The Rise of Vladimir Putin

Preteaching

Bio   Born 1952 (age 62) in Leningrad

(current St. Petersburg)

  Served in the KGB 1975-1991 as a spy-recruiter in Germany

  1991-1997 worked up through the ranks of city government in St. Petersburg and then Moscow

  1997-1999 worked in various positions for President Boris Yeltsin and finally became Prime Minister (PM)

President Putin   President Yeltsin resigned unexpectedly

in 1999. As PM, Putin became acting president.

  1st Presidency (2000-2008) – ineligible for third term, so agreed to swap positions with the Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev.

  Prime Minister (2008-2012) – appointed by Medvedev on his election as president.

  2nd Presidency (2012-Present) – elected for a third term, appointed Medvedev as his PM.

Democracy Rollback?   There have been questions about the validity of

elections under Putin

  The President has been given the power to dismiss the 89 Russian “governors”

  Other powerful Russians have been imprisoned or exiled on questionable evidence

  The free press and free speech have been limited. Opponents of Putin have been jailed for speaking out, the internet has been restricted, and the government has taken control of mass media (TV, Radio). International media has been forced off of the air.

  Paramilitary pro-Putin groups (e.g. Nashi)

Conflicts Under Putin   Ukraine: annexation of Crimea,

support for rebels in East Ukraine (Novorossiya)

  Georgia: support for breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia

  Russia: breakaway provinces of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan

  Moldova: support for breakaway province of Transnistria

  Azerbaijan: support for Armenia and the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh

  Syria: Support for the Dictator Bashar al-Assad to crush rebels

Russia Tests NATO (2014-17)