Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin (in Russian, Владимир Владимирович Путин, pronunciation (?·i)Leningrad, Russian RSFS, Soviet Union, October 7, 1952) is a Russian lawyer and politician, leader de facto of the political party Russia United. He currently serves as President of Russia, a post he holds from 2012, and earlier from 2000 to 2008. He was also president of the government from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012.

He worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for sixteen years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in St. Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of President Boris Yeltsin. He briefly served as head of the Federal Security Service (SFS) and secretary of the Security Council, before being appointed prime minister in August 1999. After Yeltsin's resignation, Putin became interim president and less than four months later was chosen outright. He was re-elected in 2004. Then constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms as president, Putin served again as prime minister from 2008 to 2012 under Dmitry Medvedev, and despite presidential limits returned to the presidency in 2012 in an election marred by fraud allegations and protests; he was reelected again in 2018. In April 2021, following a referendum, he signed into law constitutional amendments, including one that would allow him to run for reelection two more times, potentially extending his presidency until 2036.

During Putin's first term as president, the Russian economy grew on average 7 percent per year, buoyed by a five-fold increase in the price of oil and gas. Putin led Russia during the Second Chechen War, restoring federal control in Chechnya. As prime minister under Medvedev, he oversaw military reform and police reform, as well as Russia's victory in its war against Georgia. During his third term as president, Russia annexed Crimea and sponsored a war in eastern Ukraine with several military incursions, resulting in international sanctions and a financial crisis in Russia. During his fourth term as president, his government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and presided over a military rally on the border with Ukraine. In February 2022, Putin ordered the so-called "special military operation in Ukraine", which led to condemnation and isolation from the international community, as well as the expansion of sanctions, which led, at the end of 2022, to a contraction of the Russian economy of between 2.5 and 3% of GDP and inflation of 12%, macroeconomic data much better than the predictions of the sanctioning countries.

Several analysts and political figures have mentioned that under Putin's leadership, Russia suffered a democratic setback and a turn towards totalitarianism. They also say that his government has been characterized by endemic corruption, imprisonment and the repression of political opponents, the intimidation and repression of independent Russian media, and the lack of free and fair elections. Putin's Russia has scored low on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, the Democracy Index from The Economist Intelligence Unit and the Freedom in the World Index from Freedom House.^{[citation needed]}

Early Years

Vladimir Putin, five, with his mother, Maria Ivanovna, in July 1958.

Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), the youngest of the three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria Ivanovna Putina (née Shelomova; 1911-1998). His grandfather, Spiridon Putin, was a personal cook for Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Putin's birth was preceded by the death of two brothers, Viktor and Albert, born in the mid-1930s. Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the siege of Leningrad by Nazi German forces during World War II.

Putin's mother was a factory worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, serving in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, his father served in the destruction battalion of the NKVD. He was later transferred to the regular army and seriously wounded in 1942. Putin's maternal grandmother was killed by the German occupiers in Tver Oblast in 1941, and his maternal uncles disappeared in the Eastern Front during World War II.

On September 1, 1960, Putin began his studies at the 193 School in Baskov alley, near his house. He was one of the few in the class of approximately 45 students who were not yet members of the Young Pioneers organization. At the age of 12 he began to practice sambo and judo. In his spare time, he enjoyed reading the works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Lenin. Putin studied German at St.Petersburg High School No. 281 and speaks German as a second language.

Putin studied law at the Leningrad State University named after Andrei Zhdanov (now Saint Petersburg State University) in 1970, graduating in 1975. His thesis was on "The Most Favored Nation Principle of Trade in international law." While there, he was asked to join the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and remained a member until it ceased to exist, when it was outlawed in August 1991. Putin met Anatoli Sobchak, an assistant professor who taught business law, and who later became a co-author of the Russian Constitution and corruption schemes in France^{[citation needed]}. Putin would be influential in Sobchak's career in Saint Petersburg, and Sobchak would be influential in Putin's career in Moscow.

Career in the KGB

In 1975, Putin joined the KGB and trained at KGB school 401 in Okhta, Leningrad. After training, he worked in the Second Main Directorate (counterintelligence), before being transferred to the First High Directorate, where he supervised foreigners and consular officials in Leningrad. In September 1984, Putin was sent to Moscow for further training at the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute. From 1985 to 1990, he served in Dresden, East Germany, using a cover identity as a translator.

Putin in KGB, c. 1980.

"Ausweis" of Putin at the Stasi. He was assigned as a KGB agent as a mid-level liaison with the East German intelligence agency in 1985. He worked as a translator in Dresden when he was actually a KGB agent.

"Putin and his colleagues were mainly reduced to collecting press clippings, thus contributing to the mountains of useless information produced by the KGB", wrote Russian-American Masha Gessen in her 2012 biography of Putin. Their work he was also downplayed by former Stasi spy chief Markus Wolf and Putin's former KGB colleague Vladimir Usoltsev. Journalist Catherine Belton wrote in 2020 that this downplaying was actually a cover for Putin's involvement in the KGB's coordination and support of the Red Army Faction terrorists, whose members frequently hid in East Germany with the Stasi support; Dresden was preferred as a "fringe" city with only a small presence of Western intelligence services.

According to an anonymous source, a former member of the RAF, at one of these meetings in Dresden, the militants presented Putin with a list of weapons which were later handed over to the RAF in West Germany. Klaus Zuchold, who claimed to have been recruited by Putin, said that the latter also handled a neo-Nazi, Rainer Sonntag, and attempted to recruit an author of a study on poisons. Putin also reportedly met with Germans for recruitment. for wireless communications issues along with an interpreter. He was involved in wireless communications technologies in Southeast Asia due to the trips of German engineers, recruited by him, there and to the West.

According to Putin's official biography, during the fall of the Berlin Wall that began on November 9, 1989, he kept the archives of the Soviet Cultural Center (House of Friendship) and the KGB villa in Dresden to avoid for protesters, including KGB and Stasi agents, to obtain and destroy them. He then allegedly burned only the KGB files, in a few hours, but kept the files of the Soviet Cultural Center for the German authorities. Nothing is said about the selection criteria during this burning; for example, on files of the Stasi or on files of other agencies of the German Democratic Republic or the USSR. He explained that many documents were left in Germany just because the furnace blew up, but many documents from the KGB villa were sent to Moscow.

After the collapse of the communist government in East Germany, Putin was required to resign from active KGB service due to suspicions raised about his loyalty during the demonstrations in Dresden and before, although the KGB and the Soviet military still operated in the east of Germany. He returned to Leningrad in the early 1990s as a member of the "active reserves", where he worked for about three months with the International Affairs section of the Leningrad State University, reporting to Vice-Rector Yuriy Molchanov, while working on his doctoral thesis., scouted for new KGB recruits, observed the student body, and renewed his friendship with his former teacher, Anatoli Sobchak, soon to be mayor of Leningrad. Putin claims that he resigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel on August 20, 1991, in on the second day of the 1991 Soviet coup attempt against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Putin said, "As soon as the coup started, I immediately decided which side I was on", although he also noted that the choice was difficult because he had passed most of his life with "the [governing] bodies".

In 1999, Putin described communism as "a dead end, far from the mainstream of civilization".

Political career

1990-1996: St. Petersburg administration

Putin, Liudmila Narúsova and Ksenia Sobchak, widow and daughter of Sobchak, at the funeral of Anatoli Sobchak, mayor of St.Petersburg (1991-1996) and former mentor of Putin.

In May 1990, Putin was appointed foreign affairs adviser to Leningrad Mayor Anatoli Sobchak. In a 2017 interview with Oliver Stone, Putin said that he resigned from the KGB in 1991, after the coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, since he did not agree with what happened and did not want to be part of intelligence in the new administration. According to Putin's statements in 2018 and 2021, he may have worked as a private taxi driver to earn extra money, or considered such a job.

On June 28, 1991, he became head of the External Relations Commission of the Mayor's Office, with the responsibility of promoting international relations and foreign investment and registering commercial enterprises. Within a year, Putin was investigated by the city's legislative council led by Marina Salyé. He was found to have understated prices and allowed the export of $93 million worth of metals in exchange for foreign food aid that never arrived. Despite investigators' recommendation that Putin be sacked, he remained head of the Committee Foreign Affairs until 1996. From 1994 to 1996 he held other political and government posts in Saint Petersburg.

In March 1994, Putin was appointed as the first vice president of the Government of St. Petersburg. In May 1995, he organized the branch of St.Petersburg of the pro-government political party Our Home – Russia, the liberal party of power founded by Prime Minister Víktor Chernomyrdin. In 1995, he led the legislative electoral campaign of that party, and from 1995 to June 1997, he was the leader of his branch of St.Petersburg.

1996-1999: early career in Moscow

In June 1996, Sobchak lost his re-election bid in St. Petersburg, and Putin, who had led his election campaign, resigned from the city administration. He moved to Moscow and was appointed deputy head of the Presidential Property Management Department headed by Pavel Borodin. He held this position until March 1997. He was responsible for the foreign property of the State and organized the transfer of the former assets of the Soviet Union and the CPSU to the Russian Federation.

Putin as SFS Director, 1998.

On March 26, 1997, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin Deputy Chief of the Presidential General Staff, a position he held until May 1998, and Head of the Main Control Directorate of the Presidential Assets Administration Department (until June 1998). 1998). His predecessor in this post was Alexei Kudrin and his successor Nikolai Patrushev, both future prominent politicians and associates of Putin.

On June 27, 1997, at the St. Petersburg Mining Institute, under the leadership of Rector Vladimir Litvinenko, Putin defended his Candidate of Sciences dissertation in economics, entitled Strategic planning of regional resources under the formation of market relations. This exemplified the custom in Russia whereby a rising young civil servant would write an academic paper in mid-career. Putin's thesis was plagiarized. Fellows at the Brookings Institution found that it was they copied 15 pages from an American textbook.

On May 25, 1998, Putin was appointed First Deputy Chief of the Presidential General Staff for the regions, replacing Viktoriya Mitina. On July 15, he was appointed head of the commission for the elaboration of agreements on the delimitation of power of the regions and head of the federal center attached to the president, replacing Sergey Shakhray. After Putin's appointment, the commission did not complete such agreements, although 46 such agreements had been signed during Shakhray's tenure as head of the Commission. Later, after he became president, Putin canceled all 46 agreements.

On July 25, 1998, Yeltsin appointed Putin head of the Federal Security Service (SFS), the main intelligence and security organization of the Russian Federation and successor to the KGB.

1999: First Prime Ministership

Putin with President Borís Yeltsin on December 31, 1999, when Yeltsin announced his resignation.

On August 9, 1999, Putin was named one of the three first deputy prime ministers, and on the same day, he was appointed acting prime minister of the Government of the Russian Federation by President Yeltsin. Yeltsin also announced that he wanted to see Putin as his successor. Later that day, Putin agreed to run for the presidency.

On August 16, the State Duma ratified his appointment as prime minister with 233 votes in favor (vs. 84 against, 17 abstentions), while a simple majority of 226 was required, making him the fifth prime minister of Russia in less than eighteen months. In appointing him, few expected Putin, virtually unknown to the general public, to outlast his predecessors. He was initially considered a Yeltsin loyalist; Like Boris Yeltsin's other prime ministers, Putin did not choose ministers himself, his cabinet was determined by the presidential administration.

