Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian statesman and political and military leader. The current President of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the State Council of the Russian Federation, and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation since May 7, 2012. Previously, he served as president from May 7, 20,0, 0 to May 7, 2008, and also in 1999-2000 and 2008-2012 he served as chairman of the government of the Russian Federation.

Graduate e of the Faculty of Law of the Leningrad State University (LSU). Since 1977, he worked in the investigative department of the USSR KGB Directorate for Leningrad and the Leningrad Region. From 1985 to 1990 he served in the residency of the Soviet foreign intelligence in the GDR. Upon his return to Leningrad, he worked as an assistant to the rector of the Leningrad State University, then as an adviser to the chairman of the Leningrad City Council, Anatoly Sobchak.

Having resigned from the KGB on August 20, 1991, he continued to work in the mayor's office of St. Petersburg. After Sobchak's defeat in the 1996 gubernatorial election, he moved to Moscow, where he was appointed deputy chief of affairs of the President of the Russian Federation. After a short tenure at the head of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and as Secretary of the Security Council, in August 1999 he headed the government.

He became the first person of the state on December 31, 1999, when, after the resignation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, he was appointed acting president. First elected President of Russia on March 26, 2000, and then re-elected in 2004, 2012, and 2018. Before the 2012 elections, the presidential term was increased from 4 to 6 years. After the adoption of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, he received the right to stand as a candidate in the presidential elections in 2024.

In early 2014, after the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, Russia, by decision of President Putin, annexed Crimea with the stated goal of “protecting the Russian-speaking population” of the peninsula, and later launched a war in Donbas.

In the autumn of 2021, another aggravation of Russian-Ukrainian relations took place, caused by the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. In February 2022, Putin signed a decree recognizing the DPR and LPR and decided to invade Ukraine. The invasion was condemned by the UN General Assembly and led to the imposition of new sanctions against Russia and its partial international isolation, which in turn caused an economic crisis in Russia. The European Union, as well as the United States, Jap, n, and several.D. other countries have introduced against Putinpersonal sanctions.

Reserve colonel (1999). Acting State Councilor of the Russian Federation, 1st class (1997). Ph.D. in Economics (1997).

Origin

According to his answer during the census, Russian by nationality.

Father - Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (February 23, 1911 - August 2, 1999), was born in the village of Pominovo, Tver district, Tver province, in 1933-to 1934 he served in the submarine fleet, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, drafted by the Peterhof RVC of the Leningrad Region. In the Red Army - since June 1941, a fighter of the 330th rifle regiment of the 86th division of the Red Army, defending the Nevsky Piglet, was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the left shin and foot on November 17, 1941. He was awarded medals: "For Military Merit", "For the Defense of Leningrad", and "For the Victory over Germany". Member of the CPSU (b) since 1941. After the war - a master at factory them. Egorova. In 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Mother - Maria Ivanovna Putina (née Shelomova) (October 17, 1911 - July 6, 1998), came from the village of Zarechye, Tver district, Tver province, where she met Vladimir Spiridonovich, also worked at a factory, survived the blockade of Leningrad. She was awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" by the KBF headquarters.

Grandfather - Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (December 19, 1879 - March 8, 1965), came from the village of Pominovo, Tver district, Tver province, at the age of 12 he was sent to "cook's teaching" in the Tver tavern, showed himself, ended up in St. Petersburg restaurant, married fellow villager Olga Ivanovna Chursanova (married to Putin), worked as a culinary specialist at Astoria on Gorokhovaya Street. In the First World War sent to the front. After the revolution, fleeing from urban famine, he moved with his family to Pominovo; then moved to Moscow. He worked as a cook in Gorki, and cooked for Nadezhda Krupskaya, Maria, and, Dmitry Ulyanovuntil their death. In 1940, he became the head cook of the boarding house of the Moscow City Committee of the Ilyichevsky Party in the village of Ilyinsky. There he fed the Minister of Culture Ekaterina Furtseva, the first secretaries of the Moscow Civil Code Viktor Grishi,n and Ivan Kapitonov, Nikita Khrushchev, and his mother worked until the age of eighty.

