Vladimir Putin In Chapter Xvi Of Prince Machiavelli

In 1513, an Italian politician by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli distributed, though privately, a political treatise called The Prince. This treatise was, essentially, a guide on how to effectively rule one's country. It's important beforehand to define exactly what a Machiavellian is, before describing one. A Machiavellian is a leader who, through his power and influence, works toward the common good of his people. This can be done through fear, through deceit, even through manipulation. It is important to understand the main principle of a Machiavellian; the end justifies the means. The end being the common good of his people. Vladimir Putin is a Machiavellian in the ways he retains power, institutes reform, and executes economic

How does a leader gain and maintain the love of his people when he is killing them in mass numbers? Joseph Stalin was successful in this by following the political tactic of using fear to gain love. A tactic that was highly valued by Nicolo Machiavelli in his work The Prince. “In Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, the main character, and Old Bolshevik, Nikolaiz Rubashov, declares that “Number one” (Stalin) kept Machiavelli’s The Prince as his favorite night-table book” (Tisemanean). Stalin’s strategy of leadership can be closely compared to the strategies that Machiavelli describes in The Prince. A work that received much controversy over the lessons it preached to political leaders. It coined the phrase “the end justify the means” which follows as a consequence of considering vice a virtue. Stalin used many vices to gain and maintain his state till the day he died. Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn work, The First Circle, showcased how even on death’s door Stalin still used traits treasured in a Machiavellian prince. This paper will assess how Stalin follows Machiavelli’s guidelines for a prince in the areas of war, fear, crime, and in dealing with the people.

Putin enjoys going against the grain and fits Machiavelli’s words as someone who “must by as sly as the fox and as brutal as a lion.” Putin is never afraid to strike down groups with force, but his reputation in Syria is one of vicious swiftness. What makes Putin even more of a Machiavelli Leader is his ability to fly under the international radar, usually including the United Nations, with his motives. Another quality that Putin possesses is his manner of striving to be feared rather than revered by his people. For example, in his time in office, Vladimir Putin has struck fear into the hearts of countless Russians; with the ban of homosexuality. Not only is Putin feared by his people but he also has approval ratings of nearly eighty percent in the most recent years. This fits Machiavelli’s words in The Prince, “the wise prince makes himself feared in such a way that, if he does not gain love, he escapes hatred.” This in totality, makes Putin the ideal Machiavelli Leader because of his ability to properly blend fear and the ability to not be hated.

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.

It was interesting to read about the six points of totalitarianism; an official ideology, a single, disciplined party, terroristic police control, party monopoly of the mass media, party control of the armed forces, and central direction of the economy (Roskin 255). Russia shows these characteristics in a few distinct ways. The population cannot criticize Putin on his militaristic choices, as well his Syrian adventure. Russia also shows authoritarian characteristics, which consists of a dictator monopolizes politics (Roskin 255). Putin shows authoritarian characteristics as well, with most of the media supporting Putin and the citizens not being able to criticize Putin for his militaristic moods.

Putin is former KGB and he has deep Soviet ties as well as ideology. Russia is a one party dominant state. Putin utilizes his power in order to keep his people in check and assert his dominance. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a great show of his power to everyone in the world. Russia occupies Crimea but they have vitrually no power, this is another example of Russia assymetrical federalism. Putin and the Kremlin have been known to take out most people who oppose them. For example Anna Politkovskaya a journalist who was suddenly killed because she was speaking out against the government. Another example is Alexey Navalny who is a political activist and he often times gets arrested right before an organized protest takes place. Vedzhie Kashka is just another example of the tyrant that Vladimir Putin

When looking at the concept of authority, Vladimir Putin does not have a problem as he is the elected President of a large and influential country—Russia. As such Putin uses his position as a Head of State to try and enhance his authority by calling for unity between the two countries. This op-ed was printed in the foremost newspaper in the U.S. on September 11, 2013. It is on this date that Americans celebrate their resolve and unity. To the global population, this authority would be enough to lend him credibility; but to a skeptical American populous, this could be seen as an outsider taking advantage of a