Yeltsin's main opponents and potential successors were already campaigning to replace the ailing president and fought hard to prevent Putin from emerging as a potential successor. After the Russian apartment bombings and the invasion of Dagestan by mujahideen, including former KGB operatives, based in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Putin's public order image and ruthless approach to World War II Chechnya soon combined to increase their popularity and allowed them to overtake their rivals.

Though not formally associated with any party, Putin pledged his support for the newly formed Unity, which won the second-highest percentage of the popular vote (23.3%) in the December 1999 Duma elections and, in turn, supported Putin.

1999-2000: interim presidency

Putin as Acting President on 31 December 1999.

On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, according to the Russian Constitution, Putin was to become interim president of the Russian Federation. Upon assuming this post, Putin paid a previously scheduled visit to Russian troops in Chechnya.

The first presidential decree that Putin signed on December 31, 1999 was entitled "On guarantees for the former president of the Russian Federation and members of his family." the "corruption charges against the outgoing president and his relatives." This focused mainly on the Mabetex bribery case involving Yeltsin family members. On August 30, 2000, a criminal investigation (number 18/238278-95) in which Putin himself, as a member of the Saint Petersburg city government, was one of the suspects, was dropped.

On December 30, 2000, another case against the attorney general was dismissed "for lack of evidence," despite the fact that Swiss prosecutors had submitted thousands of documents. On February 12, 2001, Putin signed a similar federal law that replaced the 1999 decree. Marina Salye brought a case involving Putin's alleged corruption of metal exports in 1992, but was silenced and forced to leave Saint Petersburg.

As his opponents prepared for the June 2000 elections, Yeltsin's resignation resulted in the presidential election being held on March 26, 2000; Putin won in the first round with 53% of the vote.

2000-2004: first presidential term

Putin takes a presidential oath with Borís Yeltsin, May 2000.

Putin with Tom Brokaw before an interview on 2 June 2000.

President Putin was sworn in on May 7, 2000. He appointed Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov as Prime Minister.

The first major challenge to Putin's popularity came in August 2000, when he was criticized for his alleged mishandling of the Kursk submarine disaster. their vacations, and several more before visiting the place.

Between 2000 and 2004, Putin undertook to rebuild the country's impoverished condition, ostensibly winning a power struggle with Russian oligarchs, striking a 'big deal' with Russia. with them. This deal allowed the oligarchs to keep most of their powers, in exchange for their explicit support and alignment with Putin's government.

The Moscow theater hostage crisis occurred in October 2002. Many in the Russian and international media warned that the death of 130 hostages in the special forces rescue operation during the crisis would severely damage the popularity of President Putin. However, shortly after the siege ended, the Russian president enjoyed record public approval ratings: 83% of Russians declared themselves satisfied with Putin and his handling of the siege.

In 2003, a referendum was held in Chechnya, adopting a new constitution declaring the Chechen Republic to be part of Russia; on the other hand, the region did acquire autonomy. Chechnya has gradually stabilized with the establishment of parliamentary elections and a regional government. Throughout the Second Chechen War, Russia severely disabled the Chechen rebel movement; however, sporadic rebel attacks continued to occur throughout the North Caucasus.

2004-2008: second presidential term

Putin with Junichiro Koizumi, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder, George W. Bush and other state leaders in Moscow during the Victory Day parade, May 9, 2005.

On March 14, 2004, Putin was elected president for a second term, receiving 71% of the vote. The Beslan school hostage crisis took place from September 1–3, 2004; more than 330 people died, including 186 children.

The nearly ten-year period leading up to Putin's rise after the dissolution of the Soviet government was a time of turmoil in Russia. In a 2005 Kremlin speech, Putin characterized the collapse of the Soviet Union as &# 34;the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century". Putin elaborated: "Furthermore, the disintegration epidemic infected Russia itself". The cradle of the country. The social safety net to the grave had disappeared and life expectancy declined in the period before Putin's rule. In 2005, National Priority Projects were launched to improve health care, education, housing, and agriculture. from Russia.

The continued criminal prosecution of Russia's richest man at the time, the chairman of the Yukos oil and gas company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for fraud and tax evasion was seen by the international press as retaliation for donations from Khodorkovsky to the Kremlin's liberal and communist opponents. Khodorkovsky was arrested, Yukos went bankrupt and the company's assets were auctioned off below market value, with the state-owned company Rosneft acquiring most of it. Yukos's fate was seen as a sign of Russia's broader shift towards a system of state capitalism. This was highlighted in July 2014, when the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague awarded Yukos shareholders $50 billion in compensation concept.

On October 7, 2006, Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who exposed corruption in the Russian military and its conduct in Chechnya, was shot in the lobby of her apartment building on Putin's birthday. Politkovskaya's death sparked international criticism, with accusations that Putin had failed to protect the country's newly independent media, Putin himself saying that her death caused more problems for the government than her writing.

Putin, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Liudmila Pútina at the state funeral of Borís Yeltsin in Moscow, April 2007.

In 2007, the "Dissident Marches" they were organized by the opposition group The Other Russia, led by former chess champion Garry Kasparov and National-Bolshevik leader Eduard Limonov. Following prior warnings, demonstrations in several Russian cities were responded to by police actions, including interfering with protesters' travel and arresting up to 150 people who tried to break through police lines.

On September 12, 2007, Putin dissolved the government at the request of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Fradkov commented that it was to give the president a "free hand" in the run-up to the parliamentary elections. Viktor Zubkov was appointed as the new Prime Minister.

In December 2007, United Russia won 64.24% of the popular vote in its candidacy for the State Duma according to preliminary election results. United Russia's victory in the December 2007 elections was seen by many as an indication of strong popular support for the then Russian leadership and its policies.

2008-2012: Second Prime Ministership

Putin was barred from a third consecutive term by the constitution. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was chosen as his successor. In a handover ceremony on May 8, 2008, just one day after handing over the presidency to Medvedev, Putin was named Russia's prime minister, maintaining his political dominance.

Putin with Dmitri Medvédev, March 2008.

Putin has said that overcoming the fallout from the global economic crisis was one of the two main achievements of his second term. The other was stabilizing Russia's population size between 2008 and 2011 after a long period of collapse demographic that began in the 1990s.

At the United Russia Congress in Moscow on September 24, 2011, Medvedev officially proposed that Putin run for president in 2012, an offer that Putin accepted. Given United Russia's near-total dominance of Russian politics, many observers believed Putin was assured of a third term. The move was expected to see Medvedev stand on the United Russia ticket in December's parliamentary elections, aiming to become prime minister at the end of his presidential term.

After parliamentary elections on December 4, 2011, tens of thousands of Russians took part in protests against alleged voter fraud, the largest protests in Putin's time. The protesters criticized Putin and United Russia and demanded the annulment of the election results. These protests raised fears of a color revolution in society. Putin allegedly organized a number of paramilitary groups loyal to himself and the party. United Russia in the period from 2005 to 2012.

2012-2018: third presidential term

On September 24, 2011, while speaking at the United Russia party congress, Medvedev announced that he would recommend the party nominate Putin as its presidential candidate. He also revealed that the two men had reached an agreement long ago to allow Putin to run for president in 2012. This change was referred to by many in the media as 'Rokirovka', the Russian term for the chess move "castling".

On March 4, 2012, Putin won the 2012 Russian presidential election in the first round, with 63.6% of the vote, despite widespread accusations of electoral fraud. Opposition groups accused Putin and the United Russia party of fraud. While efforts to make the elections transparent, including the use of web cameras at polling stations, were publicized, the Russian opposition and international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized the vote for procedural irregularities.

The protests against Putin took place during and just after the presidential campaign. The most notorious protest was the Pussy Riot performance on February 21 and the subsequent trial. An estimated 8,000 to 20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on May 6, when eighty people were injured in clashes with the police. police, and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrested the next day. A counter-protest by Putin supporters ensued, culminating in a gathering of some 130,000 supporters at the Luzhniki Stadium, the largest stadium in Russia. Some of attendees stated that they had been paid to attend, that their employers forced them to attend, or that they were tricked into thinking they would attend a folk festival instead. The demonstration is considered to be the largest in support of the Putin to date.

Putin at a bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama during the G8 summit in Ireland, June 17, 2013.

Putin's presidency was inaugurated in the Kremlin on May 7, 2012. On his first day as president, Putin issued 14 presidential decrees, which the media sometimes refer to as the "May Decrees", including a lengthy one setting far-reaching goals for the Russian economy. Other decrees concerned education, housing, the training of skilled labor, relations with the European Union, the defense industry, inter-ethnic relations, and other policy areas covered in Putin's program articles issued during the campaign. presidential.

In 2012 and 2013, Putin and the United Russia party backed tougher anti-LGBT legislation in St. Petersburg, Archangel, and Novosibirsk; In June 2013, the State Duma adopted a law called the Russian law against homosexual propaganda, which is against "homosexual propaganda" (which bans symbols such as the rainbow flag, as well as published works containing homosexual content). In response to international concerns about Russia's legislation, Putin called on critics to point out that the law was a &# 34;prohibition of the propaganda of pedophilia and homosexuality" and stated that gay visitors to the 2014 Winter Olympics should "leave the children alone" but he denied that there was any type of "professional or social discrimination"; against homosexuals in Russia.

In June 2013, Putin attended a televised rally of the All-Russian Popular Front where he was elected leader of the movement, which was created in 2011. According to journalist Steve Rosenberg, the movement aims to "reconnect the Kremlin with the Russian people" and one day, if necessary, replace the increasingly unpopular United Russia party that currently backs Putin.

Russian-Ukrainian War

Putin in talks with Ukrainian President Petró Poroshenko, German Foreign Minister Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande, October 17, 2014.

In 2014, Russia carried out several military incursions into Ukrainian territory. After the Euromaidan protests and the fall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russian soldiers without insignia took control of strategic positions and infrastructure inside the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. Russia then annexed Crimea and Sevastopol after a referendum in which, according to official results, Crimeans voted to join the Russian Federation. Subsequently, demonstrations against the Ukrainian Rada's legislative actions by Pro-Russian groups in the Donbass area of Ukraine escalated into an armed conflict between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatist forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. In August 2014, Russian military vehicles crossed the border at various locations in Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian authorities considered the Russian army's incursion to be responsible for the defeat of Ukrainian forces in early September.

In November 2014, the Ukrainian military reported an intensive movement of troops and equipment from Russia into separatist-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine. The Associated Press reported 80 unmarked military vehicles moving in areas controlled by rebels. An OSCE Special Monitoring Mission observed convoys of heavy weapons and tanks in DPR-held territory without insignia. OSCE monitors further stated that they observed vehicles carrying ammunition and corpses of soldiers crossing the border between Russia and Ukraine disguised as humanitarian aid convoys.

Putin in the Normandy format talks in Minsk to find a solution to the situation in Ukraine in February 2015.

In early August 2015, the OSCE observed more than 21 such vehicles marked with the Russian military code for soldiers killed in action. According to The Moscow Times, Russia has tried to intimidate and silence rights workers humans who speak of the deaths of Russian soldiers in the conflict. The OSCE repeatedly reported that its observers were denied access to areas controlled by "combined Russian separatist forces".

