Difference between revisions of "Vladimir Putin"

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-{{Officeholder
-|name=Vladimir Putin
-|image=Vladtheimpaler.jpg
-|party=[[United Russia]]
-|offices=|offices={{Officeholder/president
-	|country=Russia
-	|number=2th and 4th
-	|terms=2000-2008 (first), May 7, 2012- (second)
-	|vp=Dmitry Medvedev
-	|preceded=[[Boris Yeltsin]] (First term), Dmitry Medvedev (Second term)
-	|succeeded
-	}}
-|religion=claimed [[Russian Orthodox]], previously [[Atheist]]
-}}
-'''Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Владимир Владимирович Путин) (born October 7, 1952) was reelected president of the [[Russian Federation]] in 2012, after serving as prime minister since May 8, 2008, and previously serving as [[president]] since December 31, 1999, the day [[Boris Yeltsin]] resigned from the presidency.<ref>Putin was later elected president by 54% of the electorate on March 26, 2000.</ref> A [[Christian]] himself, Putin governs a nation that is rapidly becoming more Christian and more [[conservative]], and his snubbing of [[liberal]] [[Obama]] in May 2012 suggests that Putin is well aware of how conservative his country is becoming.  On social issues and taxation, Russia under Putin is more conservative today than the [[Western Europe]].
-Putin has been complimentary of [[Donald Trump]], and it appears they will work well together to defeat [[ISIS]]. [[Forbes]] ranked Putin as the most powerful man in the world as of December 2016, while Obama was ranked #48. As someone who rules in the style of the czars, he has before called the Bolsheviks traitors to Russia. <ref>https://www.rt.com/politics/putin-accuses-bolsheviks-treason-877/</ref> Putin gains popularity every time he challenges the U.S. or Europe, or sends troops into Georgia.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/datablog/2015/jul/23/vladimir-putins-approval-rating-at-record-levels</ref> Putin's Russia is an authoritarian system, with restricted capitalism, a rubber stamp parliament, pliant media, imprisoned or exiled oligarchs, harassed NGOs, marginalized pro-Western, democratic parties, and a foreign policy based on bullying and military strength, all based on money from oil and gas.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2016/09/20/putin-brings-back-the-kgb-as-russia-moves-from-authoritarian-to-totalitarian/#48e4a416398a</ref><ref>http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32860526</ref>
-In terms of achievements, Putin has successfully opposed the [[homosexual agenda]] and has supported [[pro-life]] reforms.  He has also stabilized the Russian economy and restored Russia's national pride, largely by politically exploiting the financial windfall of Europe's need for Russian oil and gas. Russians were enthusiastic that he ended the social chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent pell-mell privatization of the state-owned economy.  Many Russians have been mesmerized by the new glitter of Moscow and the restored glamour of St. Petersburg. Russia's revived self-pride follows the humiliation of the chaos after 1991 and the incompetence of his predecessor [[Boris Yeltsin]]. Russians have a long history of authoritarian governments and a strong diastase for anarchy. They have little experience with freedom. The Russian mafia, which is more sophisticated than its counterparts elsewhere, controls more than 40 percent of the total economy. Their control is thought to be even greater in certain areas, such as banking, real estate, and consumer markets.<ref>[http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/janfeb97/art4.htm Louise I. Shelley, ''The Price Tag of Russia's Organized Crime'']</ref> In November 2014, Putin started allowing his citizens to own concealed firearms for self-defense. <ref>https://www.rt.com/news/206703-russia-guns-self-defense/</ref> However, Russia under Putin covertly suppressed Christianity.<ref>http://www.christianpost.com/news/russia-persecution-christians-intensifies-putin-cant-be-trusted-experts-warn-184255/</ref>
-[[Robert Kraft]], the owner of the [[New England Patriots]], accused Putin of stealing Kraft's [[Super Bowl]] ring.  Putin responded that Kraft gave it to him as a gift.
-==Background==
-Putin was born in [[Leningrad]] on [[October]] 7, 1952 and was baptized as an Orthodox Christian and continue to be a member to this day. Putin was a judo champion in his youth.<ref>http://nypost.com/2013/11/13/vladimir-putin-is-tougher-than-chuck-norris/</ref> He was educated in law and economics at Leningrad State University before being assigned to work in the [[KGB]].<ref>[http://en.putin.kremlin.ru/ Webpage of Vladimir Putin]</ref>  After five years in [[East Germany]], he took up various political positions before becoming [[prime minister]] in 1999.
-He was married to Lyudmila Putina, a former stewardess with Aeroflot, from July 28, 1983, until 2014, when the two divorced. They have two daughters.