In the first days of Putin's presidency, he made state media and private owned broadcast media under Kremlin surveillance, to filter what the Russian citizens are watching and perceiving. He began by destroying the NTV news, as the president of the station Dobrodeev was expelled from his position. Ostrovsky comments, “Tempting though it may be to portray NTV journalists as altruistic defenders of freedom and speech, this would be misleading as presenting their opponents as stewards of justice. Many of the journalists, spoiled and compromised by their inflated status and their own cynicism, which they had seen as an asset when they were in power, now invoked moral values in their time of need. 282. Furthermore, Putin begins his widespread propaganda movements with his now state-controlled media. The bombing of the apartments in Moscow by the alleged Chechen terrorists, instills fear in citizens as they realize the print and television towers will not protect them from danger. Therefore, the media influence began to self-destruct. Putin then begins to utilise his control panel, by using media as a tactic of spreading false but undeniably fearsome stories of ethnic cleansing of Georgian villages by South Ossetian irregulars. This was proved false, but the idea of Georgia as an aggressor and threat to the Russian people helped the

In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell the corrupt fictional government of Oceania closely resembles the real life government of Russia, whose unscrupulous actions have been condemned for over 120 years. Much like Big Brother from the novel 1984, Russian President Vladimir Putin controls the news that his citizens are allowed to view. Every piece of information released in Russia is carefully selected and monitored by the government, dubbed the Kremlin (Shuster, and McDonald-gibson). For the last 10 years that Putin has been in power, the Russian government has faced many ups and downs.

¨Every prince ought to desire to be considered compassionate and not cruel.¨ Notice in this quote from Niccolo Machiavelli's ¨The Prince¨ the word ¨considered¨ is used, rather than something more firm or nothing at all. The point Machiavelli is making is that as a ruler, one must only look like a kind person rather than actually being one. Machiavelli expresses multiple times in his writing that when ruling, using fear is safe and easy to maintain while using love can be messy and full of expectations to uphold. To Machiavelli, the goal is for the ruler to show compassion while still keeping his fear factor, which will help him have an easier time maintaining power. That probably worked when a select few held all the power. In the modern world however, there are more rulers than just Machiavelli’s princes and in most cases it is better to show love rather than to incite fear because the power is now in the hands of the people.

The Prince, written by Niccoló Machiavelli, is essentially a guide for to-be rulers on how to be successful, in running a state, monitoring political issues, and so on. The book is a handbook that was dedicated, as said by Machiavelli in the dedicatory letter, to Lorenzo de’ Medici, who was the governor of Florence at the time. Machiavelli discusses, in thorough detail, necessary characteristics that a leader should possess in order for him to become victorious in his reign. An important concept that Machiavelli address is how virtue and fortune connect and affect the ability of the ruler to keep power. In Chapter XVIII, he implicitly defines virtue as the qualities needed by a prince to rule effectively and in favor of the people.

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (1469-1527) is one of history’s most renowned political theorists. Truly a “Renaissance Man”, he excelled in many disciplines and was an avid scholar of the ancients, but his most enduring legacy has been his political theories, particularly those outlined in The Prince. Popular culture, however, has a skewed perception of Machiavelli’s own personal political ideals. Although Machiavelli’s The Prince discusses governance of a principality from the point of view of the prince, his longer work, The Discourses, extolls the virtues of republics and provides a detailed analysis of the republics of Ancient Italy compared to modern Italian republics and more closely

Russia is under the direct control of the harsh leadership of Vladimir Putin. “He is a thug, but we have no option other than to deal with him and his cronies. He is

Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a "training guide" for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all "training" must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case.

In recent times, no one can take total power by force alone; you must offer something favorable to the people in order to obtain support. Unfortunately, there are some countries that follow a dictatorship system, which is a form of government that includes social and political power to ensure that the individual’s capability remains strong. Vladimir Putin is a contemporary dictator of Russia. His rebelliousness as a child has led him to his leadership. His cold-heartedness to his rivals and invasion towards countries has led to an opposition towards him. Vladimir Putin’s experience as a street thug led him to his leadership, which easily rose him to power: Not only has he committed crimes against humanity, but he has made groups of people and countries oppose him.