In October 2015, The Washington Post reported that Russia had redeployed some of its elite units from Ukraine to Syria in recent weeks to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In December 2015, Putin admitted that officers Russian military intelligence agencies were operating in the Ukraine.

According to academic Andrei Tsygankov, many members of the international community assumed that Putin's annexation of Crimea had initiated an entirely new type of Russian foreign policy. They took the annexation of Crimea to mean that their policy Foreign policy had shifted "from a state-driven foreign policy" to taking an offensive stance to recreate the Soviet Union. He also says that this policy shift can be understood as Putin trying to defend nations in Russia's sphere of influence from "invasion by Western power." While the act of annexing Crimea was bold and drastic, his new foreign policy may have more similarities to his previous policies.

Intervention in Syria

Putin meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in New York City to discuss Syria and ISIS, September 29, 2015.

On September 30, 2015, President Putin authorized Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, following a formal request from the Syrian government for military aid against rebel and jihadist groups.

Russian military activities consisted of air strikes, cruise missile strikes, and the use of Russian front-line advisers and special forces against militant groups opposed to the Syrian government, including the Syrian opposition, as well as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda in the Levant), Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham and the Army of Conquest. After Putin announced on March 14, 2016 that the mission he had set for the Russian army in Syria had been "largely accomplished" he ordered the withdrawal of the "main part" of the Russian forces from Syria, the Russian forces deployed in Syria continued to operate actively in support of the Syrian government.

Alleged electoral interference by Russia

In January 2017, an assessment by the US intelligence community expressed strong belief that Putin personally ordered an influence campaign, initially to denigrate Hillary Clinton and damage her electoral chances and possible presidency, and then he developed "a clear preference" by Donald Trump. Trump consistently denied any Russian interference in the 2017 United States elections. Putin later stated that the interference was "theoretically possible" and it could have been perpetrated by "patriotic-minded" Russian hackers, and on another occasion he claimed that "not even Russians, but Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with Russian citizenship"; they might have been responsible. In July 2018, The New York Times reported that the CIA had long nurtured a Russian source who eventually rose to a position close to Putin, allowing the source to pass on key information in 2016 about Putin's direct involvement. Putin continued similar attempts in the 2020 US presidential election.

2018-present: fourth presidential term

Putin and the newly appointed Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin met with members of the Mishustin cabinet, January 21, 2020.

Putin won the 2018 Russian presidential election with more than 76% of the vote. His fourth term began on May 7, 2018 and will run until 2024. On the same day, Putin invited Dmitry Medvedev to form a new government. On May 15, 2018, Putin participated in the opening of the Crimean bridge. On May 18, 2018, Putin signed decrees on the composition of the new government. On May 25, 2018, Putin announced that he would not run for president in 2024, justifying it in accordance with the Russian Constitution. On June 14, 2018, Putin opened the 21st FIFA World Cup, which was held for the first time in Russia.

In September 2019, the Putin administration interfered in the results of Russia's national regional elections and rigged them by eliminating all opposition candidates. The event that was intended to contribute to the victory of the ruling party, United Russia, also contributed to inciting mass protests for democracy, leading to large-scale arrests and cases of police brutality.

On January 15, 2020, Medvedev and his entire government resigned after Putin's 2020 presidential address to the Federal Assembly. Putin suggested important constitutional amendments that could extend his political power after the presidency. At the same time, on Putin's behalf, he continued to exercise his powers until the formation of a new government. Putin suggested that Medvedev take over the newly created post of vice president of the Security Council. On the same day, Putin nominated Mikhail Mishustin, head of the country's Federal Tax Service, for the post of prime minister. The next day, the State Duma confirmed him in office and appointed him prime minister by Putin's decree. This was the first time in history that a prime minister was confirmed without any dissenting votes. On January 21, 2020, Mishustin presented Putin with a draft of his cabinet structure. On the same day, the president signed a decree on the structure of the Cabinet and appointed the proposed ministers.

COVID-19 pandemic

Putin (dressed in the yellow suit of dangerous materials) visiting patients with coronavirus in a hospital in Moscow, March 24, 2020.

On March 15, 2020, Putin ordered the formation of a State Council Working Group to counter the spread of COVID-19. Putin appointed the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, as the leader of the group.

On March 22, 2020, after a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Putin arranged for the Russian military to send military medics, special disinfection vehicles, and other medical equipment to Italy, which was the European country hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 24, 2020, Putin visited a hospital in Moscow's Kommunarka, where coronavirus patients are kept, where he spoke with them and with doctors. Putin began working remotely from his office in Novo-Ogaryovo. According to Dmitri Peskov, Putin has been taking daily coronavirus tests and his health has never been in danger.

On March 25, President Putin announced in a televised address to the nation that the April 22 constitutional referendum would be postponed due to the coronavirus. He added that next week would be a paid holiday across the country and urged Russians to stay at home. Putin also announced a list of social protection measures, support for small and medium-sized businesses, and changes in fiscal policy. Putin announced the following measures for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses: postponement of payment of taxes (except Russian value added tax) for the next six months, reduction of the amount of social security contributions by half, deferral of social security contributions, deferral of loans and repayments for the next six months, a six-month moratorium on fines, debt collection, and bankruptcy filings of debtor companies by creditors.

On April 2, 2020, Putin again delivered a speech announcing the extension of non-working time until April 30. Putin compared Russia's fight against COVID-19 to Russia's battles with the encroaching nomads of the Pecheneg and Cuman steppes in the 10th and 11th centuries. In a Levada poll from 24 to 27 April, 48% of Russian respondents said they disapproved of Putin's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and his strict isolation and lack of leadership during the crisis was widely commented as a sign of losing his 'strongman' image.

Putin's first cabinet chief, Serguéi Kiriyenko (left), is in charge of Russia's internal policy.

In June 2021, Putin said he was fully vaccinated against the disease with the Sputnik V vaccine, stressing that while vaccinations should be voluntary, making them mandatory in some professions would slow the spread of COVID-19. In September, Putin went into self-isolation after people in his inner circle tested positive for the disease.

Constitutional referendum and amendments

Putin signed an executive order on July 3, 2020 to officially insert amendments into the Russian Constitution, allowing him to run for two additional six-year terms. These modifications entered into force on July 4, 2020.

Since 11 July, protests have been held in Khabarovsk Krai in Russia's Far East in support of arrested regional governor Sergei Furgal. The 2020 Khabarovsk Krai protests have become increasingly more anti-Putin. A July 2020 Levada poll found that 45% of Russians polled supported the protests.

On December 22, 2020, Putin signed a bill granting former Russian presidents immunity from prosecution for life.

2021-2022 Crisis with Ukraine and Russian invasion

President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, face to face during a summit between the United States and Russia on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 in Geneva.

Following Ukraine's pro-Western Dignity Revolution in 2014, Putin had seized the nation's eastern regions and annexed Crimea. In February 2022, he launched a war to seize control of the rest of the country and overthrow the elected government under the pretense that it was run by 'Nazis'. The invasion of Ukraine sparked worldwide condemnation of Putin and massive sanctions on the Russian Federation.

In September 2021, Ukraine had conducted military exercises with NATO forces. The Kremlin warned that the expansion of NATO's military infrastructure in Ukraine would cross "red lines" for Putin. Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, denied allegations that Russia was preparing for a possible invasion of Ukraine.

On November 30, Putin declared that an expansion of NATO in Ukraine, especially the deployment of any long-range ballistic missiles capable of attacking Russian cities or US national missile defense systems similar to Romania's and Poland, it would be a "red line". Putin asked President Joe Biden for legal guarantees that NATO would not expand east or place "weapon systems that threaten us on immediate vicinity of Russian territory". The United States and NATO rejected Putin's demands.

Putin making a video call with U.S. President Joe Biden on December 7, 2021.

The Kremlin repeatedly denied that it had any plans to invade Ukraine. Putin dismissed such fears as

"alarmist". In December 2021, a Levada Center poll found that around 50% of Russians believed the US and NATO were to blame for the Russo-Ukrainian crisis, while 16 % blamed Ukraine and 4% blamed Russia. On February 7, 2022, retired Russian Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, active in politics as Chairman of the All-Russian Assembly of Officers, publicly called on Putin to resign for threats of a "criminal" from Ukraine.

Putin visited China and met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on February 4, 2022. China had requested Russia to delay the invasion until after the completion of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In February 2022, Putin warned that Ukraine's NATO membership could embolden Ukraine to regain control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas ruled by pro-Russian separatists in Donbass, saying: 'Imagine Ukraine it is a member of NATO and a military operation [to recapture Crimea]. What, are we going to fight with NATO? Has anyone thought about this?" On February 7, Putin told a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that "[a] number of [Macron's] ideas, proposals... are possible as a basis for later steps. We will do our best to find compromises that suit everyone". Putin vowed not to carry out any further military mobilizations near Ukraine.

Putin signing documents on the recognition of the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

On February 15, the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, endorsed a resolution calling for diplomatic recognition of the two self-proclaimed breakaway republics in Donbas. On February 21, Putin signed a decree recognizing the breakaway republics as independent states. On February 24, Putin announced in a televised address a "special military operation" in Ukraine, launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He said the purpose of the "operation" was to "protect the people" in the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Donbass who, according to Putin, "for eight years, they have faced humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime". Putin said that "all responsibility for possible bloodshed will rest entirely on the conscience of the regime ruling on the territory of Ukraine".

Putin's invasion was met with international condemnation. International sanctions were widely imposed against Russia, including against Putin personally. Following an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the Secretary-General UN chief António Guterres said: "President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia." The European Union denounced the attack and vowed to "hold the Kremlin accountable."

The invasion led to numerous calls for Putin to be prosecuted as a war criminal. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested Putin could face war crimes charges and said the UK and its allies were working to establish a "special international war crimes tribunal for those involved in war crimes in the conflict with Ukraine". President Joe Biden said he believes Putin "meets the legal definition" of being " a war criminal."

In Asia-Pacific, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand also responded strongly with complaints and sanctions. From Africa, Kenya warned that Putin's actions threatened to "sink [the old colonies] again into new forms of domination and oppression".

Switzerland, traditionally neutral, imposed sanctions. On March 3, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia for the invasion and demanded the withdrawal of Putin's forces. The resolution passed by a vote of 141 to 5 (with 35 abstentions). Putin's ally China abstained. International reactions to the invasion have given Russia pariah status, facing increasing international isolation.

Virtual meeting of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, with permanent members of the Russian Security Council in March 2022.

In response to what Putin called "aggressive statements" of the West, he placed the nuclear deterrent units of the Strategic Rocket Forces on high alert US intelligence agencies determined that Putin was "frustrated"; for slow progress due to unexpectedly strong Ukrainian defence, "directing unusual outbursts of anger" to his inner circle The White House and other observers questioned Putin's mental health after two years in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 4, Putin signed into law a law introducing prison terms of up to 15 years for those who publish "knowingly false information" about the Russian military and its operations, which led some media outlets in Russia to stop reporting on Ukraine. On March 7, as a condition of ending the invasion, the Kremlin demanded Ukraine's neutrality, recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the recognition of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.

