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Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

Дата публикации: 04 сентября 2007
Публикатор: Научная библиотека Порталус
Рубрика: RUSSIA (TOPICS) POLITICS →
Источник: (c) http://russia.by
Номер публикации: №1188912574


Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

Also known as: Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Vladimir V. Putin

Born: October 7, 1952 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Occupation: president

______________________________


“The building of a democratic state is far from complete. But a great deal has already been done. We must cherish what has been achieved and preserve and advance democracy. We must make sure that the government chosen by the people works in the interests of the people and protects the Russian citizen everywhere, both in our country and abroad, and serves the public.” Vladimir Putin

BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
Profile researched and revised by Jeneen Hobby, Ph.D.; sections contributed by Jim Nichol, Library of Congress.

Russia, officially called the Russian Federation, was by far the largest republic of the former USSR. Its estimated 2002 population of 145 million accounted for slightly more than half the Soviet total. Its 17 million square kilometers (6.6 million square miles) comprised 76% of the territory of the USSR, stretching across Eurasia to the Pacific across 11 time zones. Russia also inherited the lion's share of the natural resources, industrial base, and military assets of the former Soviet Union. Much of its territory in the north and Far East, however, is sparsely populated. Although Russia is nearly twice the size of the United States, its population is only a bit more than half the U.S. total.

Russia is a multinational, multiethnic state with over 65 nationalities and a complex federal structure inherited from the Soviet period. Within the Russian Federation there are 21 ethnic republics (including Chechnya) and 18 other administratively distinct ethnic enclaves. The principal political subdivision of the ethnically Russian parts of the federation is the oblast, of which there are 49. Russia's multinational federal structure resembles that of the former Soviet Union on which it was patterned. The demography, however, is different. Ethnic Russians, comprising 81.5% of the population, are dominant. The next largest nationality groups are Tartars (3.8%), Ukrainians (3%), and Chuvash (1.2%). Traditionally, Russians belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Other major religious groupings in Russia include Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, various Protestant faiths, Judaism, and animism.


POLITICAL BACKGROUND

Russian history dates from the late 9th century ad. The earliest Russian state, known as Kievan Rus, had its capital for the most part in Kiev (in present day Ukraine). The ruling dynasty came from Scandinavia and had cultural and commercial ties to northern Europe. Christianity came to Russia in the late 10th century via Constantinople, bringing Russia spiritually into the orbit of Byzantium. Kievan Rus was overrun and destroyed by the Mongols in the mid-13th century. The modern Russian state emerged from the territory around Moscow during the later part of the Mongol domination (late 14th through 15th centuries). As Mongol power declined, Muscovy grew, absorbing large parts of the Mongol Empire and most of the lands of old Kievan Rus. But two-and-a-half centuries of Mongol domination had cut Russia off from Europe at a critical time, leaving a legacy of oriental despotism in Russia while northern, central, and western Europe experienced the Renaissance and Reformation instead. Thus, when Russia "rejoined" Europe in the 16th century, there was a big developmental gap between them. With no natural boundaries in the east or west, Russia continued to expand through the Eurasian corridor, absorbing lands populated by non-Russian peoples. During this empire-building, Russia often felt itself under pressure from surrounding states that were more highly developed, as well as from the harsh northern climate. The Russian Empire became a highly militarized state whose activities were often dominated by the requirements of national defense and human subsistence.

The Tsarist Russian Empire, fatally weakened by defeats during World War I, was overthrown in 1917. A provisional government was set up, which aimed to create a modern republic but it was swept away by Communists led by Vladimir Lenin, leading to several years of civil war. The victorious Communists proclaimed the Soviet Union in 1922, comprising most, but not all, of the previous Russian Empire. It was organized into ethnically based Soviet Socialist Republics, of which there were eventually 15. The Russian Republic was bigger and more populous than all the others combined. Russians also dominated the republics on the periphery even while they were all subject to the authoritarian control of a government that was federal in form but became highly centralized in function under Stalin, who ruled from 1924-1953.

After the Soviet victory in World War II, the Russians and other Soviet peoples hoped for a relaxation of authoritarianism, but Stalin launched new repressions against soldiers and others who had contacts with the West during the war and established an "iron curtain" against further Western contacts. At the time of his death, he appeared to be launching new wide-scale repressions against Soviet Jews and others. Khrushchev's partial reforms (1954-1964) were mostly reversed by Brezhnev (1964-1982) and his two short-term successors. Major change came when Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet leader in 1985. By that time, the Soviet economy had run out of steam, hampered by a highly centralized command system that proved increasingly inefficient and unable to cope with the requirements of postindustrial development. Economic growth stagnated and began to decline, belying Khrushchev's famous goal of soon "overtaking" and "burying" (outlasting) the capitalist West.