-===Political career===
-Putin is mainly backed by the [[United Russia]] (''Единая Россия'') party, which currently holds a majority in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, known as the ''Duma''.  The party usually reflects the political views of Putin, which are that of moderate conservatism and nationalism. On March 14, 2004, he was elected to a second term as president with 71% of the vote. Barred from a third consecutive term by the Russian constitution, Putin ceded the presidency to [[Dmitry Medvedev]] on May 7, 2008, and became Prime Minister, at the time sharing power with the more moderate Medvedev. Medvedev did not run for a second term, and, as a result, Putin was re-elected in 2012.
-===Foreign Policy===
-Putin is an active interventionist, which brought Russia back on the world stage since the fall of the [[Soviet Union]], this is one of the most important reasons why [[Cold War]] features takes back, especially with the [[United States]] which is the only world superpower after the end of the Cold War.<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-07/putins-back-on-the-world-stage/4415318</ref>
-====Escalating tensions in the Obama era====
-Putin is seen as an antagonist by [[liberal]]s in the West, who are angry about their inability to push the [[homosexual agenda]] and pro-[[abortion]] policies on Russia. Putin views NATO enlargement by absorbing former Soviet client states as a potential threat to the Russian Federation. Putin has proposed a policy of "Findlandization", i.e., making permanently neutral the Ukraine and Georgia and not incorporating them into NATO under the US's Partners for Peace program. Putin's alleged rigged election system, nuclear energy contracts and military alliance with Iran have heightened tensions. According to [[mainstream media]], the decline of [[human rights]] in Russia has been dramatic; for example, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in Moscow,<ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref>
-Putin has even exercised power over the Russian supreme court. Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev was forced to resign after warning that Russian security agencies now control the country as they did in Soviet times and expressing alarm over their lack of accountability. Justice Anatoly Kononov was likewise forced out after defending Yaroslavtsev.<ref>[http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009/12/are_you_an_independent_russian_judge_youre_fired.htm ''Are You An Independent Russian Judge? You're Fired'', RobertAmsterdam.com]</ref>
-Many who have reported or protested such things have found themselves being repressed - or killed.<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/putins_own_worst_enemy.html Kim Zigfeld, ''Putin's Own Worst Enemy''] American Thinker, December 08, 2009</ref><ref>http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/editorial-another-russian-journalist-takes-the-putin-plunge</ref> Journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]], an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>
-Despite these negatives – or perhaps because of the strong hand they reveal – Putin remains popular in Russia.<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref> Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity,<ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]] argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet".<ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref>
-====Relations with U.S.====
-=====Relations under George W. Bush=====
-Initially relations between [[George W. Bush]] and Putin were good, with Putin lending passive support to Bush's war on global terror. Putin was restrained from giving much assistance outside the Russian Federation, being pre-occupied with the [[Islamist]] movements waging [[jihad]] inside his own borders.
-In Bush's late second term, Putin was concerned about jihadist infiltration from [[Turkey]] and [[Syria]] through the [[Republic of Georgia]], and intervened. Former members of the [[Warsaw Pact]], who were more supportive of the war on terror than even the US population, then asked for deployment of missile defense systems on their territories, which the [[Bush administration]] was inclined to favor as a reward for their help. Russia considered missile defense deployment on their borders overt acts of hostility. Barack Hussein Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, in competition to outdo each other, condemned George W. Bush and [[Condoleezza Rice]] by sidling up to the Russians and Islamists whom the [[Democrat]]s portrayed as oppressed victims of a [[globalism|global]] [[neocon]] [[conspiracy]].
-===== Relations under Barack Obama =====
-[[File:Targeted sanctions.jpg|right|400px|thumb|''Targetted Sanctions'', from a Moscow art exhibition.]]
-President [[Barack Obama]] and Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] initially cozied up to Putin, charging the Bush administration was intent on reigniting the [[Cold War]]. However once the Rosatom-Uranium One deal was completed and the [[Clinton Foundation]] pocketed millions of dollars from Putin cronies in donations and speaking fees, relations began to sour as the Obama administration could no longer ignore geopolitical realities. Putin had protested the Obama administrations illegal drone strikes, and the administration placed sanctions on Russian leaders ostensibly in retaliation for the Crimean referendum.<ref>https://youtu.be/I-9aD45qxbE</ref>
-President Obama's decision to move an anti-missile defense system to [[Romania]] during the [[2016 US Presidential election]] only heightened tensions. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grave danger to Russia's security, called Obama's decision dangerous. This coupled with Obama's implementation of sanctions rather than honor the [[American foreign policy#1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances|1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances]] negotiated by the [[Clinton administration]], displaying it as an empty promise to guarantee Ukrainian independence, only further exposed the befuddlement and inability of the Obama administration to stand by US commitments and the weaknesses of NATO.