Russia's actions in Ukraine, including the alleged use of cluster bombs and thermobaric weapons, have led to calls to investigate possible war crimes. The International Criminal Court stated that it would investigate Russian conduct in Ukraine since 2013.

On March 16, Putin issued a warning to Russian "traitors" who he said the West wanted to use as a "fifth column" to destroy Russia. He said Russians should undergo a "natural and necessary societal self-cleansing" to get rid of pro-Western "bastards" and "traitors."

On March 24, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution drafted by Ukraine and its allies criticizing Russia for creating an "appalling" and demanded access to aid and protection for civilians in Ukraine. 140 member states voted in favour, 38 abstained and five voted against the resolution.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "99.9 percent sure" that Putin thought the Ukrainians would greet the invading forces with "flowers and smiles". US and Union officials The European Union believes that Putin was misinformed by his advisers about the performance of the Russian army in Ukraine and the effect of sanctions on Russia.

On April 11, The Times reported that Putin had purged 150 SFS members for misinforming him about the invasion, including Fifth Service chief Sergei Beseda and his deputy.

Putin with Serguéi Shoigú after a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in June 2022.

On April 27, Putin warned that any country that "creates a strategic threat to Russia" during war can expect "retaliatory strikes" that they would be 'lightning fast'. In May, he warned Finland that joining NATO would be a 'mistake'., Avril Haines, Putin could potentially resort to nuclear weapons if he perceived an "existential threat" for the Russian state or his regime, he might regard a possible defeat in Ukraine as an existential threat to his regime.

On May 16, Putin hosted a CSTO meeting under the gaze of cameras. He failed to convince his fellow leaders that "neo-Nazism has long been rampant in Ukraine" or materially support their actions there..

Putin has repeatedly blamed the West and sanctions on Russia for the emerging global energy and food crises. He has denied allegations that his military is blocking Ukrainian grain exports from the Black Sea.

On June 9, the 350th anniversary of Peter the Great's birth, Putin described the land that had been conquered by Peter in the Great Northern War against Sweden as land returned to Russia. He claimed that when St. Petersburg was founded on the conquered land, no other country in Europe recognized it as Russian. He also compared the task facing Russia today with that of Pedro, without explicitly mentioning Ukraine.

Faced with heavy battlefield losses, Putin signed a decree in early June that Russia's 86 federal subjects would have to provide at least one battalion of 400 soldiers for the war in Ukraine.

On September 9, 7 members of the Smolninsky district council in St. Petersburg passed a resolution calling on the State Duma to charge President Putin with "high treason" because of his handling of the war in Ukraine. Subsequently, these councilors have been arrested by the police "for actions aimed at discrediting the current Russian government." Dmitry Palyuga, a city councilman, posted a resolution on Twitter accusing President Putin of: "(1) the annihilation of healthy young Russians who would serve the workforce better than the military; (2) the economic recession and brain drain from Russia; (3) NATO expansion to the east, including the addition of Finland and Sweden to "double down" its border with Russia; (4) the opposite effect of the "special military operation" in Ukraine. Also, a similar resolution was discussed and approved by the council of the Lomonosovsky district of Moscow.

Putin assembled with the leaders of the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and the Oblates of Jerson and Zaporiyia after signing their annexations to Russia.

On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization, following a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv and the announcement of annexation referendums in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. In his speech to the Russian audience, Putin stated that the "Policy of Intimidation, Terror and Violence" against the Ukrainian people by the "Nazi" pro-Western in Kiev "has taken on more and more terrible barbaric forms", the Ukrainians have been turned into "cannon fodder," and therefore Russia has no choice but to defend "our loved ones" in Ukraine. Putin also stated that "the goal of the West is to weaken, divide and destroy our country." of Russia is threatened, it reserves the right to "use all available means" to defend its territory, implicitly threatening to use nuclear weapons.

On September 30, Putin signed decrees annexing the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The annexations are not recognized by the international community and are illegal under international law.

Putin met with Russian soldiers on October 20, 2022.

In the midst of a series of defeats in Ukraine, Putin turned 70, in what The Independent called an "unhappy birthday". Officials in Moscow hailed Putin as the "savior" 3. 4; of modern Russia, while Patriarch Cyril of Moscow called on Russians to hold two days of prayer for "health and longevity" of Putin. The Times described Putin on his birthday as "withdrawn, irrational and fearing for his health". Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko presented Putin with a tractor and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated him for "crushing America's challenges and threats".

After the Crimean bridge explosion on October 8, 2022, Putin blamed Ukraine, saying on October 10 that the "terrorist attack" on the bridge forced a "response" Russia in the form of missile strikes across Ukraine. Putin claimed that Russia targeted military, energy and communications assets, but the strikes hit civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, landing in 15 Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, where a park playground, a pedestrian bridge and an office tower were among the places affected; The Ukrainian authorities spoke of at least 10 deaths and 60 wounded; Lao attacks also damaged railway stations and water supplies to cities. Over the next three weeks, Russia continued to attack Ukraine's civilian infrastructure with Iranian missiles and drones, HESA Shahed 136, with Putin declaring on 31 October that this was "not all we could have done" after Russia's Black Sea Fleet was attacked two days earlier.

Internal policies

Putin's domestic policies, particularly early in his first presidency, were aimed at creating a vertical power structure. On May 13, 2000, he issued a decree organizing Russia's 89 federal subjects into seven federal administrative districts and appointed a presidential envoy responsible for each of those districts (whose official title is Plenipotentiary Representative).

In May 2000, Putin introduced seven federal districts for administrative purposes. In January 2010, the 8th Federal District of the North Caucasus (shown here in purple) separated from the Southern Federal District. In March 2014, the new Federal Crimean District 9 was formed after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. In July 2016 he joined the Southern Federal District.

According to Stephen White, under President Putin, Russia made it clear that it had no intention of establishing a "second edition" of the American or British political system, but rather one closer to Russia's own traditions and circumstances.. Some commentators have described Putin's administration as a "sovereign democracy". popular support within Russia itself and not be directed or influenced from outside the country.

Swedish economist Anders Åslund characterizes the system's practice as manual management, commenting: "After Putin resumed his presidency in 2012, his rule is best described as 'manual management,' as they like to put it." to the Russians. Putin does what he wants, with little regard for the consequences with one important caveat. During the Russian financial crisis of August 1998, Putin learned that financial crises are politically destabilizing and must be avoided at all costs. He therefore cares about financial stability ».

The period after 2012 also saw mass protests against alleged election fraud, censorship and the tightening of free assembly laws. In July 2000, under a law proposed by Putin and approved by the Russian Federal Assembly, Putin was granted the right to remove the heads of 89 federal subjects. In 2004, the direct election of those heads (usually called "governors") by popular vote was replaced by a system in which they would be nominated by the president and approved or disapproved by regional legislatures. Putin saw this as a necessary measure to stop separatist tendencies and get rid of governors who were connected to organized crime. This and other government actions taken under Putin's presidency have been criticized by many independent Russian media outlets and Western commentators as undemocratic. In 2012, as proposed by Putin's successor Dmitry Medvedev, the direct election of governors was reintroduced.

During his first term, Putin opposed some of the Yeltsin-era corporate oligarchs as well as their political opponents, resulting in the exile or imprisonment of the likes of Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky; other oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich and Arkady Rotenberg are friends and allies of Putin. Putin succeeded in codifying land law and tax law and promulgated new codes on labor, administrative, criminal, commercial and civil procedure law. Under Medvedev's presidency, Putin's government implemented some key reforms in the area of state security, Russian police reform, and Russian military reform.

Economic, industrial and energy policies

Russian GDP since the end of the Soviet Union (beyond 2014 are forecasts).

Sergey Guriyev, when discussing Putin's economic policy, divided it into four distinct periods: the "reform" of his first term (1999-2003); the "statist" of his second term (2004-first half of 2008); the global economic crisis and recovery (the second half of 2008-2013); and the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia's increasing isolation from the global economy, and stagnation (2014–present).

In 2000, Putin launched the "Program for Socio-economic Development of the Russian Federation for the Period 2000-2010", but it was abandoned in 2008 when it was 30% complete. Driven by the boom of commodities in the 2000s, including record oil prices, under Putin's administration from 2000 to 2016, an increase in revenue in USD terms was 4.5 times. During Putin's first eight years in office, industry grew substantially, as did production, construction, real income, credit, and the middle class. A fund for oil revenues allowed Russia to pay off all of the Soviet Union's debts in 2005. Russia joined the World Trade Organization on August 22, 2012.

In 2006, Putin launched an industry consolidation program to bring together the major aircraft-producing companies under a single umbrella organization, the United Aeronautical Corporation (CAU). In September 2020, the director general of the CAU announced that the CAU will receive the largest support package from the post-Soviet government for the aviation industry in order to pay and renegotiate the debt.

In 2014, Putin signed an agreement to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. Siberian Power, which Putin has called the 'world's largest construction project', was launched in 2019 and is expected to continue for 30 years at a final cost to China of $400 billion. Ongoing financial crisis began in the second half of 2014 when the Russian ruble collapsed due to falling oil prices and international sanctions against Russia. These events, in turn, led to a loss of investor confidence and capital flight, although it has also been argued that the sanctions had little or no effect on Russia's economy. In 2014, the Draft Corruption and Organized Crime Reports named Putin its Person of the Year for promoting corruption and organized crime.

According to Meduza, Putin has predicted on several occasions since 2007 that Russia will become one of the five largest economies in the world. In 2013, he said that Russia was one of the five largest economies in terms of gross domestic product, but still lagged behind other countries in indicators such as labor productivity.

Environmental policy

In 2004, Putin signed the Kyoto Protocol treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Russia, however, faced no mandatory cuts, because the Kyoto Protocol limits emissions to a percentage increase or decrease from 1990 levels, and Russia's greenhouse gas emissions fell well below the 1990 baseline due to a drop in economic output after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Putin personally oversees a number of protection programs for rare and endangered animals in Russia, such as the Amur tiger, the white whale, the polar bear, and the snow leopard.

Religious politics

Putin with Russian religious leaders, February 2001.

Putin regularly attends the most important services of the Russian Orthodox Church on major holidays and has established a good relationship with the patriarchs of the Russian Church, the late Alexios II of Moscow and the current Cyril of Moscow. As president, Putin was personally active in promoting the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, signed on May 17, 2007, which restored relations between the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia. after the 80-year schism.

Under Putin, the Hasidic Federation of Russian Jewish Communities became increasingly influential within the Jewish community, in part due to the influence of businessmen who supported the Federation mediated through their alliances with Putin, in particularly Lev Levayev and Roman Abramovich. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Putin is popular with the Russian Jewish community, which sees him as a force for stability. Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar said Putin "paid great attention to the needs of our community and related to us with deep respect." In 2016, Congress President Ronald S. Lauder World Jew, also praised Putin for making Russia "a country where Jews are welcome."

Human rights organizations and religious freedom advocates have criticized the state of religious freedom in Russia. In 2016, Putin oversaw the passage of legislation banning missionary activity in Russia. Nonviolent religious minority groups they have been suppressed by laws against extremism, especially Jehovah's Witnesses.

Military development

Putin with Russia's defense minister, Army General Serguéi Shoigú, in the Eastern Military District, 2013.