Putin's paternal and maternal ancestors (the Putins, the Shelomovs, the Chursanovs, the Buyanovs, the Fomins, and others) were peasants in the Tverskoy Uyezd for at least 300 years. The earliest known ancestor of Putin was mentioned in 1627-1628 in the cadastre of the Tverskoy Uyezd - this is Yakov Nikitin, the bean of the village of Borodino, the parish of the village of Turginovo, the estate of the boyar Ivan Romanov, uncle of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

Childhood and youth

Vladimir was the third son in the family. Two older brothers died before his birth: Albert (die who, d before the start of World War II) and Victor (1940-1942). Victor died of diphtheria during the siege of Leningrad and was buried at the Piskarcemeteryemetercemeteryy. Born October 7, 1952, in Leningrad, in the maternity hospital. V. F. Snegiryov on Mayakovsky Street. He was baptized in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

From 1960 to 1965, Putin studied at eight-year school No. 193. After that, he entered secondary school No. 281 (a special school with a chemical bias based on the Institute of Technology ), from which he graduated in 1970. After graduation, 17-year-old Vladimir for the first time, to enter the service, visited the KGB Directorate of the USSR for Leningrad and the Leningrad Region at Liteiny, where, after an interview, Putin was recommended to first receive an in-depth liberal arts education. The Putin family occupied one room in a communal apartment in Baskov Lane (on the fifth, top floor of building No. 12) in Leningrad, Putin lived in this apartment until he began working in the KGB of the USSR. At a dacha in Tosno, in the room of schoolboy Putin, there was a portrait of Yan Berzin, one of the creators of Soviet military intelligence. Having already become president, Putin said that from childhood he was fond of Soviet films about intelligence officers and dreamed of working in state security agencies.

InFrom 1970-to 1975 he studied at the international department of the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University, where he joined the CPSU. During his studies, he first met Anatoly Sobchak, at that time an associate professor at Leningrad State University. The theme of the thesis is “The principle of the most favored nation ” (supervisor L. N. Galenskaya, Department of International Law).

Career before joining the government

Service in the KGB of the USSR (1975-1991)

In 1984, with the rank of Major of Justice, he was seconded to study at the one-year faculty of the Red Banner Institute of the KGB, from which he graduated in 1985 with a degree in Foreign Intelligence. Putin was trained in both legal and illegal intelligence. By his own admission, at the Red Banner Institute of the KGB, he bore the secret surname Platov (since the listeners were not supposed to know each other's real names, the pseudonyms were chosen by the authorities). He was the headman of the educational department and studied German. According to a personal file kept in the Central Archive of Historical and Political Documents of St. Petersburg, during his work, Putin showed himself to be "a diligent, disciplined and conscientious employee".In 1975 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University. As commander of a howitzer artillery control platoon, he received the rank of lieutenant. According to the distribution, he was sent to work in the State Security Committee. In 1975, he completed training courses for operational personnel at Okhta (“School 401”), certified as a junior officer ( senior lieutenant of justice ) in the system of territorial bodies of the KGB of the USSR. After 1977, he worked in the counterintelligence line in the investigative department of the USSR KGB Directorate for Leningrad and the Leningrad Region. Putin's workplace was located in the so-called " Big House " at Liteiny Prospect, 4. In 1979, Putin completed a six-month retraining course at the Higher School of the KGB in Moscow and returned to Leningrad.

InFrom 1985-to 1990, Putin worked in the GDR through the foreign intelligence service of the KGB. Its leader was the head of the Soviet intelligence group in East Germany, a representative of the KGB of the USSR under the Ministry of State Security of the GDR, Colonel Lazar Matveev (declassified in May 2017 at the age of 90). Putin's colleagues in Dresden were, in particular, Sergei Chemezov and Nikolai Tokarev. Putin lived in a three-room apartment in a quarter of panel houses for Stasi and KGB officers, at Radebergerstrasse 101. He acted in a territorial intelligence point in Dresden under the cover of the post of director of the Dresden House of Friendship of the USSR - GDR. The sphere of interests of the Soviet intelligence group, as Putin himself said in 2018, included mainly the countries of Western Europe - allies of the United States. By the mid-1980s, these states, primarily the FRG, had deployed medium-range and shorter-range missiles on their territory aimed at the USSR.

