Vladamir Putin: Just Popular, or Pulling The Strings? - General

[IMG]http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/images-8/Vladimir-Putin-soviet.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин, IPA: [vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn]; born 7 October 1952) served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move. Putin won the 2000 presidential election and in 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term. After the victory of his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, in the 2008 presidential elections, Putin was nominated by Medvedev to be Russia's Prime Minister; Putin took the post on 8 May 2008. In September 2011, Putin officially announced that he will seek a third non-consecutive term in the 2012 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing the rule of law in the country. He successfully restored the territorial integrity of Russia in the Second Chechen War. During Putin's presidency, Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, growing for nine straight years and seeing GDP increase by 72% in PPP (sixfold in nominal), poverty decrease by more than 50%, and average monthly salaries increase from $80 to $640. These achievements were ascribed to strong macroeconomic management, important fiscal policy reforms and a confluence of high oil prices, surging capital inflows and access to low-cost external financing, and were described as impressive by analysts. During his presidency, Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. He put much effort into development of the energy policy of Russia, affirming Russia's position as an energy superpower. This included the renaissance of the nuclear industry in the country and the initiation of construction of several major export pipelines, including ESPO and Nord Stream, among other megaprojects in Russia. While many reforms and actions made during the Putin presidency have been criticized by Western observers and domestic opposition as un-democratic, Putin's leadership over the return of order, stability, and progress has won him widespread popularity in Russia. Putin often supports a tough guy image in the media, demonstrating his physical capabilities and taking part in unusual or dangerous acts, such as extreme sports and interaction with wild animals.A judoka and a Champion of Leningrad in his youth, Putin has played a major role in development of sport in Russia, notably, helping the city of Sochi to win the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[/QUOTE] Ladies and gentlemen, I ask of you a simple question to debate among the population of Facepunch, a question that I find myself asking simply because, as you read the text included in this thread, the Russian government is undergoing the process of preparing for the transfer of the office of the President of the Russian Federation from Mr. Dmitry Medvedev to Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The question is simple: Has Mr. Putin been chosen to lead the Russian Federal a second time simply because he is a good leader, and that he is popular? Or, alternatively, has he regained the possession for reasons less than democratic, to say the least. Let's look at a few tidbits of information, eh? First, a bit of history on the sort of positions Mr. Putin has played in his many years as an influential individual: [B]Pre-Berlin Wall Fall[/B] [QUOTE]Putin joined the KGB in 1975 upon graduation from university, and underwent a year's training at the 401st KGB school in Okhta, Leningrad. He then went on to work briefly in the Second Chief Directorate (counter-intelligence) before he was transferred to the First Chief Directorate, where among his duties was the monitoring of foreigners and consular officials in Leningrad, while using the cover of being a police officer with the CID. From 1985 to 1990, the KGB stationed Putin in Dresden, East Germany. Following the collapse of the East German regime, Putin was recalled to the Soviet Union and returned to Leningrad, where in June 1991 he assumed a position with the International Affairs section of Leningrad State University, reporting to Vice-Rector Yuriy Molchanov. In his new position, Putin maintained surveillance on the student body and kept an eye out for recruits. It was during his stint at the university that Putin grew reacquainted with Anatoly Sobchak, then mayor of Leningrad. Sobchak served as an assistant professor during Putin's university years and was one of Putin's lecturers. Putin resigned from the active state security services at the beginning of 1992, after the defeat of the KGB-supported abortive putsch against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev[/QUOTE] [B]Post-Fall[/B] [QUOTE]On 9 August 1999, Vladimir Putin was appointed one of three First Deputy Prime Ministers, which enabled him later on that day, as the previous government led by Sergei Stepashin had been sacked, to be appointed acting Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation by President Boris Yeltsin.[48] Yeltsin also announced that he wanted to see Putin as his successor. Later, that same day, Putin agreed to run for the presidency.[49] On 16 August, the State Duma approved his appointment as Prime Minister with 233 votes in favour (vs. 84 against, 17 abstained),[50] while a simple majority of 226 was required, making him Russia's fifth PM in fewer than eighteen months. His rise to Russia's highest office ended up being even more rapid: on 31 December 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, according to the constitution, Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation. The first Decree that Putin signed 31 December 1999, was the one "On guarantees for former president of the Russian Federation and members of his family". This ensured that "corruption charges against the outgoing President and his relatives" would not be pursued, although this claim is not strictly verifiable. Later on 12 February 2001 Putin signed a federal law on guarantees for former presidents and their families, which replaced the similar decree. In 1999, Yeltsin and his family were under scrutiny for charges related to money-laundering by the Russian and Swiss authorities. In July 2000, according to a law proposed by him and approved by the Russian parliament, Putin also gained the right to dismiss heads of the federal subjects. On 14 March 2004, Putin was re-elected to the presidency for a second term, receiving 71% of the vote. By the beginning of Putin's second term he had been accused of undermining independent sources of political power in Russia, decreasing the degree of pluralism in the Russian society. Following the Beslan school hostage crisis, in September 2004 Putin suggested the creation of the Public Chamber of Russia and launched an initiative to replace the direct election of the Governors and Presidents of the Federal subjects of Russia with a system whereby they would be proposed by the President and approved or disapproved by regional legislatures. He also initiated the merger of a number of federal subjects of Russia into larger entities. Whilst some in Beslan blamed Putin personally for the massacre in which hundreds died, his overall popularity in Russia did not suffer. One of the most controversial aspects of Putin's second term was the continuation of the criminal prosecution of Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, President of YUKOS, for fraud and tax evasion. While much of the international press saw this as a reaction against Khodorkovsky's funding for political opponents of the Kremlin, both liberal and communist, the Russian government had argued that Khodorkovsky was engaged in corrupting a large segment of the Duma to prevent changes in the tax code aimed at taxing windfall profits and closing offshore tax evasion vehicles. Putin was barred from a third term by the Constitution. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was elected his successor. On 8 May 2008—only a day after handing the presidency to Medvedev—Putin was appointed Prime Minister of Russia. [B]By all accounts, however, he still held the real power.[/B][/QUOTE] So, Facepunch, what do you guys think? Has Mr. Putin been chosen to lead the Russian Federal a second time simply because he is a good leader, and that he is popular? Or, alternatively, has he regained the possession for reasons less than democratic? --EDIT-- [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15703811[/url] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15790452[/url] Some articles that might hopefully provoke further discussion.