The resumption of long-range flights by Russia's strategic bombers was followed by Russian Defense Minister Anatoli Serdiukov's announcement during his meeting with Putin on December 5, 2007, that 11 ships, including the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, would take part in the first major Navy raid in the Mediterranean since Soviet times.

While since the early 2000s Russia began investing more money in its military and defense industry, it was only in 2008 that large-scale Russian military reform began, with the aim of modernizing the Russian Armed Forces and make them significantly more effective. The reform was largely carried out by Defense Minister Serdiukov during Medvedev's presidency, under the supervision of both Putin, as head of government, and Medvedev, as commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. Key elements of the reform included reducing the armed forces to one million; reduce the number of officers; centralize the training of officers from 65 military schools in 10 "systemic" military training centers; create a corps of professional non-commissioned officers; reduce the size of the central command; introduce more civilian logistics and auxiliary personnel; removal of cadre force formations; rearrange reserves; reorganize the army into a brigade system and reorganize the air forces into an airbase system instead of regiments.

According to the Kremlin, Putin embarked on building Russia's nuclear capabilities because of US President George W. Bush's unilateral decision to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. To counter what Putin sees as the With the United States aiming to undermine Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent, Moscow has embarked on a program to develop new weapons capable of defeating any new American ballistic missile defense or interception system. Some analysts believe that this nuclear strategy under Putin has led Russia to violate the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Consequently, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would no longer be considered bound by the provisions of the treaty, which increased nuclear tensions between the two powers. This led Putin to state that Russia would not be the one to start a nuclear conflict but rather "an aggressor must know that revenge is inevitable.", that it will be annihilated and that we would be the victims of the aggression. We will go to heaven as martyrs".

Putin has also sought to increase Russia's territorial claims in the Arctic and its military presence there. In August 2007, the Russian Arktika 2007 expedition, part of an investigation related to the 2001 Russian territorial extension claim, planted a flag on the seabed of the North Pole. Both Russian submarines and troops deployed in the Arctic have been on the rise.

Human Rights Policy

The New York City-based NGO Human Rights Watch, in a report titled Laws of Attrition, written by Hugh Williamson, the British director of the Europe and Central Asia Division of HRW has claimed that since May 2012, when Putin was re-elected as president, Russia has enacted many restrictive laws, initiated inspections of non-governmental organizations, harassed, intimidated and imprisoned political activists, and began to restrict critics. The new laws include the 'foreign agents' law, which is considered too broad to include Russian human rights organizations that receive some international grants, the treason law, and the assembly law that criminalizes many expressions of dissent..Human rights activists have criticized Russia for censoring the speech of LGBT activists due to the "gay propaganda law" and the increase in violence against LGBT+ people allegedly caused by the law.

Protest of the Russian opposition in Moscow, February 26, 2017.

In 2020, Putin signed a law to label people and organizations that receive funds from abroad as "foreign agents. The law is an extension of the "foreign agent" adopted in 2012.

As of June 2020, according to the Memorial Human Rights Center, there were 380 political prisoners in Russia, including 63 people prosecuted, directly or indirectly, for political activities (including Alexei Navalny) and 245 prosecuted for their involvement in one of the organizations Muslims that are banned in Russia. 78 people on the list, that is, more than 20% of the total, are residents of Crimea.

The media

Scott Gehlbach, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has claimed that since 1999, Putin has systematically punished journalists who question his official views. Maria Lipman, an American writer at Foreign Affairs claims: "The crackdown that followed Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012 extended to the liberal media, which until then had been allowed to operate quite independently." because its critics have tried to use it to challenge its control of information. Marian K. Leighton, who worked for the CIA as a Soviet analyst in the 1980s, says: "Having muzzled the print and broadcast media of Russia, Putin focused his energies on the Internet".

Robert W. Orttung and Christopher Walker reported that Reporters Without Borders, for example, ranked Russia 148th in its 2013 list of 179 countries in terms of press freedom. He particularly criticized Russia for its crackdown on political opposition and the authorities' failure to vigorously pursue and bring to justice criminals who have murdered journalists. Freedom House classifies Russian media as 'not free', indicating a lack of basic safeguards and guarantees for journalists and media companies.

In the early 2000s, Putin and his circle began promoting the idea in the Russian media that they are the modern version of the Romanov tsars of the 19th century XVII that ended with the "Time of Troubles" of Russia, which means they claim to be the peacemakers and stabilizers after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Promotion of conservatism

Putin attending the celebration of Orthodox Christmas in the village of Turginovo in the district of Kalininsky, Tver Opblast, on January 7, 2016.

Putin has promoted explicitly conservative social, cultural and political policies, both at home and abroad. Putin has attacked globalism and neoliberalism, and is identified by academics with Russian conservatism. Putin has promoted new think tanks that bring together like-minded intellectuals and writers. For example, the Izborsky Club, founded in 2012 by the right-wing conservative journalist Alexander Prokhanov, emphasizes (i) Russian nationalism, (ii) the restoration of Russia's historical greatness, and (iii) systematic opposition to the ideas and policies liberals. Vladislav Surkov, a senior government official, has been a top economic consultant during Putin's presidency.

On cultural and social issues, Putin has collaborated closely with the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Cyril of Moscow, head of the Church, endorsed his election in 2012, stating that Putin's ideas were like "a miracle from God." Steven Myers has said: "The church, a Once heavily repressed, it had emerged from the Soviet collapse as one of the world's most respected institutions... Now Cyril has led the faithful directly into an alliance with the state".

Mark Woods, minister of the British Baptist Union and contributing editor for Christian Today, provides specific examples of how the Church has supported the expansion of Russian power in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Some Russian Orthodox believers consider Putin a corrupt and brutal strongman or even a tyrant. Others don't admire him, but appreciate that he exasperates his political opponents. Still others appreciate that Putin upholds some, though not all, orthodox teachings, whether he himself believes in them or not.

On abortion, Putin has said: "In the modern world, the decision rests with the woman herself." This put him at odds with the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2020, he supported the efforts to reduce the number of abortions instead of banning them. Putin supported the 2020 Russian constitutional referendum, which approved and defined marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman in the Russian Constitution.

International sporting events

The captain of Canada's national ice hockey team, Corey Perry, gives Putin a hug after winning the gold medal at the 2016 HHM World Championship.

In 2007, Putin led a successful effort on behalf of Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2014 Paralympics, the first Winter Olympics hosted by Russia. In 2008, the city of Kazan won the bid for the 2013 Summer Universiade; On December 2, 2010, Russia won the right to host the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 Soccer World Cup, also for the first time in Russia's history. In 2013, Putin declared that gay athletes would not face any discrimination at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Foreign Policy

Leonid Bershidsky analyzed Putin's interview with the Financial Times and concluded: "Putin is an imperialist of the old Soviet school, rather than a nationalist or racist, and has cooperated with and promoted people who are known to that they are homosexual".

Putin spoke favorably of artificial intelligence when it came to foreign policy: "Artificial intelligence is the future, not just for Russia, but for all of humanity. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are hard to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world".

Asian

Putin with Indian Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi.

In 2012, Putin wrote an article in the Indian newspaper The Hindu, saying: "The India-Russia Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed in October 2000 became a truly historic step." India remains the largest equipment purchasing customer for the Russian military, and the two countries share a historically strong strategic and diplomatic relationship.

Under Putin, Russia has maintained positive relations with the Asian SCO and BRICS states, which include China, India, Pakistan, and the post-Soviet Central Asian states. In the XXI, Sino-Russian relations have strengthened significantly on a bilateral and economic level: the Treaty of Friendship and the construction of the ESPO oil and gas pipelines Power of Siberia formed a "special relationship" between the two great powers.

Putin and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe met frequently to discuss territorial disputes between Japan and Russia. Putin also expressed his willingness to build a railway bridge between the two countries. Despite the number of meetings, no agreement was signed before Abe's resignation in 2020.

Putin with Xi Jinping during a state visit to Moscow, May 2015.

Putin made three visits to Mongolia and has enjoyed good relations with his neighbor. Putin and his Mongolian counterpart signed a permanent friendship treaty between the two states in September 2019, further enhancing trade and cultural exchanges. Putin became the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit Indonesia in half a century in 2007, resulting in the signing of an arms deal. In another visit, Putin commented on the long-standing ties and friendship between Russia and Indonesia. Russia has also boosted relations with Vietnam after 2011, and with Afghanistan in the 2010s, providing military and economic aid.

Russia-Philippines relations received a boost in 2016 when Putin forged closer bilateral ties with his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte. Putin also has good relations with Malaysia and its then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, as well as with Bangladesh, signing a nuclear power deal with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Putin also became the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit North Korea, meeting Kim Jong-il in July 2000 shortly after from a visit to South Korea.

Putin criticized violence in Myanmar against the Rohingya minority in 2017. Following Myanmar's 2021 coup, Russia vowed to boost ties with Myanmar's military regime.

United States, Western Europe and NATO

Putin with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and U.S. President George W. Bush at the NATO-Russia Council meeting in Rome on May 28, 2002.

Under Putin, Russia's relations with NATO and the United States have gone through several stages. When he first became president, relations were cautious, but after the 9/11 attacks, Putin quickly backed the US in the war on terror and the opportunity to partner appeared. According to Stephen F. Cohen, the United States "rewarded it with further NATO expansion to Russia's borders and unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty," but others noted that requests from new countries willing to join NATO were driven mainly by Russia's behavior in Chechnya, Transnistria, Abkhazia, the Yanayev coup, as well as calls to restore the USSR to its former borders by leading Russian politicians.

Since 2003, when Russia staunchly opposed the United States in the Iraq War, Putin has increasingly distanced himself from the West and relations have steadily deteriorated. According to Russia scholar Stephen F. Cohen, the US mainstream media narrative, after the White House, turned anti-Putin. In an interview with Michael Stürmer, Putin said there were three questions Russia and Eastern Europe were most concerned about: namely the status of Kosovo, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, and US plans to build anti-missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, suggesting that all three were linked. His view was that concessions from the West on one issue could receive concessions from Russia on another.

In a January 2007 interview, Putin said that Russia stood for a democratic multipolar world and for strengthening systems of international law. In February 2007, Putin criticized what he called the monopoly dominance of the United States in global relations and the "nearly irrepressible hyperuse of force in international relations". He said the result of this is that "no one feels safe!" Because no one can feel that international law is like a stone wall that will protect them. Of course, such a policy stimulates an arms race'. This became known as the Munich Speech, with NATO Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer calling the speech "disappointing and unhelpful";.

Putin with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, at the Helsinki Summit on July 16, 2018.

The months after Putin's Munich speech were marked by tension and a resurgence of rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic. However, both Russian and American officials denied the idea of a new Cold War. Putin publicly opposed plans for a US missile shield in Europe and presented a counterproposal to President George W. Bush on the 7th. June 2007 which was rejected. Russia suspended its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty on December 11, 2007.

Putin opposed Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, warning that it would destabilize the entire system of international relations. He described the recognition of Kosovo's independence by several major powers as "a terrible precedent, which will de facto destroy the entire system of international relations, developed not for decades, but for centuries", and that "have not thought about the results of what they are doing. At the end of the day it's a two-pronged stick and the second prong will come back and hit you in the face". In March 2014, Putin used Kosovo's declaration of independence as justification for recognizing Crimea's independence, citing the called "precedent of the independence of Kosovo".