Gorbachev launched a series of reforms intended to reverse this downward trend and revive the Soviet system. His political reforms unleashed a process of democratization that went beyond what he intended. His economic reforms, however, were ill-conceived and half-hearted. The power of the Soviet government and the Communist Party, economic output, the standard of living, and Gorbachev's prestige and popularity, all declined dramatically. More and more power devolved to the Soviet republics, and some sought autonomy or full independence. In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian Republic, despite Gorbachev's opposition. In December 1991, Yeltsin, together with the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus, declared the dissolution of the USSR, making Russia a fully independent state--but considerably smaller than the Soviet Union or the old Russian Empire. Yeltsin's popularity declined during his first presidential term because he was unable to reverse economic distress and growing crime. Nonetheless, he was reelected president in 1996 following a vigorous campaign that emphasized the threat to democratization if his main opponent, Communist Party leader Gennadiy Zyuganov, was elected. The strain of the campaign caused Yeltsin to suffer a heart attack in the last days of the race. Yeltsin's second term was characterized by his precarious health and frequent and prolonged absences from public life, causing policy drift punctuated only by his arbitrary purges of prime ministers.

The structure of the Russian government has been radically transformed several times since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1990. In December 1993, a new Constitution was passed by the legislature, personally tailored for Yeltsin after he forcibly disbanded the old legislature in October 1993. The new government was a strong presidential republic. The president is directly elected for a four-year term and can be reelected only once. The Federal Assembly is a bicameral legislature, in which the more powerful lower chamber, the Duma, is popularly elected. The upper chamber, the Federation Council, is comprised of leaders of the executive and legislative branches of the 89 republics and regions of the Russian Federation. Legislative deputies also serve four-year terms and can be reelected once. The judicial branch, which is nominally independent, is the least well developed of the three. Federal judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the legislature. There is a Constitutional Court that rules on legality and constitutionality of governmental acts and on disputes between branches of government or federative entities. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate body. In mid-2000, a new Constitution was drafted, changing the process by which the prime minister's office is filled, requiring the Federal Council to approve the president's appointed candidate.


PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Vladimir Putin was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on 7 October 1952. In a 1999 memoir, he stated that his paternal grandfather had been a cook for Lenin and Stalin, and that his father had worked for the security apparatus. He graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1975, with a Masters of Economics, and immediately joined the Committee for State Security (KGB). He then attended the Red Banner Intelligence School, learning spy craft and fluency in German, and attaining his black belt in judo. In his 1999 memoir, he stated that he had tried to join the KGB as a teenager but was told to pursue a law degree. He is fluent in German. His wife, Lyudmila, was a university professor before assuming her position as Russia's first lady. In October 2001, she became head of the Center of the Development of the Russian Language, an organization that seeks to preserve and promote Russian as an official language in the former Soviet republics. The couple has two daughters, Maria and Katerina. Putin participates in several sports, including skiing and judo.


RISE TO POWER

In 1975, Putin joined the staff of the First Chief Directorate for Foreign Intelligence of the KGB, and was assigned to the Leningrad branch, where until 1978 he helped to shadow foreign visitors. In 1985, he was assigned to counterintelligence duties in Dresden (in then-East Germany), where he served for five years. Reportedly, he checked the loyalty of Soviet diplomats and other personnel and recruited secret informants who could report on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) affairs. In 1990, he returned to Leningrad after the collapse of East Germany and assumed the post of Assistant Rector (Dean) for International Affairs at Leningrad State University, working for his former teacher, Rector Anatoliy Sobchak. Reportedly, there he also checked on the loyalty of students and monitored foreigners. In 1991, upon Sobchak's election as Chairman of the Leningrad City Council, Putin became his advisor, and retired from the KGB with the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1991-1994, Putin was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the City Council, and in 1992-1994 was also the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg. From 1994-1996, Putin was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the City Council (renamed First Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg).

When Sobchak lost a re-election bid in 1996, Putin asked his Moscow friends for help in finding a job, and Pavel Borodin, head of the State Property Administration under the Russian Presidency, brought Putin to Moscow to work as his deputy business manager. In this post, Putin gained major recognition as an efficient and discrete manager of presidential assets and properties, such as dachas, limousines, hospitals, and spas. Success led to his being appointed head of the Presidential Administration and chief of the Control (disbursing) Department of the Presidency from 1997-1998. In 1998, he was named director of the Federal Security Service (counterintelligence agency), and from March 1999 until August 1999, was also the secretary of the Russia Security Council, the top national security decision-making body, headed by the president. On 9 August 1999, Yeltsin appointed him acting prime minister, and on 16 August 1999, he was confirmed by the legislature.