In the course of operational work, Putin had to drive around daily in his Zhiguli car of the sixth model. During the seniority business trip, Putin was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and to the position of senior assistant to the head of the department. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on December 5, 1989, a crowd of German demonstrators tried to storm the mansion of the Soviet residency along Angelikastrasse 4 to seize the KGB archives, but Putin managed to persuade the audience to disperse without using service weapons. He burned a large volume of secret operational documents on the stove of the residency. In January 1990, Putin completed his business trip to the GDR and returned to Leningrad.

In 1989 he was awarded the bronze medal " For Merit " of the National People's Army of the GDR.

After completing his business trip abroad and returning to the USSR, according to Putin, he voluntarily refused to transfer to the central apparatus of foreign intelligence of the KGB in Moscow and returned to the staff of the first department (intelligence from the territory of the USSR) of the Leningrad KGB department. In 1990, Lieutenant Colonel Putin occupied office No. 643 in the building on Liteiny. On the same sixth floor, in the next office, Sergey Ivanov, the future Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the head of President Putin's administration, worked.

On August 20, 1991, when the mayor of Leningrad Sobchak refused to comply with the orders of the GKChP, Putin, who had by then worked with Sobchak for more than a year, wrote a letter of resignation from the KGB; the resignation was accepted.

Work in St. Petersburg (1990-1996)

From the beginning of the spring of 1990, Putin's main official place of work was the Leningrad State University. At Leningrad State University, Putin became an assistant to rector Stanislav Merkuriev for international affairs. Merkuriev later recommended Putin to Sobchak as an executive worker.

In May 1990, shortly after Sobchak was elected chairman of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies, Putin became his adviser.

Since June 28, 1991, after the election of Sobchak to the post of mayor, he has been acting chairman, and since July 15 - chairman of the Committee for External Relations of the Leningrad Mayor's Office (since May 16, 1992 - St. Petersburg). Putin's responsibilities as head of the committee included issues of attracting investments to St. Petersburg, cooperation with foreign companies, organizing joint ventures, as well as developing tourism, and controlling the gambling business. Putin was the curator of the organization of the first currency exchange in St. Petersburg and contributed to the arrival of several large German firms in the city. With his participation, one of the first banks with foreign capital in Russia was opened - BNP-DrezdneDresdnerr Bank (Rossija). Putin was one of the organizers of the Russian-American Goodwill Games in 1994, at the same time he met a major American media businessman, Ted Turner. Since that time, American intelligence agencies began to collect information about Putin.

In addition to the committee on foreign relations, Putin led the mayor's office commission on operational issues.

According to the journalist Oleg Blonsky, who was interviewed by Putin in 2002 for a two-volume biography, during the days of the August events of 1991, Putin thought that if the “putschists” were successful, he would work as a taxi driver in his Volvo car, which he bought in Germany thanks to service in the KGB.

In 1991, director Igor Shadkhan recorded one of the first television interviews with Putin, where the future president reflects on freedom and totalitarianism.

In 1992, the deputy working group of the Lensoviet headed by Marina Salier and Yuri Gladkov (the so-called "Salier Commission") against the head of the Committee on Foreign Economic Relations Putin was charged with fraud in connection with the program of supplying St. Petersburg with food in exchange for raw materials.

Since 1993, Sobchak began to leave Putin as his deputy during his foreign trips.

In March 1994, Putin was appointed first deputy chairman of the government of St. Petersburg, retaining his position as head of the foreign relations committee. Putin's duties as deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg government included coordinating the work and interaction of the mayor's office with territorial bodies of law enforcement and law enforcement agencies (GUVD, the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Federal Security Service, the prosecutor's office, courts, the Customs Committee), as well as political and public organizations. Putin was in charge of the registration chamber, as well as the departments of the mayor's office: justice, public relations, administrative bodies, hotels.

In 1995, Putin headed the regional branch of the Our Home is RussiaFromarty.

From 1992-to 1996, Putin, among the “reformist political activists,” was trained under the program of the American National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI ).

In the summer of 1996, Sobchak left the post of mayor, losing the election, after which Putin's work in the mayor's office of St. Petersburg ended.

Subsequently, many of those who, together with Putin, worked in the mayor's office of St. Petersburg ( I. I. Sechin, D. A. Medvedev, V. A. Zubkov, A. L. Kudrin, A. B. Miller, G. O. Gref, D.N. Kozak, V.P. Ivanov, S.E. Naryshkin, V.L. Mutko, etc.), in the 2000s, they took responsible positions in the Russian government, the presidential administration of Russia and the management of state-owned companies.

