Vladimir Putin Research Paper
Elliott Kimm
Sept-Nov. 2014
Dr Neilson
What has Vladimir Putin done for Russia?
Vladimir Putin, a great man who is attempting to restore a country to its former glory, to restore it to its powerful past or, as many western leaders would have you believe, the biggest single threat to worldwide stability? The USSR, aka the Soviet Union, was a powerful alliance of countries during a time when strength was measured by military might rather than economic prosperity but power today is as much about having economic stability as it is about military capability. Putin has gone from being a virtual nobody to one of the most powerful and power hungry men on the planet, striving to bring these two equally important facets back to Russia. But which …show more content…
face of Putin is really true?
We (other nationalities) and even many oblivious Russians don’t see Russia further than Moscow or Saint Petersburg. We have only recently heard of Sochi due to media coverage of the Winter Olympics. Without the inevitably western biased media we know very little about Russia and we would base our thoughts and opinions on previous out of date knowledge of the Soviet Union. Having lived in Moscow for 6 years, some of those beliefs hold true and it is clear that as soon as you reach the outskirts of cosmopolitan Moscow, that not much has changed. Housing is dilapidated; there are lots of young children and elderly (those of working age having fled for the cities long ago), money and healthcare is scarce, and it is like stepping back in time. The life expectancy for a Russian man is a mere 57 years, compared to 78 in the West. Changing this reality does not appear to be Putin’s priority.
Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on the 7th October 1952, to ordinary parents, a factory worker and a Soviet Navy conscript, with two brothers both of whom died young, one just after birth and the other of diphtheria after the siege of Leningrad, Vladimir Putin had an unremarkable childhood but did enough to be recognised as KGB material. Putin learned all he needed for politics during his 16 years in the KGB, leaving in 1991 for a brief stint in St. Petersburg politics before moving to Moscow to be part pf Boris Yeltsin’s administration. He quickly rose up the ranks, becoming increasingly powerful, first take the position Acting President, and then in 2000, after Yeltsin inexplicable retired, President.
To the casual observer Putin appears to have done very little to drive the country forward but most Russians will tell you that he has brought back pride to a nation that was broken and heading into obscurity. Russia in often in our press for the wrong reasons, but to many Russian’s at least the West is taking notice again, and it is not just rhetoric, there is an underlying core to this rediscovered pride. To begin with, the living standard in the main cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg has risen. In Moscow alone, people are being paid an average of 40% more than other worldwide major cities whilst poverty has fallen dramatically from its peak in 1992 to only 11.2% of the city’s population.
Another feature of Putin’s Presidency is that the country has opened up from both inside and out. In Soviet times, getting in or out of the country was extremely difficult, almost like a prison, and human rights were non-existent. You couldn’t open your own business, you couldn’t practice a religion of your choice and you most certainly could not leave. Now in Russia you are free to practice whatever religion you choose, you can come and go as long as you have a visa, and you can open and run your own business, although corrupt officials can still make this difficult. Russia has even set up state funded bodies, such as Skolkova, to help attract international talent.
Unfortunately economic prosperity has not extended to all parts of Russia with Putin concentrating on the European side leaving the East practically untouched.
The country has been described as being all poverty with Moscow in the middle. This is not far from the truth. Siberia remains stuck in the past and is struggling to move forward. Although it accounts for 77% of Russia’s landmass it only has 27% of the population. The State takes all of the resources, which Siberia has in abundance, but returns only a small proportion of its economic worth back to its 38m people. This issue is swept under the carpet by the state controlled media and looks unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
In addition, many civil liberties are being eroded and Russia is gravitating to its darker past. Racism is rife and ethnic minorities are treated as second class citizens. Homosexuality is frowned upon and there is now even a new law banning the ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships’, whilst the rest of the Western World is moving towards a much more inclusive and tolerant …show more content…
society.
Russia is meant to be a democracy, but Putin is limiting the extent of democracy. Elections are rumoured to be rigged in his favour with lots of alleged “carousel voting”. He also took the extraordinary step to become Prime Minister as his final Presidential term ended, so that he could change the laws governing the number and length of presidential terms that one person could stand for. He appointed his ‘side man’ Dmitry Medvedev to take power until he had achieved his goal, thereby allowing him to return as President for as long as he was elected, or in practice, until he decided to relinquish power. He has failed to stamp out corruption within the government and has reputedly managed to amass a $70 billion personal fortune. This desire for power and suspicion of personal corruption means that Putin is frowned upon by many world leaders. Prince Charles even compared him to Adolf Hitler. This comment was described as outrageous but there is some truth in what was said in terms of his control and manipulation of the Russian people.
Russia is a country that people tend to judge too quickly, making the assumption that it is economically weak and a cruel inhospitable place to live.
With some contentious laws and no positive change to massive parts of Russia, people could be forgiven for assuming that Putin is doing more bad than good, but I don’t believe that this is the case. Vladimir Putin has completely changed many aspects of Russia and it is now, perhaps for the first time ever, both economically important and a political military force to be reckoned with. Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has moved on from is Soviet heritage and has returned as a major player on the World stage, but it will not be fully accepted as such until their record on such issues as corruption, civil liberties and human rights have improved
dramatically.
Word Count: 1144
Bibliography:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/prince-charles-putin-hitler-outrageous-russiahttp://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/10-good-things-about-putin-s-russia/494178.htmlhttp://www.economist.com/node/270851?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07http://www.economist.com/node/271702?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07http://www.economist.com/node/271307?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07http://www.economist.com/node/270820?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07
Sept-Nov. 2014
Dr Neilson
What has Vladimir Putin done for Russia?
