front of the State Council as president, Putin noted the achievements that had occurred under his direction in recent times. "Over the past two years, there has been a real investment and consumer boom in Russia. Real incomes over the past eight years have increased two-and-a-half times . . . Pensions have also grown nearly two-and-a-half fold and unemployment and poverty have more than halved," said Putin (Highlights par 2). According to RIA Novosti (Russia's national and international news program), Economic growth has boosted GDP up 70% and investments have increased 125%, which has helped place Russia back amongst the world's top 10 economies. Russia has also become an "energy superpower" within the last eight years. The Stabilization Fund was created in 2004 to take in oil revenues and save the money for times of need. Within two years the fund accumulated enough money to pay off all of the Soviet Union's debts and the pressure from inflation was reduced. In 2007, money from the fund was used to bolster Russian development institutions, and in January of 2008 the Stabilization Fund was split into the Reserve Fund and the National Welfare Fund. These two programs have been designed to protect Russia from any kind of global financial crisis and help with pension reform (Johnson pars 1-3).
