[ad_1]
Russian President Vladimir Putin overthrew decades of peace and stability in Europe with the unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Experts tell VOA that he is an ideological leader who aims to restore Russia to the status of a superpower it lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, Russia in 1952. In 1975, he joined the Russian foreign intelligence service, the KGB, and settled in Germany, before entering politics.
In late 1999, President Boris Yeltsin resigned following a scandal, giving Mr Putin the post of incumbent president in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Since then he has controlled power in Moscow, winning elections several times, increasingly seen as rigged, evading mandate restrictions and imprisoning, or trying to assassinate his main political opponents, says Michael Kimmage from German Marshall Fund.
“There are many cases of journalists, intelligence officials, or others who have been killed. “They are supposed to have been carried out on Putin’s orders, or at least under the command of his subordinates.”
Vladimir Putin has cultivated the image of a powerful man with authority and knowledge of everything. This is in line with the ideology of his leadership, says psychology professor Samuel Hunter, while adding that leaders like him see from the past.
“They talk about a time when things were better. They talk about how under their leadership they will return to the era when they had more influence and power. “Putin is a good example of this.”
Mr Putin wants Russia to be treated as a superpower again, says Angela Stent of the Brookings Institution.
“He believes that the rest of the world should treat Russia like the former Soviet Union. “He does not want the return of the Soviet Union, but he wants to be treated as a great power, whose views are respected, so that people are afraid of Russia and accept that it is its right to extend its influence to neighboring countries.” .
Analyst Kimmage agrees.
“In his eyes, he is a great Russian patriot. He is committed to the Russian past and greatness, as a motivating force. “Of course, the starting point is his desire for power and the withdrawal he had from the KBG as a strong institution.”
Despite Russia’s relatively weak economy, Mr. Putin has been embroiled in major conflicts around the world and has built strong alliances that have boosted his popularity in the country, says Elizabeth Shackelford of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
“The main thing is that he came and really turned Russia into a big player on the world stage, after a time when Russia was really left out. “He did it by hitting beyond his means,” she said.
Although he has engaged Russian troops in brutal conflicts, launching a full-scale offensive against Ukraine came as a surprise to many due to the high degree of risk, including former President Barack Obama.
“He was always ruthless. You witnessed what he did in Chechnya. He had no problem suppressing those he saw as a threat. This is not something new. “But five years ago I never thought it would reach this point.”
Experts say that since the beginning of the pandemic, Mr. Putin remained alone and more isolated than ever, as he appeared to be taking extreme measures to defend himself in the meetings he had shortly before the attack on Ukraine with some world leaders, who were vaccinated and tested for COVID./VOA
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