-In September 2013, Putin gave a speech stating the need to strengthen Russian culture with traditional values and the Orthodox Christian church. Also, he condemned Western nations and their godless pursuit of [[political correctness]] and [[homosexuality]].<ref>[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/cdedfd64-214f-11e3-a92a-00144feab7de.html#axzz2jdyir54U Putin urges Russians to return to values of religion, FT.com, September 19, 2013]</ref>
-In early September 2013, Putin expressly observed that liberal [[John Kerry]] is a liar.
-===== Relations under Donald Trump =====
-President [[Donald Trump]] accused Putin of taking [[Crimea]] by force and asked whether Obama was too soft on Russia.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russia-latest-tweet-accuse-crimea-obama-too-soft-distance-campaign-team-white-house-a7581511.html Donald Trump accuses Russia of taking Crimea by force in attempt to distance himself from campaign allegations]</ref> In March 2017 the US department of state strongly condemned the arrests of hundreds of protesters against Vladimir Putin's government.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/26/hundreds-arrested-mass-protests-against-vladimir-putins-government/ Washington condemns arrests of hundreds of protesters against Vladimir Putin's government]</ref> The US Secretary of State [[Rex Tillerson]] said that US sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Moscow "reverses the actions" it has taken in Ukraine.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/31/politics/rex-tillerson-russia-ukraine/ Tillerson: US to maintain Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia until Crimea is returned]</ref>
-In response to the April, 4 chemical attack on Khan Shaykhun in [[Syria]], President Trump launched 59-Tomahawk rockets on a Syrian Air base nearby, tensions led up with Russia, Syria's ally, Putin has called that the US attack was an "illegal act of aggression",<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4389332/Russia-calls-airstrikes-Syria-act-aggression.html</ref> and answered this attack by sending a frigate to the military base in Syria.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/world/middleeast/russia-iran-us-strikes-syria.html?_r=0</ref> In April 2017 Putin explained that the US-Russia relations have gotten worse under Trump.<ref>http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/228064</ref>
-====Relations with the EU====
-In 2014 Putin founded the [[Eurasian Economic Union]] to oppose the [[European Union]].
-After [[Crimea]] joined Russia, the [[European Union]] imposed sanctions against Putin and his government.<ref>http://rt.com/business/168192-eu-sanctions-crimea-deadlock/</ref>
-The relations within the EU are different and divided, it is mainly the following countries advocating namely an aggressive attitude towards the Russian government: the Baltic states ([[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]])  [[Poland]], [[Sweden]], [[Netherlands]], [[Germany]], [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom]],<ref>http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/russian-sanctions-debate-divides-eu/</ref><ref>https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4464/eu-russia</ref>
-while the follow countries belong to the pro Kremlin camp or want to maintain a better relationship: [[Hungary]], [[Italy]] and [[Czech Republic]].
-Also, multiple nationalist parties in the EU appreciate Putin's policies against the Leftist liberal dominance in Europe, like [[Marine Le Pen]]s [[French National Front|National Front]].
-==See also==
-* [[Dmitri Medvedev]]
-* [[Russian Federation]]
-* [[Crisis in Ukraine]]
-*[[Russophobia]]
-[[File:V Putin.jpg]]
-==Further reading==
-* Baker, Peter, and Susan Glasser. ''Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution'' (2nd ed. 2007); [http://www.amazon.com/Kremlin-Rising-Vladimir-Revolution-Updated/dp/1597971227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256923460&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
-* Goldman, Marshall I. ''Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Petrostate-Putin-Power-New-Russia/dp/0195340736/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256915128&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
-* Lucas, Edward. ''The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/New-Cold-War-Putins-Russia/dp/0230614345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256915128&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
-* Stuermer, Michael. ''Putin and the Rise of Russia'' (2009)
-* Wegren, Stephen K., and Dale R. Herspring, eds. ''After Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain'' (4th ed. 2009) [http://www.amazon.com/After-Putins-Russia-Imperfect-Uncertain/dp/0742557855/ref=tmm_pap_title_0 excerpt and text search]
-==References==
-<references/>
-==External links==
-* [http://putin.kremlin.ru/ Official Putin Website]
-* [http://kremlin.ru/ Official President of Russia Website]
-* [[David Horowitz|Horowitz, David]], [http://frontpagemag.com/2013/frontpagemag-com/putin-and-the-shadow-of-the-kgb-on-the-glazov-gang/ Putin and the shadow of the KGB on the Glazov Gang], Sherman Oaks, [[California]]: [http://www.frontpagemag.com/about/ David Horowitz Freedom Center]], Published April 5, 2013.
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Putin, Vladimir}}
-[[Category:Current Heads of State]]
-[[Category:Russian People]]
-[[Category:Russian Political People]]
-[[Category:Orthodox Christians]]
-[[Category:Conservatives]]
-[[Category:Billionaires]]

Difference between revisions of "Vladimir Putin"

Revision as of 22:23, July 25, 2017

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