Work in Moscow (1996-1999)

In August 1996, after Sobchak's defeat in the gubernatorial elections, Vladimir Putin, according to his own recollections, again, as in the days of the August 1991 coup, planned to earn extra money in a taxi. The former vice-mayor of St. Petersburg, Rear Admiral Vyacheslav Shcherbakov, mentioned that Putin was invited to the new administration of Vladimir Yakovlev, but Putin, according to Igor Sechin, considered this a betrayal and flatly refused.

Soon Putin was invited to work in Moscow for the post of deputy Pavel Borodin, the manager of presidential affairs. Here he oversaw the legal administration and management of Russian foreign property. According to the writer Roy Medvedev, when engaging Putin, Borodin took into account his experience in international business relations.

On March 26, 1997, Putin was appointed Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia - Head of the Main Control Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation, replacing Alexei Kudrin in this post. He was invited to this position by Valentin Yumashev, who headed the Presidential Administration after the former head Anatoly Chubais moved to the post of First Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Viktor Chernomyrdin. According to Yumashev, it was Chubais who suggested that he take Vladimir Putin into the administration, “a strong candidate with whom he worked in St. Petersburg”.

According to Putin, the results of an audit conducted by the Main Control Directorate related to the implementation of a defense order became one of the reasons for the resignation of Russian Defense Minister Igor Rodionov in May 1997.

In 1997, Putin, as head of the Main Control Department, instructed a special commission to check the efficiency of the Russian fishery. As a result of the work of the commission, it turned out: “The catch in 1997 of 6,500 tons of sockeye salmon by Japanese vessels using the drift net method (prohibited by the Resolution of the UN General Assembly since 1991) and 3,300 tons of this type of fish by Russian vessels operating under scientific programs led to overfishing of Ozernovskaya sockeye salmon and actually put on the verge of bankruptcy coastal enterprises of the Kamchatka region exploiting its reserves. After the completion of the work of the commission, by its conclusions, the boundaries near the fishing areas were changed, and over the next decade, the catch of sockeye salmon increased several times - from 2,500 to 20,000 tons.

In November 1997, Putin organized Sobchak's departure to France, by that time he was on trial for abuses in the St. Petersburg mayor's office. Putin's act caused deep gratitude in the Kremlin; thus, according to Yumashev, this episode influenced the choice of Putin as Yeltsin's successor.

On May 25, 1998, at the initiative of Yumashev, Putin was appointed his first deputy in the Presidential Administration, responsible for working with the regions. By the time of his appointment, he was considered one of the most influential figures in the Kremlin.

On July 25, 1998, at the suggestion of Yumashev, Putin was appointed director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. Before his appointment, Yeltsin offered Putin to promote him in the military rank to major general, but Putin refused, preferring to become the first civilian director of the FSB. Putin appointed generals Nikolai Patrushev, Viktor Cherkesov, and Sergei Ivanov as his deputies, whom he knew from his work in the KGB and in St. Petersburg. In the autumn of 1998, he reorganized the FSB of Russia. During his tenure as head of the FSB, he abolished the FSB departments for economic counterintelligence and counterintelligence support of strategic facilities and created six new departments instead. Uninterrupted financing of the FSB was established, as well as an increase in the salaries of employees of the department (in this respect they were equated with employees of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and FAPSI ). As director of the FSB, Putin was given the military rank of colonel. At Putin's direction, a memorial plaque was restored on the FSB building in memory of former KGB chairman Yuri Andropov.

On March 26, 1999, Putin became Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, retaining the post of director of the FSB.

In April 1999, based on the conclusion of a commission headed by Putin and Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin, Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov was removed from his post, investigating the activities of Yeltsin's entourage. Several journalists, politicians, and political scientists have suggested that Putin's role in solving the Kremlin's problem with Skuratov was an important demonstration of Putin's reliability as a possible successor to Yeltsin.

By the beginning of May 1999, Yeltsin had generally decided to transfer his power to Putin. On August 5, at a meeting with Putin, Yeltsin announced that he wanted to appoint him chairman of the Russian government.