After the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001, Putin had good relations with US President George W. Bush and many Western European leaders. His relationship "coldest" and "more professional" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is often attributed to Merkel's upbringing in the former GDR, where Putin was stationed as a KGB agent. She had a very friendly and warm relationship with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi The two leaders often described their relationship as a close friendship, continuing to organize bilateral meetings even after Berlusconi's resignation in November 2011.

Putin gathered in Sochi with German Foreign Minister Angela Merkel to discuss the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in May 2018.

The NATO-led military intervention in Libya in 2011 sparked widespread criticism from several world leaders, including Putin, who called UN Security Council Resolution 1973 "flawed and flawed" #34;, adding: "Allows everything. It resembles medieval calls for the crusades".

In late 2013, Russian-American relations deteriorated further when the United States canceled a summit for the first time since 1960 after Putin granted asylum to American Edward Snowden, who had leaked massive amounts of classified NSA information.. In 2014, Russia was suspended from the G8 group as a result of its annexation of Crimea. Putin delivered a speech highly critical of the United States, accusing it of destabilizing the world order and trying to "reshape the world" 3. 4; for his own benefit.In June 2015, Putin said that Russia had no intention of attacking NATO.

According to Putin, he and Russia have a particularly good relationship with the neighbouring country Finland. Image of Putin's handshake with Sauli Niinistö, President of Finland, in August 2019.

On November 9, 2016, Putin congratulated Donald Trump on becoming the 45th president of the United States. In December 2016, US intelligence officials (led by James Clapper) quoted CBS as saying News reported that Putin approved of email hacking and cyber attacks during the US election against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. A Putin spokesperson denied the reports. Putin has repeatedly accused Hillary Clinton, who served as US Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, of interfering in Russia's internal affairs, and in December 2016, Clinton accused Putin of having a personal grudge against her.

With the election of Trump, Putin's favorability in the United States increased. A Gallup poll conducted in February 2017 revealed a positive view of Putin among 22% of Americans, the highest since 2003. Putin has stated that US-Russia relations, already at the lowest level low since the end of the Cold War, have continued to deteriorate after Trump took office in January 2017. In turn, Putin has influenced and sympathized with the alt-right, populist right-wing groups, and the far-right, both in Europe and in the United States.

On June 18, 2020, The National Interest published a 9,000-word essay by Putin, titled "The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II". In the essay, Putin criticizes the Western historical view of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact as the beginning of World War II, stating that the Munich Accords were the beginning.

Post-Soviet States

Putin reunited with heads of other post-Soviet states.

Under Putin, the Kremlin has consistently stated that Russia has a sphere of influence and "privileged interests" about other post-Soviet states, referred to as the "near foreigner" in Russia. Post-Soviet states have also been claimed to be strategically vital to Russian interests. Some Russian experts have compared this concept to the Monroe Doctrine.

A series of so-called color revolutions in post-Soviet states, namely the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004, and the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan in 2005, sparked friction in the relations of those countries with Russia. In December 2004, Putin criticized the Pink and Orange revolutions, saying: "If you have permanent revolutions, you risk plunging the post-Soviet space into endless conflict."

Putin reportedly stated at a 2008 NATO-Russia summit that if Ukraine joined NATO, Russia could compete to annex eastern Ukraine and Crimea. At the summit, he told US President George W. Bush that "Ukraine is not even a state!" while the following year Putin referred to Ukraine as 'Little Russia'. Following the Dignity Revolution in March 2014, the Russian Federation annexed Crimea. According to Putin, this was done because "Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia".

After Russia's annexation of Crimea, he said Ukraine includes "regions of Russia's historic south" and 'was created at the whim of the Bolsheviks.' "Our Western partners have crossed the line. They behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally," she said, adding that the people who had come to power in Ukraine were "nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites."

In a July 2014 speech during a Russian-backed armed insurgency in eastern Ukraine, Putin declared he would use "all arsenal of available means" from Russia to "operations under international humanitarian law and the right to self-defense" to protect Russian-speakers outside Russia. With the achievement of autocephaly by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in December 2018 and the subsequent schism of the Russian Orthodox Church of Constantinople, several experts came to the conclusion that the Putin's policy of forced participation in the post-Soviet republics backfired significantly on him, leading to a situation where he "annexed Crimea, but lost Ukraine," and prompted a much more cautious approach to Russia among other post-Soviet countries.

Ukrainian President Zelenski, German Chancellor Merkel, French President Macron and Putin gathered in Paris on December 9, 2019 at the "Format of Normandy" in order to end the war in Dombás.

At the end of August 2014, Putin stated: "People who have their own views on the history and history of our country can argue with me, but it seems to me that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are practically one people". After making a similar statement, in late December 2015 he stated: "Ukrainian culture, as well as Ukrainian literature, surely has its own source". In 2021, he published a lengthy article on the historical unity of the Russians and Ukrainians in which he reviewed these issues and said that the formation of a Ukrainian state hostile to Moscow was "comparable in its consequences to the use of weapons of destruction." against us", this article became mandatory reading for military-political training in the Russian Armed Forces.

In August 2008, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili attempted to restore Georgian control over the breakaway South Ossetia. However, the Georgian army was soon defeated in the 2008 South Ossetian War resulting after Russian regular forces entered South Ossetia and then other parts of Georgia, later also opening a second front in the other province. Georgian separatist from Abkhazia with Abkhaz forces.

Despite existing or past tensions between Russia and most post-Soviet states, Putin has pursued the policy of Eurasian integration. Putin endorsed the idea of a Eurasian Union in 2011; the concept was proposed by the president of Kazakhstan in 1994. On November 18, 2011, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed an agreement setting out the goal of establishing the Eurasian Union by 2015. The Eurasian Union was established on January 1, 2015.

Under Putin, Russia's relations have improved significantly with Uzbekistan, the second-largest post-Soviet republic after Ukraine. This was demonstrated by Putin's visit to Tashkent in May 2000, after the tepid relations under Yeltsin and Islam Karimov, who had become very distant from Moscow. In another meeting in 2014, Russia agreed to cancel the Uzbek debt.

United Kingdom

Putin and his wife Liudmila met Queen Elizabeth II, her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005.

In 2003, relations between Russia and the United Kingdom deteriorated when the United Kingdom granted political asylum to Putin's former backer, the oligarch Boris Berezovsky. This deterioration was intensified by allegations that the British were spying and secret payments to pro-democracy and human rights groups.

Poisoning of Aleksandr Litvinenko

The end of 2006 brought more strained relations in the aftermath of the polonium poisoning death in London of former KGB and SFS officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, who became an MI6 agent in 2003. In 2007, the crisis in Relations continued with the expulsion of four Russian envoys. over Russia's refusal to extradite former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi to face charges for Litvinenko's murder. Similar to the British actions, Russia expelled the UK diplomats and took other retaliatory measures.

In 2015 and 2016, the British government conducted an investigation into the death of Aleksandr Litvinenko. Their report states: "The SFS operation to kill Mr. Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr. Patrushev and also by President Putin". The report outlined some possible motives for the assassination, including Litvinenko's public statements and books about the alleged involvement of the SFS in mass murder, and what was "undoubtedly a personal dimension of the antagonism" between Putin and Litvinenko, which led to the assassination.

Poisoning of Sergei Skripal

On 4 March 2018, former double agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury. Ten days later, the British government formally charged the Russian state with attempted murder, a charge Russia denied. After the UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats (an action that would later be responded to by the Russian expulsion of 23 British diplomats), British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on 16 March that it was "overwhelmingly likely" that Putin had personally ordered Skripal's poisoning. Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, called the allegation "shocking and inexcusable diplomatic misconduct."

Latin America

Putin with the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, at the summit of the 2019 G20 in Osaka, Japan.

Joint press conference between Putin and President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.

Putin and his successor, Medvedev, enjoyed warm relations with Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Much of this has been through the sale of military equipment; since 2005, Venezuela has purchased more than $4 billion worth of weapons from Russia. In September 2008, Russia sent Tupolev Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela for training flights. In November 2008, both countries conducted a joint naval exercise in the Caribbean. By early 2000, Putin had reestablished stronger ties with Fidel Castro's Cuba.

“You express the best masculine qualities”, Putin told Jair Bolsonaro in 2020. “You look for solutions in all matters, always putting the interests of your people and your country above all else, putting aside your own problems personal”. Political scientist Oliver Stuenkel noted: “Among right-wing populists in Brazil, Putin is seen as someone who is against the awakening, and that is seen as something that definitely appeals to Bolsonaro. He is a strong man, and that is very inspiring for Bolsonaro. He would like to be someone who concentrates so much power & # 34;.

Australia and the South Pacific

In September 2007, Putin visited Indonesia and in doing so became the first Russian leader to visit the country in over fifty years. In the same month, Putin also attended the APEC meeting held in Sydney, Australia, where he met Prime Minister John Howard and signed a uranium trade agreement for Australia to sell uranium to Russia. This was the first visit by a Russian president to Australia. Putin visited Australia again for the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014. The Abbott government denounced Putin's use of military force in Ukraine in 2014 as &# 34;bullying" and "absolutely unacceptable." Amid calls to ban Putin from attending the 2014 G20 Summit, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he would "defy" the Russian leader for the downing of MH17 by Russian-backed rebels, which had killed 38 Australians. Putin denied responsibility for the killings. South Pacific nations condemned Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the invasion was "unprovoked, unfair and illegal" and called Putin a 'thug'. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denounced Putin as a 'thug'. Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama tweeted: "Fiji and our fellow Pacific island countries have come together as peace-loving nations to condemn the conflict in Ukraine," while Solomon Islands called Putin's war a "violation of the rule of law".

Middle East and North Africa

Putin with Iranian President Hassan Rohani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, September 2018.

On October 16, 2007, Putin visited Iran to participate in the Second Caspian Summit in Tehran, where he met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This was the first visit by a Soviet or Russian leader. to Iran since Joseph Stalin's participation in the Tehran Conference in 1943, and marked a significant event in Iran-Russia relations. In a post-summit press conference, Putin said that "all our states (of the Caspian Sea) have the right to develop their peaceful nuclear programs without any restrictions".

Putin was quoted as describing Iran as a "partner," although he expressed concern about Iran's nuclear program.

In April 2008, Putin became the first Russian president to visit Libya. Putin condemned Libya's foreign military intervention, called the UN resolution "flawed" and added "Allows everything. It resembles medieval calls for the crusades'. After the death of Muammar Gaddafi, Putin called it a "planned murder" by the US, saying: "They showed the whole world how they killed him (Gaddafi)" and "There was blood everywhere. Is that what they call democracy?".

Between 2000 and 2010, Russia sold approximately $1.5 billion worth of weapons to Syria, making Damascus Moscow's seventh-largest customer. During the Syrian civil war, Russia threatened to veto any sanctions against the Syrian government and continued to supply its regime with weapons.

Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad visiting the Russian forces' Jmeimim air base in Syria.

Putin opposed any foreign intervention. In June 2012, in Paris, he rejected a statement by French President François Hollande calling for Bashar al-Assad's resignation. Putin echoed Assad's argument that anti-regime militants were responsible for much of the bloodshed. He also spoke about previous NATO interventions and their results, and asked "What is happening in Libya, in Iraq?" Have they become more secure? Where they are going? No one has an answer".