In 1999, President Yeltsin faced increasing scandal as international investigations seemingly pointed to his family's involvement in financial crimes. He resigned on 31 December 1999, a few months before his term would normally end. He had appointed Putin as prime minister in August 1999, and hailed him as his choice for the presidency. Early presidential elections were scheduled for 26 March 2000. Some observers speculate that Yeltsin and his supporters viewed Putin as a capable leader who would be able to shield Yeltsin from prosecution for corruption. They note that Putin's first move after being appointed acting president was to sign a decree granting Yeltsin immunity from prosecution.

During the March 2000 presidential election, Putin refused to outline his policy program in any detail or debate other candidates, but took positions on some issues. He called for a strong and stable Russia, fighting crime, and law and order (exemplified by fighting Chechen terrorists). He stressed that "the stronger the state, the freer the individual," trying to equate safety and freedom. He also argued that a strong state is "part of Russia's genetic code." His other major campaign themes and promises included creating a level playing field in economy with no favors for oligarchs; raising pensions to seniors from US$25 to $35 as a moral necessity; making an inventory of Russia's resources and assets; retaining some nationalized defense industries; and increasing support for the armed forces and defense industries. He also stressed the need for low taxes that are widely collected, rather than high taxes that are rarely collected, and land reform (though he was vague on private property rights). Putin's vague promises and themes aimed at a middle-of-the-road, inclusive campaign that did not alienate possible constituencies. A slight decline in Putin's lead near election day led pro-Putin media to launch an ominous anti-Semitic attack against liberal Yabloko Party candidate Grigoriy Yavlinskiy, and Putin put added pressure on regional leaders to deliver votes for him. According to officially reported results, Putin squeaked to a victory in the first round, something Yeltsin was not able to do in 1996. The Central Electoral Commission reported that Putin gained about 53% of 75.2 million votes cast.


LEADERSHIP

Most observers have credited Putin with being a cautious but decisive leader who likes to work outside the glare of media or public scrutiny. His early popularity was derived from his resolve in fighting in Chechnya rather than decisive economic measures or moves against corruption. He also appeared to benefit greatly from the coincidences that Chechen guerrillas invaded Dagestan and apartment bombings in Russia occurred at the time he was being positioned by Yeltsin as his successor. Putin's leadership of the Chechnya conflict provided a major boost to the government-created Unity Party and other pro-Yeltsin parties during the December 1999 Russian legislative elections, and a major blow to the Yeltsin opposition Fatherland-All Russia bloc, headed by former Prime Minister Yevgeniy Primakov and Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov of Moscow.

Kremlin politics at the time when Putin was named prime minister were focused more on the corruption scandal of the Yeltsin family than on Chechnya. Ousted Prime Minister Sergey Stepashin was advocating a more cautious, step-by-step action against Chechen terrorists, but Putin quickly endorsed giving the military a basically free hand. Putin's vigorous prosecution of the Chechnya conflict was viewed in a positive light by most Russians, providing him a major boost in his run for the presidency. In his 1999 memoir, Putin presented himself as the savior of Russia, stating that he decided, at the possible cost of his career, that he would combat the mortal threat to Russia posed by Chechen terrorists who aimed to "break up" and "Islamize" it.

From his KGB experience and role in St. Petersburg, he was a master in media manipulation and "spin," understanding that the media should not be permitted to freely cover the Chechnya conflict. Instead, the media was shown Putin's decisiveness and energy in copiloting a fighter jet to visit the troops in Chechnya. The Putin government stressed that it was combating antiterrorism in Chechnya, and highlighted Chechen guerrilla atrocities and the freeing of kidnap victims and "slaves" held by the guerrillas. Many Russians also liked Putin's use of common language or even prison slang, such as his talk of "flushing" the Chechens and "annihilating" them.


DOMESTIC POLICY

Putin's administration has kept its promise of tax reform, creating a tax system comparable to that of other advanced, market economies, while bringing tax relief to a great number of citizens. Part One of the Tax Code, implemented in 1999 dealt largely with administrative issues. Part Two came into effect in January 2001 and included a value-added tax, excise duties, and modified the personal income tax, among others. The personal income tax was reduced from rates as high as 30% to a flat rate of 13%. Putin's strategy in the tax drop was to increase compliance with tax payments. Since most Russians were unable to pay the higher rates, they simply paid nothing. After the drop, personal income tax collections in the first half of 2001 exceeded expectations. As well, the tax on corporate profits was dropped from 35% to 24%, one of the lowest rates in Europe, and payroll taxes were cut by 4%.