Thesis defense (1997)

In 1997, Putin defended his dissertation for the degree of candidate of economic sciences on the topic "Strategic planning for the reproduction of the mineral resource base of the region in the conditions of the formation of market relations (St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region)" in the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute. In his dissertation, he put forward the thesis of national champions - large state-controlled companies - which later became one of the hallmarks of Putin's policy. The scientific supervisor of the work was Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor Vladimir Fedoseev, a well-known specialist in the field of economics of mineral raw materials.

In 2005, Clifford Gaddy and Igor Danchenko of the Brookings Institution in Washington accused Putin of plagiarism — copying or slightly modifying fragments of an article "Strategic Planning and Politics" by professors William King and David Cleland, published in 1978.

In 2018, Olga Litvinenko, daughter of the rector of St. Petersburg Mining University Vladimir Stefanenko, stated that her father wrote the thesis for Putin.

Prime Minister (August - December 1999)

On August 7, 1999, militants under the command of Basayev and Khattab invaded Dagestan, and local radical Islamists, with their support, announced the introduction of Sharia rule in part of the territory of the Botlikh and Tsumadinsky regions Chechnya at that time was already de facto independent: in 1996, federal troops left it, and in 1997, Boris Yeltsin and Aslan Maskhadov signed an agreement on the so-called suspended status the issue of Chechen sovereignty was supposed to be resolved in 2002. For Russia, there was a real threat of losing, after Chechnya, another region in the North Caucasus

On August 9, President Yeltsin appointed FSB Director Putin as First Deputy and Acting Prime Minister of the Russian Federation instead of Sergei Stepashin On the same day, in his televised address, Yeltsin named Putin as his successor

On August 16, Putin was approved by the State Duma as Prime Minister In this post, Putin organized and led the operation against the militants who by September 15, as a result of fierce battles, were completely expelled from Dagestan

In September 1999, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Russia - explosions of residential buildings in Buynaksk Moscow ( on Guryanov Street and on Kashirskoye Shosse ) and Volgodonsk which killed more than 300 people. According to the verdict of the Moscow City Court and the Supreme Court of Russia, the explosions were carried out by Karachay and Dagestan Wahhabis on the order of Arab mercenaries Amir Khattab and Abu Umar

Later a version was put forward according to which the explosions of residential buildings made it possible to raise Putin's pre-election rating and ensure his victory in the presidential elections, and also shaped public opinion before the introduction of troops into Chechnya Putin himself described this version as bullshit

On September 18, the borders of Chechnya were blocked by Russian troops. On October 1, tank units of the Russian army from the Stavropol Territory and Dagestan entered the territory of the Naursky and Shelkovsky regions of Chechnya After the airstrike on Grozny Vladimir Putin famously said:

“ We will pursue terrorists everywhere. At the airport - at the airport. So, you will excuse me, we will catch them in the toilet, we will soak them in the toilet, in the end ”

On December 30, 1999, Putin's program article "Russia at the turn of the millennium" was published in several Russian publications, in which Vladimir Putin outlined his vision of the past and the tasks ahead for the country and outlined his political priorities: "patriotism", "great power", " statehood”, “social solidarity”, “strong state” As the author stated, new revolutions are unacceptable, the Soviet experience should not be underestimated, but it is also necessary to remember "the enormous price that society, the people paid during this social experiment." Russia should look for its own path of transformation instead of "schemes from Western textbooks", "to achieve political stability without worsening the living conditions of the Russian people, all its strata and groups",. Concerning economic problems, Putin stated the need for a policy aimed at combating poverty, ensuring the growth of the population's well-being, and increasing the efficiency of the Russian economy

According to the results of the elections to the State Duma, the new political movement “ Unity ”, supported by Putin gained 23.3% of the votes, taking second place

Acting President (December 31, 1999 - May 7, 2000)

The first state act was signed by Putin in the post of acting. about. President of the Russian Federation was the decree "On Guarantees to the President of the Russian Federation, who has terminated the exercise of his powers, and to members of his family" The decree provided former Russian presidents (only Yeltsin at that time) with immunity guarantees and other preferences. In 2001, Vladimir Putin signed a similar federal law On December 31, 1999, in connection with the early resignation of Yeltsin, Putin assumed the duties of president.