On September 11, 2013, The New York Times published an opinion piece by Putin urging caution against US intervention in Syria and criticizing US exceptionalism. Putin later helped organize the destruction of the chemical weapons Syria. In 2015, he took a stronger pro-Assad stance and mobilized military support for the regime. Some analysts have summed up Putin as an ally of the Shiites and Alawites in the Middle East.

In October 2019, Putin visited the United Arab Emirates, where six agreements were signed with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed. One of them included shared investments between the Russian sovereign wealth fund and the Emirati Mubadala investment fund. The two nations signed deals worth more than $1.3 billion in the energy, healthcare, and advanced technology sectors.

On October 22, 2021, Putin highlighted the "unique link" between Russia and Israel during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Public Image

Putin at the Dolor Wall, a monument to the victims of Stalinist repression, October 30, 2017.

Surveys and Rankings

According to a June 2007 public opinion poll, Putin's approval rating was 81%, the second-highest of any leader in the world that year. In January 2013, at the time of the protests Russian elections from 2011-2013, Putin's approval rating fell to 62%, the lowest figure since 2000 and a ten-point drop in two years.

In May 2014, Putin's approval rating reached its highest level since 2008 at 83%. After the EU and US sanctions against Russian officials as a result of the crisis in Ukraine, Putin's approval rating reached 87%, according to a poll published on August 6, 2014. In February 2015 According to new national polls, Putin was ranked the most popular politician in the world. In June 2015, Putin's approval rating rose to an all-time high of 89%. In 2016, his approval rating was 81%.

Observers saw Putin's high approval ratings in 2010 as a consequence of significant improvements in living standards and Russia's reassertion on the world stage during his presidency.

Despite Putin's strong approval, confidence in the Russian economy was low, falling to levels in 2016 that rivaled recent lows of 2009 at the height of the global economic crisis. Only 14% of Russians in 2016 said their national economy was improving, and 18% said the same about their local economies. Putin's move to rein in corruption is also unpopular with Russians. Newsweek reported in June 2017 that "an opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Center indicated that 67 percent hold Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption". significant problem in Russia.

Public adoption of Putin 1999-2020 (Levada, 2020).

In July 2018, Putin's approval rating fell to 63% and only 49% would vote for Putin if a presidential election were held. Levada poll results released in September 2018 showed that levels of Putin's personal confidence was 39% (decrease from 59% in November 2017), the main contributing factor being presidential support for unpopular pension reform and economic stagnation. As of October 2018, two-thirds of Russians polled in the Levada poll agreed that "Putin bears full responsibility for the country's problems," which has been attributed to the decline of popular belief in the "good tsar and the good tsars." bad boyars", a traditional attitude towards justifying the failures of the top of the ruling hierarchy in Russia.

In January 2019, the percentage of Russians who trusted the president reached an all-time low of 33.4%. It dropped further to 31.7% in May 2019, sparking a dispute between the VCIOM and the President's Administration Office, who accused him of misusing an open question, after which VCIOM repeated the poll with a closed question and scored 72.3%. However, in April 2019, a poll Gallup poll showed a record number of Russians (20%) willing to emigrate permanently from Russia. The decline is even greater in the 17–25 age group, "who are largely out of touch with aging leadership. of the country, the nostalgic Soviet rhetoric and the nepotistic agenda', according to a report prepared by Vladimir Milov. Putin's approval rating among young Russians was 32% in January 2019. The percentage of people willing to emigrate permanently in this age group is 41%, and 60% have favorable views of the United States (three times more than in the 55+ age group). The decline in support for the president and the government is also visible in other polls, such as the growing willingness to protest against poor living conditions.

In May 2020, amid the COVID-19 crisis, Putin's approval rating was 67.9%, as measured by VCIOM when respondents were presented with a list of names (closed question), and 27% when respondents were expected to name politicians they trusted (open question). In a closed question poll conducted by Levada, the approval rating was 59%, which has been attributed to continued economic stagnation following the invasion of Crimea, but also a listless response to the pandemic crisis in Russia. In another Levada poll from May 2021, 33% indicated Putin in response to "by whom? would you vote this weekend?" between respondents from Moscow and 40% outside of Moscow. The Levada Center poll released in October 2021 found that 53% of respondents said they trusted Putin.

Some observers noted what they described as a "generational struggle" among Russians on the perception of Putin's government, with younger Russians more likely to be against Putin and his policies and older Russians more likely to accept the narrative presented by the state-controlled media in Russia. Support for Putin among Russians aged 18-24 was only 20% in December 2020.

The Levada Center survey showed that 58 percent of the Russian respondents supported the 2017 Russian protests against high-level corruption.

Polls conducted in November 2021 following the failure of the Russian COVID-19 vaccination, the campaign indicated that distrust of Putin personally is one of the main factors contributing to citizens' hesitancy of vaccines, with regional surveys indicating numbers as low as 20-30% in the Volga Federal District.

One of the reasons many Russians supported Putin's invasion of Ukraine has to do with the propaganda and disinformation being spread by the Kremlin. The Russian censorship apparatus Roskomnadzor ordered the country's media outlets that used information only from Russian state sources or face fines and bans. the feelings of the Russians on the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The results of the poll were obtained by Radio Liberty. Almost three quarters (71%) of the Russians polled stated that they supported the "special military operation" in Ukraine. When asked how they were affected by Putin's actions, a third of respondents said they strongly believed Putin was working in their interest, and another 26 percent said he was working in their interest to some extent. In general, most Russians believe that it would be better if Putin remained president for as long as possible. Similarly, a telephone poll conducted by independent researchers from February 28 to March 1 found that 58% of those polled Russians approved of the military operation. Other polls conducted by the Levada Center from February 17 to 21, before the invasion of Ukraine, suggested that Putin's net public approval had risen by about 13 percentage points since December 2021, an uptick around the flag effect, with nearly three-quarters (71%) expressing approval of Putin's leadership by February 2022.

Assessments

Assessments of Putin's character as a leader have evolved during his long tenure. His shift of Russia towards autocracy and the weakening of the system of representative government advocated by Boris Yeltsin has received criticism. Russian dissidents and world leaders, as well as various international analysts, now frequently characterize him as a "dictator". Others have offered favorable assessments of his impact on Russia.

Putin was described in 2015 as a "dictator" by political opponent Garri Kasparov, and as the "Czar of Corruption" in 2016 by opposition activist and blogger Alekséi Navalni, he was described as a "thug"; and "arrogant" by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as "egocentric" by the Dalai lama, and as a "narcissist" by a CIA intelligence psychologist. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in 2014 that the West has demonized Putin. Former East German leader Egon Krenz said the Cold War never ended, adding: "After weak presidents like Gorbachev and Yeltsin, it is a great fortune for Russia that it has Putin".

Many Russians credit Putin with reviving Russia's fortunes. Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, while acknowledging flawed democratic procedures and restrictions on press freedom during Putin's presidency, said Putin had brought Russia out of chaos at the end of the Yeltsin years and that Russians "must remember that Putin saved Russia from collapse". In 2015, opposition politician Boris Nemtsov said Putin was turning Russia in a "commodity colony" of China. The head of the Chechen Republic and Putin supporter, Ramzan Kadýrov, claims that Putin saved both the Chechen people and Russia.

Russia has suffered a democratic setback during Putin's tenure. Freedom House has listed Russia as "not free" since 2005. Experts generally do not consider Russia to be a democracy, citing purges and imprisonment of political opponents, restricted press freedom, and the lack of free and fair elections. In 2004, Freedom House warned that Russia's "withdrawal of freedom marks a low point not recorded since 1989, when the country was part of the Soviet Union". The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Russia as " 34;authoritarian" since 2011, while previously it had been considered a "hybrid regime" (with "some form of democratic government" in place) until 2007. According to political scientist Larry Diamond, writing in 2015, "no serious scholar would consider Russia today a democracy" 34;.

Following blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny's imprisonment in 2018, Forbes wrote: "Putin's actions are those of a dictator... As a leader who lacks public support, he can only stay in power by the use of force and repression getting worse by the day". In November 2021, The Economist also noted that Putin had "passed from autocracy to dictatorship".

Following extensive attacks on civilian targets by Russian forces in Ukraine in 2022, killing at least several hundred civilians, US President Joe Biden branded Putin a criminal of war. In the 2022 State of the Union address, Biden called Putin a "dictator" that he had 'grossly miscalculated'. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called Putin a dictator after the invasion. Ukraine's envoy to the United Nations compared Putin to with Adolf Hitler. Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš also compared the Russian leader to Hitler, saying he was "a deluded autocrat creating misery for millions" and that "Putin is fighting democracy (...) If he can attack Ukraine, theoretically it could be any other European country". Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said: & #34;The battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe. If Putin doesn't stop there, he will go further'. President Macron of France said Putin was 'fooling himself'. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, denounced him as "a cynic and a dictator". UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also called Putin a "dictator" that he had authorized "a tidal wave of violence against a Slavic people."

Cult of personality

Putin in Tuvá, sunbathing in 2017. Putin often presents a male image in the media.

Putin has cultivated a cult of personality for himself with a public image as a tough guy, sportsman, and outdoorsman, demonstrating his physical prowess and engaging in unusual or dangerous acts, such as extreme sports and interaction with wild animals, part of a public relations approach that, according to Wired, "deliberately cultivates the image of a macho superhero taking charge". in the mountains of Siberia under the title "Be like Putin".

Numerous Kremlinologists have accused Putin of trying to create a personality cult around him, a charge the Kremlin has denied. Some of Putin's activities have been criticized for being staged; outside Russia, his macho image has been the subject of parody. Putin is believed to be self-conscious about his height, which Kremlin experts have estimated to be 155–165 centimeters (5 ft 1 in 5 ft 5 in) in length, but it is usually given at 170 centimeters (5 ft 7 in).

Putin driving a Formula 1 car, 2010.

There are many songs about Putin, and Putin's name and image are widely used in advertising and product branding. Putin-branded products include Putinka vodka, Putin brand of canned food, Gorbusha Putina caviar and a collection of T-shirts bearing his likeness. In 2015, his adviser Mikhail Lesin was found dead after "days of heavy drinking", though his death was later ruled the result of an accident.

Publication Acknowledgments

In 2007, he was Time's Person of the Year. In 2015, he was ranked No. 1 on Time's most influential people list. Forbes has ranked him the world's most powerful person every year since 2013 until 2016. Forbes ranked him as the second most powerful person in 2018.

Putinisms

Putin during one of his annual questions and answers conferences, pointing at his pen.

Putin has produced many aphorisms and idioms known as Putinisms. Many of these were first made during his annual question-and-answer conferences, where Putin answered questions from journalists and others in the studio, as well as Russians. all over the country, who called or spoke from studios and outdoor sites all over Russia. Putin is known for his often harsh and sharp language, often alluding to Russian jokes and popular sayings.

Putin sometimes uses Russian crime jargon (known as "fenya" in Russian), though not always correctly.

Private life

Family

Putin and Liudmila Putina at his wedding, July 28, 1983.

