Putin and Orange Revolution Essays

Former President Viktor Yankovich made a phone call to Vladimir Putin seeking help. He had called while he was in hiding fleeing to Russia right after that conversation, around a two years ago shortly after over a 100 people were killed in a 48 hour protest. He fled his own country for his own safety. The fact that he fled as president to a neighboring countryRussia, shows just what type of situation this man was left

Putin displays an image of power that radiates to his people and either strikes fear or inspires hope for a better future for Russia. He began his political march towards the presidency as a KGB operative in Germany in the last few years the USSR remained to stand. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Putin moved back to St. Petersburg and took a job in the mayor's office as an advisor on international affairs. That was when he began his slow crawl to power eventually earning the position of Prime Minister under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin. At the end of Yeltsin's weak and controversial presidency, the Russian people were eager to find a president who was strong and capable of leading Russia to its rightful glory. Putin offered this in the form of a former KGB operative who will ride a bear shirtless and who will meet opposition with no fear. However, keep in mind that not all of Russia supports Putin. Upon Putin's third reelection into presidency, a somewhat violent protest broke out in which 250 people were arrested. Miriam Elder of The Guardian recalls that the protest "began peacefully as more than 20,000 Russians took to the streets" who were also chanting things like "Putin is a thief" (Elder 5). They were later met at Blotnaya square by a heavily reinforced riot police and the riot was eventually de-escalated and protestors eventually

President Putin came into office on December 31, 1999 then as acting President of Russia, as President Yeltsin announced his resignation. He then won the vote with 53 percent of the vote. (Vladimir Putin, n.d.)

Russia’s Return as a Superpower. There are concerns that Russia may once again “reassert itself militarily” (Wood 7). After the original fall of communism in 1991, Russia seemed to be on a path to democracy. Currently the notion of a democratic Russia seems to be fading as Russia “has been centralizing more and more power in the Kremlin” (Putin 2). Regional governors, who were once elected by the people, are now being appointed by Moscow.

Throughout history, certain leaders were described as having exceptional qualities, such as charisma, that enabled them to motivate followers to achieve outstanding performances. Used wisely, it’s certainly a blessing; indulged, it can be a curse and therefore, these leaders can lead people ahead or astray. Famous leaders such as Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Roosevelt all shared a similar quality, charisma, which helped them rise in power and become leaders for their countries. This rise in leadership is a cause of crisis situations, distress in people, and inspirational and charismatic leaders who give promising deliverances. At the time, many leaders were struggling to rebuild their nations and as a cause, many totalitarian dictators such

The current global economic and political climate has promoted the question of whether fascism is on the rise again. Vladimir Putin is one of the few current world leaders who has shown fascist tendencies. Putin’s Russia has many elements that are reminiscent of the early 1900’s fascism. There are many similarities between Putin’s Russia and the fundamental principles of classical fascism. Putin asserts Russian power by putting pressure on weak neighboring states, and slams the West’s criticism of his policies and actions. By annexing Crimea and supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Russia was able to justify “its military-patriotic mobilization of society” and the transformation of Russia into a “besieged fortress” (Motyl, 2016, pg. 29). The annexation of Crimea made Russian citizens feel a wave of vicarious optimism. Putin’s ‘bully’ attitude and aggression are supposed to manifest Russian ethnic and cultural revitalization after decades of decline. Similar to Mussolini, Putin is building his regime on the promises of greatness, the display of military force, and the campaign to make Russia great again. Putin’s actions and policies provide the Russian citizens with a sense of national pride, which has been lacking since the post-Soviet era. He continues to pursue strategies and policies that restore Russian pride while consolidating power and influence in Russia. Putin lacks of interest in engaging with Western politics has also contributed to the rise of his popularity at

The president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, has created and/or passed certain legislations that furthermore limit freedom of citizens. One of them gives almost unlimited power to the government to restrict access to “harmful to children or extremist content.” Additionally, the president has been known for his encouragement of severe punishment of non-violent protests and direct criticism of his power. Some protestors on the Bolotnaya Square have been sentenced to years of imprisonment for protests that should have been punished with administrative fines for minor cases of “public misconduct.” The president’s superior power is not only against ordinary citizens but against some of the wealthiest people. One such case was with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once wealthiest man in Russia, who was repeatedly sentences for years of imprisonment for new crimes, which seem to have few legal justifications.