In the presidential elections on March 26, 2000, Putin won in the first round with 51.95% of the vote

First and second presidential terms (2000–2008)

On May 7, 2000, Putin took office as president of Russia On May 17, 2000, he appointed Mikhail Kasyanov to the post of Prime Minister of Russia

On February 4, 2004, the Kasyanov government was dismissed Mikhail Fradkov became the new chairman of the government

On March 14, 2004, Putin was elected president for a second term receiving 71.31% of the vote He took office on May 7, 2004

On September 12, 2007, Putin dismissed Fradkov's government appointing Viktor Zubkov as head of government

On May 7, 2008, he transferred power to the elected president, the former head of his administration, Dmitry Medvedev A few days earlier, Putin had been ranked number 2 on Time's list of the "100 most influential people in the world"

Dynamics of support for Putin (2000-2010)

According to the Russian political scientist and analyst Kirill Rogov (2015), assuming the highest post in the state, Vladimir Putin “did not look like a classic charismatic at all”: “the cornerstone of his image was the determination to “put things in order” – first in Chechnya, and then in throughout Russia. In this sense, he was, as it were, the personification of the stabilizing function of the state. At the same time, high trust in President Putin is partly explained by low trust in other public, political, and state institutions (parliament, political parties, separation of powers, independent courts, etc.). Putin's popularity provided the presidency with the status of actually the only legitimate political institution in the eyes of the population.

Already in the first months of 2000, Putin's rating reached its maximum (over 80% of those who approved of his actions) The sharp rise in the rating during this period reflected the political component of the rating - the respondents' hopes associated with the figure of a new leader were added to the assessments of current economic success. Subsequently, several more periods were noted when the peaks of Putin's popularity coincided with a sharp increase in positive expectations: from the end of 2001 - to the beginning of 2002. late 2003 — early 2004, July 2007, early and September 2008, late 2009. Some of these episodes coincide with election campaigns and, apparently,, in early 2000, mark periods of "consolidation under the flag", i.e. bursts of confidence in the political image of the leader and the values associated with him Rogov qualifies two role functions of Putin-leader as the function of "manager of wealth" and the function of "savior and defender of the nation" (mobilization). The mobilization model provides value unity around a leader in confronting this or that threat to the existing "order": in 2000, Chechen terrorism and separatism acted as such, in 2003-2004. - the oligarchs with whom Putin "waged war". The presence of a stable supermajority allowed Putin, already during his first presidential term, to weaken the political influence of regional leaders and oligarchs (competing political actors), as well as to strengthen his influence in law enforcement agencies (the prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the court) and the national media

The period of 2007–2008, preceding the start of the economic crisis of 2008–2010, was characterized by the highest level of support for the regime, which reflected both extremely high assessments of the current economic situation and political mobilization associated with a triumphant short war against Georgia

As Rogov notes, if during 2000-to 2010. While the level of Putin's approval generally fluctuated in the range of 70-85% (average value - 76%), the number of people who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction during the same period fluctuated in the range of 35-50% (average - 42%. Thus, for most of the period, on average, a third of the respondents did not believe that things in the country were going in the right direction, but at the same time approved of Putin. This can only be explained by the fact that these people considered the policy and values associated with the figure of the leader to be optimal in the current situation and provided him with a priori support that was not related to the actual results of the activity

Second Chechen War

The Second Chechen War officially ended with the abolition of the CTO regime at midnight on April 16, 2009, The new big war in Chechnya buried the idea of "delayed status" and again led to flows of refugees and huge human losses By early spring 2000, federal troops had taken Grozny and established control over most of the republic's territory In March 2000, for the first time since 1991, polling stations for voting in the all-Russian elections were created there. The former mufti of Ichkeria Akhmat Kadyrov and several field commanders who became disillusioned with Aslan Maskhadov became an ally of the federal authorities Already in the fall of 1999, they went over to the side of the federal troops. In June 2000, Putin appointed Akhmat Kadyrov as head of the Chechen administration. In March 2003, a referendum was held in Chechnya, which adopted the constitution of Chechnya, by federal legislation In October 2003, Akhmat Kadyrov was elected head of the republic, and in May 2004 he died in a terrorist attack. His son Ramzan Kadyrov became the head of the Chechen Republic in April 2007.