On July 28, 1983, Putin married Lyudmila Putina and they lived together in East Germany from 1985 to 1990. They have two daughters, Mariya Putina, born April 28, 1985 in Leningrad, and Yekaterina Putina, born on August 31, 1986 in Dresden, East Germany. An investigation by Proekt published in November 2020 alleged that Putin has another daughter, Elizaveta, also known as Luiza Rozova, (born March 2003), with Svetlana Krivonogikh.

In April 2008, the Moskovsky Korrespondent reported that Putin had divorced Lyudmila and was engaged to be married to Olympic gold medalist Alina Kabáyeva, a former rhythmic gymnast and Russian politician. The story was denied, and the newspaper it was shut down shortly thereafter. Putin and Lyudmila continued to make public appearances together as spouses, while the status of his relationship with Kabayeva became the subject of speculation. In the years since, there were frequent unsubstantiated reports that Putin and Kabáyeva had several children together, although these reports were denied.

On June 6, 2013, Putin and Lyudmila announced that their marriage had ended; on April 1, 2014, the Kremlin confirmed that the divorce was final. In 2015, Kabáyeva reportedly gave birth to a daughter; Putin is alleged to be her father.In 2019, Kabayeva reportedly gave birth to Putin's twins.

Putin has two grandchildren, born in 2012 and 2017. He has a cousin, Igor Putin, who was a director of Moscow-based Master Bank and was accused of various money laundering scandals.

Personal wealth

Official figures released during the 2007 midterm elections put Putin's wealth at approximately 3.7 million rubles (US$280,000) in bank accounts, a 77.4 m² private apartment in St. Petersburg, and other assets miscellaneous. Putin's reported income in 2006 totaled 2 million rubles (approximately $152,000). In 2012, Putin reported an income of 3.6 million rubles ($270,000). He has been seen wearing several expensive wristwatches, collectively valued at $700,000, almost six times his annual salary. Even Putin he gave away watches worth thousands of dollars to peasants and factory workers.

Putin's close partner, Arkady Rotenberg in a 2018 photo.

According to Russian opposition politicians and journalists, Putin secretly owns a multibillion-dollar fortune through successive ownership of stakes in various Russian companies. According to an editorial in The Washington Post, "Technically, Putin could not to own these 43 planes, but, as the sole political power in Russia, it can act as if they were its own." A journalist for RIA Novosti argued that "[Western] intelligence agencies... could not find anything" 3. 4;. These conflicting claims were analyzed by Polygraph.info, which analyzed a series of reports by Western (Anders Åslund estimate of $100-160 billion) and Russian (Stanislav Belkovsky estimate of $40 billion) analysts, CIA analysts (estimate of $40 billion in 2007), as well as counter-arguments from the Russian media. Polygraph concluded:

There is uncertainty about the precise sum of Putin's wealth, and the evaluation of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence. America is apparently not yet complete. However, with the stack of evidence and documents in the Panama Papers and in the hands of independent researchers such as those cited by Dawisha, Polygraph.info finds that Danilov's claim that Western intelligence agencies have not been able to find evidence of Putin's wealth is misleading.

— Polygraph.info, "Are the billions of Putin a myth?"

In April 2016, 11 million documents belonging to the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca were leaked to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Putin's name does not appear in any of the records, and Putin denied involvement in the plot. However, various outlets have reported three of Putin's associates on the list. According to the Panama Papers leak, Putin's close trusted associates own offshore companies worth a total of US$2 billion. The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung considers the possibility that Putin's family could benefit from this money as plausible.

According to the newspaper, the $2 billion had been "mixed secretly through banks and shadow companies linked to Putin associates," including construction billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, and Bank Rossiya, previously identified by the US State Department as being dealt with by Putin and having his personal bank account, had been instrumental in facilitating this. It concludes that "Putin has shown that he is willing to take aggressive measures to maintain secrecy and protect [such] communal assets. " A significant proportion of the money trail leads to Putin's best friend, Sergei Rolduguin. Although he is a musician and, in his own words, not a businessman, it seems that he has amassed assets worth $100 million and possibly more. It has been suggested that he was cast in the role due to his low profile. There has been speculation that Putin in fact owns the funds, and Roldugin merely acted as a proxy. Garry Kasparov said that "[ Putin] controls enough money, probably more than any other individual in the history of the human race".

Residences

Official government residences

Putin receiving Barack Obama in his residence of Novo-Ogaryovo, 2009.

As president and prime minister, Putin has lived in numerous official residences throughout the country. These residences include: the Moscow Kremlin, Novo-Ogaryovo in Moscow Oblast, Gorky-9 near Moscow, Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, Dolgiye Borody in Novgorod Oblast and Riviera in Sochi.

In August 2012, Putin's critics listed ownership of 20 villas and palaces, nine of which were built during Putin's 12 years in power.

Personal residences

Shortly after Putin returned from his KGB service in Dresden, East Germany, he built a country house in Solovyovka on the eastern shore of Lake Komsomolskoye on the Karelian Isthmus in the Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast, near Saint Petersburg. After the dacha burned down in 1996, Putin built a new one identical to the original and was joined by a group of seven friends who built nearby dachas. In 1996, the group formally registered their fraternity as a cooperative society, naming it Ozero ("Lake") and making it a gated community.

Outside the Putin Palace, near the village of Praskovéyevka in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

A huge Italianate-style mansion at a reported cost of $1 billion and nicknamed "Putin's Palace" near the village of Praskoveevka, on the Black Sea. In 2012 Sergei Kolesnikov, Putin's former business associate, told BBC Newsnight that he had been ordered by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin to oversee the construction of the palace. He also said that the mansion, built on government land and with three Heliports, as well as a private road paid for with state funds and guarded by officials wearing official Kremlin guard service uniforms, have been built for Putin's private use. Putin's spokesman Dmitri Peskov dismissed Kolesnikov's accusations against Putin as false and said that "Putin has never had any relationship with this palace."

On January 19, 2021, two days after Russian authorities detained Aleksei Navalny upon his return to Russia, a video investigation by him and the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was released accusing Putin of using funds fraudulently obtained to build the property for himself in what he called "the biggest bribe in the world". In the investigation, Navalni said the property is 39 times the size of Monaco and cost more than 100 billion rubles ($1.35 billion) to build. He also showed aerial images of the property from a drone and a detailed floor plan of the palace that Navalni said was given to him by a contractor, which he compared to photos of the interior of the palace that leaked online in 2011. It also detailed an elaborate corruption scheme. that allegedly involved Putin's inner circle that allowed Putin to hide billions of dollars to build the property.

Pets

Putin with Konni in 2001.

Putin has received five dogs from various leaders of nations: Konni, Buffy, Yume, Verni and Pasha. Konni died in 2014. When Putin first became president, the family had two poodles, Tosya and Rodeo. According to reports, he stayed with his ex-wife Liudmila after his divorce from her.

Religion

Putin plunging into the frozen Lake Seliguer, a popular tradition of the Russian Orthodox to celebrate the Epiphany.

Putin is Russian Orthodox. Her mother was a devout Christian believer who attended the Russian Orthodox Church, while her father was an atheist. Although her mother had no icons at home, she attended church regularly, despite persecution of her religion by the government at that time. His mother secretly baptized him when he was a baby and regularly took him to services.

According to Putin, his religious awakening began after a serious car accident involving his wife in 1993 and a life-threatening fire that burned down his country house in August 1996. Shortly before an official visit to Israel, Putin's mother gave him his baptismal cross and told him to bless it. Putin claims: 'I did what she said and then put the cross around my neck. I've never taken it off since.' When asked in 2007 if he believed in God, he replied: 'There are things I believe in, which in my position should not, at least, be shared with the public. generally for everyone's consumption because that would seem like self-advertising or political striptease". Putin's rumored confessor is Russian Orthodox Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov. The sincerity of his Christianity has been rejected by his former adviser Sergei Pugachev.

Sports

Putin fighting in public at Tokyo's Kōdōkan Martial Arts Palace.

Putin watches football and supports FC Zenit St. Petersburg. He also shows an interest in ice hockey and bandy, and played in a star-studded hockey game on his 63rd birthday.

Putin has been practicing judo since he was eleven years old, before switching to sambo at the age of fourteen. He won competitions in both sports in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). He was awarded the 8th dan black belt in 2012, becoming the first Russian to achieve the status. Putin also practices karate. He co-authored a book titled Judo with Vladimir Putin in Russian and Judo: History, Theory, Practice in English (2004). Benjamin Wittes, a black belt in taekwondo and aikido and editor of Lawfare, has questioned Putin's martial arts skills, stating that there is no evidence in video of Putin displaying truly remarkable judo skills.

Health

Putin has reportedly been receiving treatment for thyroid cancer since 2016 and is rumored to be taking deer antler blood baths and steroids. In 2018, the Russian political magazine Sobesednik reported that Putin he had installed a sensory room in his private residence in Novgorod Oblast.

It has also been suggested, based solely on video footage, that Putin may have Parkinson's disease. The White House, as well as Western generals, politicians and political analysts, questioned Putin's mental health after two years of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These claims are speculative and made by non-medical professionals. These rumors have spread in part due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which many viewed as an irrational act. The Kremlin as well as outside medical professionals have disputed the claims of poor health, who emphasize that it is impossible to study brain diseases or diseases based solely on video clips.

Awards

Date	Country	Decoration		Delivered by	Notes	Ref.
7 March 2001	Vietnam		Order of Ho Chi Minh	President Trconcilin Đ pupilc L MORE	Vietnam's second highest distinction
6 January 2004	Kazakhstan		Order of the Golden Eagle	President Nursultan Nazarbayev	The highest distinction of Kazakhstan
22 September 2006	France		Légion d'honneur, Grand-Croix	President Jacques Chirac	Grand-Croix (Great Cross) range is the highest French decoration
6 October 2007	Tajikistan		Order of Ismoili Somoni	President Emomali Rahmon	The highest distinction in Tajikistan
12 February 2007	Saudi Arabia		Order of Abdulaziz al Saud	King Abdalá bin Abdulaziz	The highest civil decoration in Saudi Arabia
10 September 2007	EAU		Order of Zayed	Sheikh Sheikh Khalifa	The highest civil decoration in the United Arab Emirates
2 April 2010	Venezuela		Order of the Liberator	President Hugo Chávez	The highest decoration of Venezuela
16 March 2013	Belarus		Order of Friendship of Peoples	President Aleksandr Lukashenko	The highest decoration of the Republic of Belarus for foreign citizens.
4 October 2013	Monaco		Order of San Carlos	Prince Albert of Monaco	The highest decoration in Monaco
11 July 2014	Cuba		Order of José Martí	President Raul Castro	The highest decoration in Cuba
16 October 2014	Serbia		Order of the Republic of Serbia	President Tomislav Nikolić	Grand Collar, the highest prize in Serbia
3 October 2017	Turkmenistan		Order for Contribution to Cooperation Development	President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
22 November 2017	Kyrgyzstan		Order of Manas	President Almazbek Atambayev
8 June 2018	China		Medal of Friendship	President Xi Jinping	The highest order of honour of the People ' s Republic of China
May 28, 2019	Kazakhstan		Order of Nazarethev	President Nursultan Nazarbayev
8 January 2023	Republika Srpska		Order of Republika Srpska	President Milorad Dodik