[QUOTE=Atlascore;32663836]Well, honestly, he seems to know what he's doing, which is incredibly rare, so I think him coming back as leader is okay, all the fucked up stuff he's done like silencing people speaking against him is just plain wrong though. In my opinion the whole "We can only have the same leader for so long" is such a stupid thing, it wastes perfectly good people, I'm pretty sure if we had Clinton in office for another four years we wouldn't be having a lot of the problems we have today, such as the war in Iraq/Afganistan and the recessions.[/QUOTE] I've always thought it quite possible to find a leader that fits a nation very well, so why not have them lead for a while longer?

I don't study Russian politics very much, so I am unaware of Putin's actual prowess. However, it is obvious that he is a popular leader. You could say that all the "manly" things he does are simply a ploy to make him seem like an example of a good and active leader to the Russian people. These ploys effectively cancel out all the negative attributes that surround him. It may be why he has survived in office for so long.

Well, he's both. He pulled the strings to become popular, and his amazing PR keeps him there. He's a smart man in doing so, but whether or not he is good for Russia is for the people to decide.

People just seem to instantly think of him as some God. Especially people who aren't Russians. He might be ok, but no doubt there's a lot of corruption involved.

Russia is obviously a dictatorship with the mask of democracy. While Putin has accomplished a lot of good things, he has also done some bad things, and it's possible that the political opposition he "eliminated" through false charges and imprisonments could be a lot better than him.

Never been a huge fan of Putin. The [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis]Moscow theater hostage crisis[/URL] surely doesn't make it better.

He's both made himself popular and is a cynical ruthless man whom has worked his way to the top and will most likely keep himself there. If you break it down, he is essentially the same as Joseph Stalin.