Fight against terrorism in the North Caucasus

After the termination of the full-scale military operation, the Chechen separatists continued the war against the federal authorities, switching to the tactics of sabotage and terror. The militants carried out several major raids, including an attack on Gudermes in September 2001 and an attack by Ruslan Gelayev's detachment on Ingushetia in September 2002.

The seizure of the Theater Center on Dubrovka by Chechen militants received a special response during this period., which took place in Moscow on October 23, 2002. 912 people turned out to be hostages of terrorists. The terrorists demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, threatening to kill the hostages. On the morning of October 26, the operational headquarters organized an assault on the building using sleeping gas. As a result of the operation, all the terrorists were killed, but 125 hostages died from gas poisoning and did not receive timely medical care. There was no public investigation into the causes of deaths, data on the characteristics of the gas used were classified. The authorities attempted to misinform the public about the reasons for the death of the hostages. According to newspaper reports, the head of the operation, First Deputy Director of the FSB, Colonel GeneralColonel-Genera Vladimir Pronichev was awarded the title of Hero of Russia by a closed decree.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the militants modified the tactics of the fight against the Russian state, organizing mass training of suicide bombers. Several terrorist attacks involving female suicide bombers were organized in Moscow, and two explosions were staged in the Kislovodsk-Mineralnye Vody electric trains. This was followed by bombings in the Moscow metro. On February 6, 2004, after the terrorist attack at the Avtozavodskaya station Putin stated that " Russia does not negotiate with terrorists, it destroys them " On February 13, in Qatar, Russian special services liquidated one of the leaders of Chechen separatism Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev who, according to some reports, was involved in the terrorist attack on Dubrovka.

On August 24, 2004, female suicide bombers carried out explosions on two passenger airliners taking off from Domodedovo Airport On September 1, militants seized a school in Beslan ( North Ossetia ), taking over a thousand children and adults hostage. During the attack and in the following days, several hostages were killed by the terrorists. On September 3, several explosions occurred in the school building, followed by a fire and storming of the building. As a result of the attack, explosions, and, fire, as well as during the battle and rescue operation, 19 special forces officers and 314 hostages, including 186 children, were killed. Critics expressed the opinion that the Russian authorities should have initially abandoned the military operation and negotiated with the terrorists. The liberal-democratic opposition blamed the growth of terrorism in Russia on Putin's incorrect policy towards Chechnya and offered to negotiate with the "moderate part" of the Chechen separatists

Russian special services, meanwhile, continued to hunt for separatist leaders. In March 2005, the president of Ichkeria, Aslan Maskhadov was killed during a special operation by the FSB After the destruction of Maskhadov and the number of field commanders, the intensity of the sabotage and terrorist activities of the militants decreased significantly. On January 31, 2006, Putin announced that it was possible to speak about the end of the counterterrorist operation in Chechnya. In July of the same year, terrorist No. 1 Shamil Basayev was killed as a result of a special operation by the Russian special services

In 2019, during his annual press conference, Putin described the hostage-taking by terrorists at the Dubrovka Theater Center in Moscow and in Beslan as the most difficult moments of his presidency

Reforming the political system

In May 2000, Putin, by his decree, established the institution of plenipotentiaries in the federal districts. Large-scale work has begun to bring regional laws into line with federal ones. In this regard, the Republic of Tatarstan even had to change its constitution

The first major reform in the constitutional and political system of the country was the change in the procedure for the formation of the Federation Council carried out in August 2000 as a result of which the governors and heads of the legislature of the regions who had previously been members of the Federation Council ex officio, were replaced by appointed representatives; the latter must work in the Federation Council on a permanent and professional basis (with one of them appointed by the governor, and the second by the legislature of the region). In parallel with this, in September 2000, an advisory body under the president was created - the State Council of Russia whose members ex officio are the heads of the country's constituent entities

After the terrorist act in Beslan on September 13, 2004, Putin announced his intention to cancel the elections of heads of regions, motivated this step by the need to increase the efficiency of the country's federal and regional authorities, and to strengthen the fight against terrorism. In December 2004, a law was adopted according to which the heads of regions are elected by legislative assemblies from a list of candidates submitted by the president Since March 2005, the practice of dismissing the heads of regions with the wording of "loss of confidence" has been applied