As the second major step in reforming Russia's economy, Putin's administration has focused efforts on reforming the three big natural monopolies: the railroad system, the gas utility Gazprom, and the national electric utility Unified Energy Systems. Under the electricity and railway restructuring plans, the government will retain control of these networks while creating competition by opening access to them on an equal basis to competitors (independent rail operators or electricity generators) in return for an access fee.

President Putin has made judicial and other legal reforms one of his top priorities, and proposed legislative changes to the Duma. Implementation of these changes will have the potential to improve the business climate as well as the protection of citizens' rights but will be a complicated process that will take several years at minimum.

There are major humanitarian and economic costs and unintended consequences of the Chechnya conflict, which erupted again in 1999 and intensified in 2002. Civilian and military casualties may well be higher than in the 1994-1996 Chechnya campaign, when 80,000-100,000 died, and military costs appear to rival the US$12-15 billion estimated for the earlier conflict. Infrastructure damage too may match or exceed that of the earlier conflict. Most Chechens are displaced and their homes damaged or destroyed. The military's indiscriminate bombing, tacit support for looting, and inadequate investigation of alleged atrocities undermine democratization, human rights, and the rule of law, according to many observers. Putin's statements about the conflict also have raised concerns about his commitment to human rights and law, including the presumption of innocence. Putin long rejected allowing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) into Chechnya, except "where and when we say, where we permit it and deem it expedient," despite Russia's assurances at the November 1999 OSCE Summit to cooperate in resolving the conflict.

In October 2002, Chechen separatist rebels seized a theater in Moscow and held some 800 people hostage. Putin responded by ordering a raid on the theater, using a powerful opiate to incapacitate the rebels. As a result of the gas, 117 hostages and 50 captors died in the rescue operation. Putin proclaimed the operation was an unprecedented success, but many questioned the effectiveness of the action due to the number of hostages who were killed. In December, Chechen suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration in Grozny, an attack Putin called "inhuman." The situation in Chechnya is also complicated by the fact that the United States, following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, announced it would pursue terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge region of Georgia, where Putin maintains Chechen rebels are fighting alongside al-Qaeda operatives. The United States, has stated its unequivocal opposition to any unilateral military action Russia might take in Georgia.


FOREIGN POLICY

Despite Putin's initial anti-Western political stand, Russia continues to take important steps to become a full partner in the world's principal political groupings. In December 1991, Russia assumed the permanent seat formerly held by the Soviet Union on the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Russia also is a member of the OSCE and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). It signed the NATO Partnership for Peace initiative in June 1994. Russia and the European Union (EU) have continued to honor partnership and cooperation agreements. In 1997, Russia was invited to be an annual participant in the G-7 economic club of industrialized democracies, causing the dub to be dubbed the G-8. The other members of the G-8 are: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Russia has played an important role in helping mediate international conflicts and has been particularly actively engaged in trying to promote a peace following the conflict in Kosovo. Russia is a cosponsor of the Middle East peace process and supports UN and multilateral initiatives in the Persian Gulf, Cambodia, Angola, the former Yugoslavia, and Haiti. It has accepted UN and/or OSCE involvement in instances of regional conflict in neighboring countries, including the dispatch of observers to Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Security Council secretary Sergey Ivanov, Putin's appointee, stated in March 2000 that internal economic threats to Russia's security were more worrisome than external threats, and would be of most concern to Putin. Russia's need for foreign investment, however, suggests continued ties with the West, according to many observers.

Putin's early arms control announcements sent mixed messages to the West, but he dearly demonstrated his support for some strategic arms control by convincing the Duma on 14 April 2000 finally to ratify START II, which calls for a significant reduction in strategic nuclear warheads for both the United States and Russia by 2007. Putin, however, continued to question amending the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. In his first major foreign policy statement as president-elect, Putin told nuclear weapons industry officials that he wanted "to make our nuclear weapons complex more safe and effective," as well as "preserve and strengthen" it. In May 2002, Putin and U.S. president George W. Bush announced a new agreement on strategic nuclear weapons reduction, which would reduce operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a level of 1,700 to 2,200 over 10 years. This "Moscow Treaty" was followed by an agreement between Russia and NATO to establish a "NATO-Russia Council" whereby Russia and the 19 NATO member states would cooperate on counterterrorism policy and other issues. U.S.-Russian relations soured, however, in June 2002, when the U.S. announced it formally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and Putin pulled out of the START II Treaty.