The United States and Russia have been battling off pernicious factions menacing the stability of their democracies over the years. Russia has come a long way over the past century, enduring a number of different phases that have completely desecrated any power Russia may have had paralleled to the rest of the world. The United States, however, has been evolving into a prosperous world power that has led to new respect from many other nations. Both Russia and the United States have struggled in the past at maintaining a significant amount of cultural commitment to preservation of specific aspects of their respective democracies. Having a relatively new democracy, Russian citizens have different perceptions and expectations of government from those of United States citizens. With new liberties and freedoms, Russians are struggling to grasp the concept of capitalism and participation in government. In order to preserve strong features of democracy, such as the right to vote or freedom of speech, a country 's constituents must respect and positively view their government. They must have faith in that the government is working for their best interests. Physically, the United States and Russia have been impacted greatly by their geography. Historically, the backgrounds of Russia and the United States are of stark contrast. Traditionally, Russians have a difficult time believing in the stability of their government as it has changed a number of times.

Yet the election was not like the ones that preceded it- there were large scale demonstrations on the streets of Moscow and other metropolitan areas that were against (and some in support) of Putin. These large scale protests as Elkin notes while certainly disruptive and cast a negative light on Russia globally forced Putin to reaffirm his power when he won the election in 2012. Putin was as discussed by Moskowitz and others in class able to use the media to effectively convey his agenda. But Elkin also notes that the resurgence in popularity for Putin was not simply due to a stymied media presence. Putin strategically allowed Medvedev to become the nation’s prime minister, where he was relegated to a position where he could quietly work on making the changes he set during his presidency. Putin set about “restoring” national prestige by being firm on dealings with the west. In particular, during the crisis in Syria, he averted crisis by securing a deal that allowed Syria to dispose of the chemical weapons while also preventing U.S aggression. Elkin notes how Putin would frequently play on populism and patriotism in justifying his action- a formula which combined would ensure that in the crisis to come regarding the annexation of Crimea that he would have the support of the Russian people.

In Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, Karen Dawisha relates Russian President Vladmir Putin’s rise to power. She overarchingly claims that Putin is an authoritarian leader who has obstructed and even reverted Russia’s path of democratization, citing, amongst many factors that enabled his ascension, his “interlocking web of personal connections in which he was the linchpin” (100), money-laundering to tax havens and personal projects, and the complicity of the West. With copious research, journalistic interviews, legal documents, and even sporadic informational diagrams, it is evident why her book is so popular amongst scholars and history enthusiasts. Unfortunately however, in spite of the grand yet oftentimes substantiated claims she generates, a more subtle yet noteworthy assumption is made: that the state is a protector, as Olson proffered. She employs this theoretical underpinning from the beginning, though is not representative of Putin’s actual authoritarian regime.

Reforms and ethnic problems helped the Soviet Union collapse in 1991. What was the next move to help Russia be a major power in the world? Boris Yeltsin led Russia through most of the decade promoting something known as democracy and better living conditions than the Soviet Union. There were some failures along with success, however once Yeltsin was too old for the job he found a successor. Hence, Yeltsin passed the presidency on to Putin; the promotion of democracy was severely limited by an authoritarian leader wanting more power.

First of all, Putin had a very unique background. Masha Gessen, Russian and American journalist, author, translator and activist who has been an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claims that ¨Putinś leadership resulted from his experience as a street thug¨ (Gessen 1). Putin was not interested in school or the idea of success. When he was growing up, he always found himself in fistfights. He would fight anyone who disrespected him in any way shape or form, such as scratching them, biting them, and even ripping their hair off. Putin began looking for a place where he could learn skills to complete his will to fight. He found Sambo, which is a Soviet martial art. Sambo had changed his life from a

The two countries, Russia and Ukraine, had different reactions towards the armed violence and impeachment of the Ukrainian president. Although the majority of the Ukrainians opposed Viktor’s decision to procrastinate the signing the EU-Ukraine integration agreement, all the ex-presidents accused for its interference with the affairs of Crimean. The former presidents of Ukraine, including Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma described the present crisis as Russia’s political interventions designed to interfere with the internal affairs of Ukraine and its relationship with the European Union (Hanschke 1). The people of Crimea have not been seeking for secession from Ukraine, but their interest is to have extended autonomy and rights to govern the Crimean affairs with minimum involvement of the government of Ukraine. Russia, on the other hand, have dismissed the accusation and stated that it is pursuing the interest of the people of Crimea to join the Federation of Russia. Russia holds that the people of Crimea have the power to decide the future of their territory and Russia will be ready to respect their decision. Study shows that about 90

Many great leaders have one thing in common and that is charisma. Charismatic leaders are those that have the capability to inspire and encourage people to do more than they would normally do, despite obstacles and personal sacrifice. (Daft, R.L, pg. 364) Charisma is what provokes energy and commitment out of its followers. These leaders possess the power to motivate their followers to do almost anything. They create an atmosphere of change and express an ideal vision of a better future. The most common characteristics of the charismatic leader involve maturity, communication, humility, and inspiration. These unique qualities impact their followers and conduct themselves in such a way that allows for remarkable results. Then

Researchers have proposed several characteristics of leaders described as ‘charismatic’. The widely accepted characteristics of charismatic leaders are (Bryman et al., 2011, p. 90-91):