Vladimir Putin, a great man who is attempting to restore a country to its former glory, to restore it to its powerful past or, as many western leaders would have you believe, the biggest single threat to worldwide stability? The USSR, aka the Soviet Union, was a powerful alliance of countries during a time when strength was measured by military might rather than economic prosperity but power today is as much about having economic stability as it is about military capability. Putin has gone from being a virtual nobody to one of the most powerful and power hungry men on the planet, striving to bring these two equally important facets back to Russia. But which …show more content…
face of Putin is really true?
We (other nationalities) and even many oblivious Russians don’t see Russia further than Moscow or Saint Petersburg. We have only recently heard of Sochi due to media coverage of the Winter Olympics. Without the inevitably western biased media we know very little about Russia and we would base our thoughts and opinions on previous out of date knowledge of the Soviet Union. Having lived in Moscow for 6 years, some of those beliefs hold true and it is clear that as soon as you reach the outskirts of cosmopolitan Moscow, that not much has changed. Housing is dilapidated; there are lots of young children and elderly (those of working age having fled for the cities long ago), money and healthcare is scarce, and it is like stepping back in time. The life expectancy for a Russian man is a mere 57 years, compared to 78 in the West. Changing this reality does not appear to be Putin’s priority.
Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on the 7th October 1952, to ordinary parents, a factory worker and a Soviet Navy conscript, with two brothers both of whom died young, one just after birth and the other of diphtheria after the siege of Leningrad, Vladimir Putin had an unremarkable childhood but did enough to be recognised as KGB material. Putin learned all he needed for politics during his 16 years in the KGB, leaving in 1991 for a brief stint in St. Petersburg politics before moving to Moscow to be part pf Boris Yeltsin’s administration. He quickly rose up the ranks, becoming increasingly powerful, first take the position Acting President, and then in 2000, after Yeltsin inexplicable retired, President.
To the casual observer Putin appears to have done very little to drive the country forward but most Russians will tell you that he has brought back pride to a nation that was broken and heading into obscurity. Russia in often in our press for the wrong reasons, but to many Russian’s at least the West is taking notice again, and it is not just rhetoric, there is an underlying core to this rediscovered pride. To begin with, the living standard in the main cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg has risen. In Moscow alone, people are being paid an average of 40% more than other worldwide major cities whilst poverty has fallen dramatically from its peak in 1992 to only 11.2% of the city’s population.
Another feature of Putin’s Presidency is that the country has opened up from both inside and out. In Soviet times, getting in or out of the country was extremely difficult, almost like a prison, and human rights were non-existent. You couldn’t open your own business, you couldn’t practice a religion of your choice and you most certainly could not leave. Now in Russia you are free to practice whatever religion you choose, you can come and go as long as you have a visa, and you can open and run your own business, although corrupt officials can still make this difficult. Russia has even set up state funded bodies, such as Skolkova, to help attract international talent.
Unfortunately economic prosperity has not extended to all parts of Russia with Putin concentrating on the European side leaving the East practically untouched.
The country has been described as being all poverty with Moscow in the middle. This is not far from the truth. Siberia remains stuck in the past and is struggling to move forward. Although it accounts for 77% of Russia’s landmass it only has 27% of the population. The State takes all of the resources, which Siberia has in abundance, but returns only a small proportion of its economic worth back to its 38m people. This issue is swept under the carpet by the state controlled media and looks unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
In addition, many civil liberties are being eroded and Russia is gravitating to its darker past. Racism is rife and ethnic minorities are treated as second class citizens. Homosexuality is frowned upon and there is now even a new law banning the ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships’, whilst the rest of the Western World is moving towards a much more inclusive and tolerant …show more content…
society.
Russia is meant to be a democracy, but Putin is limiting the extent of democracy. Elections are rumoured to be rigged in his favour with lots of alleged “carousel voting”. He also took the extraordinary step to become Prime Minister as his final Presidential term ended, so that he could change the laws governing the number and length of presidential terms that one person could stand for. He appointed his ‘side man’ Dmitry Medvedev to take power until he had achieved his goal, thereby allowing him to return as President for as long as he was elected, or in practice, until he decided to relinquish power. He has failed to stamp out corruption within the government and has reputedly managed to amass a $70 billion personal fortune. This desire for power and suspicion of personal corruption means that Putin is frowned upon by many world leaders. Prince Charles even compared him to Adolf Hitler. This comment was described as outrageous but there is some truth in what was said in terms of his control and manipulation of the Russian people.
Russia is a country that people tend to judge too quickly, making the assumption that it is economically weak and a cruel inhospitable place to live.
With some contentious laws and no positive change to massive parts of Russia, people could be forgiven for assuming that Putin is doing more bad than good, but I don’t believe that this is the case. Vladimir Putin has completely changed many aspects of Russia and it is now, perhaps for the first time ever, both economically important and a political military force to be reckoned with. Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has moved on from is Soviet heritage and has returned as a major player on the World stage, but it will not be fully accepted as such until their record on such issues as corruption, civil liberties and human rights have improved
dramatically.
Word Count: 1144
Bibliography:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/prince-charles-putin-hitler-outrageous-russiahttp://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/10-good-things-about-putin-s-russia/494178.htmlhttp://www.economist.com/node/270851?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07http://www.economist.com/node/271702?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07http://www.economist.com/node/271307?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07http://www.economist.com/node/270820?zid=307&ah=5e80419d1bc9821ebe173f4f0f060a07