He brings together in one man all that is bad about Russia - corruption and ignorance.

I'd really like to know what an average Russian citizen thinks about Putin. It's one thing for us in North America and western Europe to criticize him but if the average Russian likes him it should not be our business to tell them he's bad and they need a new leader.

Yeah, are there any Russian FP'ers here that could give some input?

From what I've heard and read in the past, he is a corrupt and evil man who is likely responsible for more deaths than you would care to imagine.

I don't care about democracy anymore. If he's a good leader and people like him, then he should be in power. edit: I don't know if he is a good leader or if he is not, nor if people like him or if they dislike him. That's just my opinion on the question you asked both in the title and in the end of the post.

[QUOTE][IMG]http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/images-8/Vladimir-Putin-soviet.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] That picture ruined all my concentration :suicide:

[QUOTE=Kung Fu Jew;32671766]I don't care about democracy anymore.[/QUOTE] Ha

[QUOTE=lulzbocksV2;32671895]Ha[/QUOTE] They always inevitably collaspe into dictatorships, lasting 3 centuries at best.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;32672069]They always inevitably collaspe into dictatorships, lasting 3 centuries at best.[/QUOTE] "always", I think not.

It's quite logical he's a big mastermind in Russia. Just look, he made Medvedev a puppet and put him in presidential place while he has his presidential period due, while STILL being almost head of the country (Prime minister). 4 years past (nowadays) he will become a president again, even MEDVEDEV himself said that it was planned long time ago. I envy him. So much control and power over all of the Motherland Russia.

Putin's leadership may be a dictatorship, but he is still pretty badass for being an archaeologist, too.

I am Russian and you people amaze me Smart and popular man? Votes for president get mixed up, no one want's him to be the president. Majority of the country just [I]hates [/I]him All the people who worships him are mostly sycophants who actually can't tell the difference between a good and a bad leader Remember that Amphora story (He have found 3 historically important amphora on a first "entertaiment" dive, how amazing is that), all the Russian media was telling about how awesome Putin is for weeks, and it actually brainwashed tons of people in Russia. And a month later some people have repented that they just put it near the surface of water to "please" the leader [editline]24th October 2011[/editline] Oh by the way, I don't care about politics. But it's still clear for almost every Russian

[QUOTE=superstepa;32935546]I am Russian and you people amaze me Smart and popular man? Votes for president get mixed up, no one want's him to be the president. Majority of the country just [I]hates [/I]him All the people who worships him are mostly sycophants who actually can't tell the difference between a good and a bad leader Remember that Amphora story (He have found 3 historically important amphora on a first "entertaiment" dive, how amazing is that), all the Russian media was telling about how awesome Putin is for weeks, and it actually brainwashed tons of people in Russia. And a month later some people have repented that they just put it near the surface of water to "please" the leader [editline]24th October 2011[/editline] Oh by the way, I don't care about politics. But it's still clear for almost every Russian[/QUOTE] It took awhile but, hey, we finally got input from an actual Russian citizen. Thank you!

Putin has done many great things for Russia. But: He is a dictator, the political system is efficient but very corrupt. Secondly lots of journalists are assassinated in Russia, many seemed to be critical of Putin ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia]Here[/url])

I like Putin he also helped turn Russia around and sure he is pulling the strings, the good ones to since it worked on me.

I don't know anything about Russian politics but imo Putin seems like a sly and clever hombre. Wouldn't be surprised if he pulled many strings to get where he is now.

When I lived there his administration was pretty much a gigantic series of fuckups covered by propaganda from the media. There are worse who could be in his position, but he needs to be replaced by someone who is not in league with him.

Putin is a Stalin figure.

Come on, where are the badass pictures of him?! No Putin thread is complete without pictures. [img]http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/vladimir-putin-awesome-photos-29.jpg?w=500&h=342[/img]

Putin is a political monster. Such people shouldn't have power.

Putting cool back to communism

putin is a soviet era dictator that just so happens to be smart enough to create a cultural persona to convince westerners that he's a great leader