Essay on Putin's Reputation as the Most Interesting Man in the World

Democracy was already viewed poorly in Russia, whose only other experience plunged them deeper into the depths of World War 1. This is significant because a majority of the Russian people felt during that time that their voices were not heard. Therefore, it should be noted then, that when Yeltsin took power, Russian’s had not seen true representative democracy. When, Yeltsin took power after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russians were wary. This illegitimate view towards democracy was one of the reasons the resource curse had such a profound effect. The other that the economy was weak and the government was unstable. This in part was attributed to the loss of over 15 states when the Soviet Union fell, and the trade and overall economic problems that the new Yeltsin government assumed when this occurred. Even if Putin had been in power during this time, he would have faced similar problems, the regime was not to blame. When the Soviet Union fell, it was during a time where oil prices where falling, in fact, they would continue to fall until around 1996. The falling oil prices dramatically hurt the Yeltsin administration. When Putin took over, world prices has begun to rise, further Putin privatized part of the oil industry, which allowed new technologies to form, thus causing a booming oil economy in

He was first born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili to a poor shoemaker of a father on December 21 1879. It was a small village called Gori Georgia. He was a only child, whose father was a drunk and would beat him from time-to-time was a poor man. And a mother who did luandre just to earn more money. As a child he contracted smallpox which left him with life-long facial

Former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev presided over the disintegration of a country based on an uncompromising ideological dogma, the unlikely inheritor of Marxist/Leninist communist philosophy. The Soviet Union’s unwieldy economic superstructure left it vulnerable to Ronald Reagan’s aggressive economic/military policy, an approach based on the belief that a military build-up would force the Soviets to spend to keep pace, an effective strategy because it pushed the Soviet economy over the edge into ruin. The subsequent implosion ended communist domination in Eastern Europe and opened the way for democratic elements that radically altered the political landscape in Moscow. When the Soviet Union officially came to an end in 1993, it briefly recalled the end of tsarist rule in 1917, with the potential for the kind of chaos and violence that turned the Russian Revolution into a bloodbath. President Boris Yeltsin used the military to disband parliament but his call for new elections moved the country toward a more open, democratic form of government. Lacking any real background in representative government, Russia ultimately proved incapable of fulfilling the promise of democratic government and descended into a form of anarchy riddled by increasingly strong criminal elements. In recent years, the rise of Boris Putin, a new strongman in Moscow, helped restore a sense of order and allowed the resurgence of communist elements. The government that now holds power, and which

Russia has a great history with many different kinds of rulers, some good as well as bad. All of Russia’s leaders have had an impact on Russia today for the better or for the worse. The people who ruled Russia during wartime have had a great effect on its economy in addition to the conditions of its citizens.

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.

Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Putin are two of the most famous and influential figures of Russian history. Joseph Stalin’s iron fist ruled Russia from the mid-1920’s until his death in 1953. Under Stalin’s totalitarian government, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics played a pivotal role in several major conflicts, including World War II and the Cold War. Stalin’s main goal seemed to be expanding Russia and spreading the influence of communism. Contrastingly, Vladimir Putin has held power from 1999 to the present day. Under his government, Russia became increasingly corrupt with more aspects of a totalitarian government. Nevertheless, the Russian economy has grown at a steady rate of about seven per cent per year and poverty in Russia was halved. His overarching goal seems to be returning Russia to its former Soviet glory. Although definite differences exist between the two leaders, both leaders aim to expand Russia’s borders and power.

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.)

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was one of the KGB’s (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, or in English, Committee for State Security) greatest spies. Actually Vladimir Putin’s KGB career was, at best, mediocre to terrible according to the KGB. Nothing in his background suggests his bad record. It could just happen to be that his assignments failed due strictly to random chance, then again, this is the KGB; are they hiding something about their current president? Maybe what they are hiding is that he was one of their greatest spies.

Hundred twenty years ago a boy destined for greatness. A boy destined to reshape the world was lost before he could. This boy is Mikhail Gorbachev. He was born in March, 1931 to a Russian-Ukraine family who lived in poverty. Mikhail lived through the horrendous soviet famine. His uncles were exiled to Siberia. In the midst of all this misfortune, he managed to graduate from Moscow State University with a degree in law. Not so long after, he became general secretary of the Communist party on March 11, 1985 after Chernenko's death. Ultimately, Mikhail ended the cold war, dismantled the community power on Russia, and the Soviet union. Also took down the Berlin wall. However, this would entirely perish when a straightforward trip turns catastrophe.

The survey centered on the view of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The results surprisingly came out positive. People within the United States now views Putin more positive than they did about two years ago. This could be in part to the Russian President’s image rising within the Republican Party.

Yeltsin grew up in a small community with not much to live off of, so he often said that “I want their lives to improve before my own eyes (Berger).” Yeltsin remembered how he grew up in poverty and he did not want others to live like him, or if they were at the beginning of his presidency, he wanted to change the economy so they were able to achieve more. His perseverance to help the less fortunate is where his idea for the 500 Day Plan to reform the economy stemmed from. There were many goals throughout the plan and, “One of their goals during the first 100 days of the reform plan is to halt inflation (Goldman).” Inflation was a large problem not only in Russia but in other countries throughout Europe as well, so the hope to end inflation would greatly help the economy and the quality of people’s lives. Unfortunately, there were many problems with the transformation of the economy because the inflation was so extreme. Inflation continued to grow and, “Homelessness and poverty increased as the government failed to pay pensions or the wages of workers in the state sector. Manufacturing output continued to slump. Financial crime and corruption flourished with impunity (Steel).” Many of the economic problems that Yeltsin planned to fix failed, and actually put Russia in a worse state than it was in before. The value of the rouble, which is Russia’s currency lost almost all of its value, making inflation an even bigger problem. Throughout the 1990s, Yeltsin tried to help to recover the economy, and “Thanks to an increase in the world price of oil, Russia’s economy began to revive in 1999 but not enough to revive the president’s popularity (Steele).” At this point, the economy was improving little by little, but Yeltsin’s popularity was on a decline because of the worsen state he put Russia into economically. Even

He learnt a fluent Russian at one of the Sunday Schools organized by the church, afterwards being sent at a seminar in order to become a priest. He proved however a special interest for the socialist writings and ideas which was the reason why he was expelled in 1899. He entered in the circle of the revolutionaries and spent the next years supporting the cause of the revolution, being often thrown in prison or forced to live in intern exile. In 1912, he enrolls in the Bolshevik Party (later known as Communist), becoming member of the Central Committee.

“The prince secures himself this by avoiding being hated or despised and by keeping people satisfied with him; this is a necessary matter, as was treated above at length.” (Machiavelli 232) Putin is very popular with his Russian residents, holding an eight-nine percent approval rating. He is currently serving his third term as president of Russia, after serving one term as the country’s prime minister. It is clear the country certainly does not despise Putin. His constituents greatly support his beliefs and policies.

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.

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.