Just before Putin's election, he and his Security Council approved a draft foreign policy concept, a traditional Soviet-type set of guidelines that are supplemented by a military doctrine and ostensibly flow from an overarching national security concept. (Putin approved the national security concept in January 2000 and a draft military doctrine in February 2000.) The national security concept highlights Russia's economic crisis and social and political instability as its main national security problems. It also threatens the use of nuclear weapons to deter conventional attacks. The draft military doctrine places some emphasis on the possibility of counterbalancing NATO expansion and operations. During Putin's premiership, the defense budget has been increased and he has called for more support for the defense and security agencies, indicating his possible future actions. The foreign policy concept highlighted Russia's foreign economic interests and concerns about the treatment of the 20 million Russians residing in the "near abroad" former Soviet republics.

Also in line with the foreign policy concept, Putin has supported ties with China to counter what Russia and China have termed U.S. "hegemony." Putin's government has conducted talks with China on arms and oil sales. Russia has supported China on the Taiwan issue, and China has supported Russia on Chechnya.

Putin faced a major foreign policy situation in 2002-03, with the crisis in Iraq. On 8 November 2002, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, calling upon Iraq to disarm itself of any chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons and weapons capabilities it might possess, to allow for the immediate return of UN and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) weapons inspectors to the country, and to comply with all previous UN resolutions regarding the country since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. The United States and the United Kingdom were amassing troops in the Persian Gulf region, and threatened "serious consequences" if Iraq did not comply with Resolution 1441. France, Germany, and Russia, in particular, expressed serious disagreement with this aggressive stance. France led the opposition to war, and threatened the use of its veto in the Security Council if the United States and the United Kingdom demanded a second resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, but Putin strongly supported France's position. Diplomatic efforts at conflict resolution ended in March 2003, and on 19 March, the U.S.-led coalition went to war in Iraq. After the Iraqi regime was defeated in April, French president Jacques Chirac, German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and Putin met to insist that a leading role be played by the UN in Iraq's reconstruction. Putin, who had previously called the war "a big political mistake," softened his stance towards the United States following the fall of Baghdad, and stressed the fact that Russia and the U.S. are the largest nuclear powers on the globe, and share a responsibility for maintaining international peace.

In April, Putin stated: "In solving any problems of a global character, including crisis situations, we have always cooperated, are cooperating and will cooperate with the United States." Iraq holds approximately US$52 billion in contracts with Russia, primarily in energy and communications, which Russia expects Iraq to honor. In addition, Iraq owes Russia more than US$8 billion, part or all of which the United States is hoping Russia will forgive, so as not to overburden a new Iraqi regime.


-- Jeneen Hobby


PERSONAL INFORMATION
Addresses: Office: The Kremlin, Moscow, Russian Federation.

FURTHER READINGS

References


Franchetti, Mark. "Agent Reveals Young Putin's Spy Disaster." London Sunday Times, March 19, 2000.


Karasik, Theodore. "Putin's Chechen War and the Rebirth of Yuriy Andropov." Analyst, January 5, 2000.


Kramer, Mark. "If It Looks Like the KGB, and Acts Like the KGB." Washington Post, March 19, 2000.


Lloyd, John. "The Logic of Vladimir Putin." New York Times, March 19, 2000, p. 62.


Nesirky, Martin. "Putin Aims to Restore Pride of Armed Forces." Reuters, March 20, 2000.


Paddock, Richard C. "Putin's Obscure Path." Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2000, p. A1.


"Paper Carries Putin Biography," Foreign Broadcast Information Service, USSR Daily Report/Central EurasiaDaily Report (hereafter FBIS), March 23, 2000.


"Putin Inaugural Address 7 May." FBIS, May 7, 2000.


"Putin Remarks in Book Criticized." FBIS, March 21, 2000.


"Putin Sets out Campaign Principles." FBIS, February 29, 2000.


"Putin's Foreign Policy: Four Viewpoints." Russia Brief, Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 2000.


"Russia: TASS Carries Updated Biography of President Putin." FBIS, March 27, 2000.


Saradzhyan, Simon, and Simon Ostrovsky. "Kremlin Softens its Antiwar Rhetoric," Moscow Times, http://www.cdi.org/russia/251-1.cfm (April 15, 2003).


U.S. Commercial Service. http://www.usatrade.gov (April 2002).


U.S. Department of State. http://www.state.gov (April 2002).

Опубликовано на Порталусе 04 сентября 2007 года

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