The liberal opposition was last represented in the State Duma of the third convocation, elected in 1999 - 21 deputies from Yabloko and 33 from the Union of Right Forces and the party was led by the former prime minister and future deputy head of the presidential administration Sergei Kiriyenko In the Duma of the fourth convocation, elected in 2003, there was no longer a liberal opposition In December 2003, following the results of the elections to the State Duma the majority of seats both on the federal list (37.57%) and in the majority of single-mandate districts were won by the United Russia party, created in December 2001 as a result of the unification support of President Putin earlier competing political organizations " Unity " and " Fatherland - AllFatherland-All Russia ". The second, third, and, fourth places were taken by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Motherland bloc respectively. Having accepted into its membership the majority of independent deputies who passed through single-mandate constituencies, all deputies from the People's Party and "defectors" from other factions, "United Russia" received a constitutional majority which allowed it to confidently overcome the resistance of opposition parties when voting.

In the spring of 2005, a law was adopted on elections to the State Duma exclusively on party lists. Territorial representation in the State Duma (single-member constituencies) was abolished. Amendments to federal legislation were adopted allowing the party that won the elections to the regional parliament to propose to the President of Russia their candidacy for the governor's post. In the overwhelming majority of regions, this right belonged to United Russia. The process of governors joining the party of power assumed a massive character. At the beginning of 2007, 70 out of 86 leaders of Russian regions were members of the party. Top managers of large industrial enterprises, heads of state universities and their structural subdivisions, and top officials of federal and regional authorities were also members of United Russia.

United Russia, as the ruling party, did not have a pronounced ideology, declaring "centrism and conservatism." In fact, its members are united mainly by loyalty to the existing state system.

At the end of 2004 and in 2005, A. N. Yakovlev speaking about Putin’s policy drew attention to the following “alarm signal:

a strict sequence is striking. Anthem the one-party system, obedient parliament, primacy of statehood over man, leaders, merging of state structures with business, especially criminal ones, domestication of the media, return to state historiography, that is, the adaptation of history to the interests of power, the absence of truly independent courts, expanding the scope of activities and influence on the policy of special services.

In February 2006, Vladislav Surkov Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia put forward the concept of sovereign democracy which, in the interpretation of its author, is that the president's policy should, first of all, be supported by the majority of the population in Russia itself; this support of the majority constitutes the main principle of a democratic society

Some researchers characterize the political regime of Vladimir Putin as Bonapartism

In the early 2000s, with the assistance of the Presidential Administration, several youth organizations were created in Russia, the key points of whose programs were the preservation of the sovereignty and integrity of Russia, the modernization of the country, and, the formation of a functioning civil society Putin regularly met with Nashi activists Some of the actions of these youth organizations drew sharp criticism from the press and the political opposition After several years, these organizations ceased their activities.

Personal policy

Under Putin, the personnel policy of the Administration of the President of Russia and several other government bodies was characterized by the appointment to key positions in the central bodies of the Russian government and the boards of leading Russian corporations of his many former classmates at the university, colleagues in the GDR and in the special services, colleagues from work in the former Leningrad - and in general representatives of the " St. Petersburg team ". For example, the head of the Presidential Administration of Russia from 200to 3-2005 (later the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of the country) Dmitry Medvedev is Putin's closest associate, a colleague at work in the St. Petersburg City Hall.

Law enforcement reform

In 2000, at the direction of President Putin, a working group was created to improve legislation in the judiciary. The following year, several key laws were adopted aimed at reforming the judiciary, the most important of which are: “On the Status of Judges in the Russian Federation”, “On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation”, “On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation” and “On Advocacy and Advocacy in the Russian Federation »

In December 2001, Putin signed the new Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation in July 2002 - the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation in November - the Civil Procedure Code

In June 2007, a law was signed on the establishment of the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office, effectively separating the investigating authorities from the prosecutor's office Later (in 2011), the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation was completely separated from the prosecutor's office into an independent federal agency.

On June 21, 2013, Putin proposed to merge the Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts of Russia, which required amendments to the Russian Constitution On August 6, 2014, the new united Supreme Court of Russia began its activities

Media position

Journalists and human rights activists trying to understand human rights violations in Chechnya risk their lives: in October 2006, journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed in Moscow and in July 2009, human rights activist Natalya Estemirova was killed in the Caucasus In the Reporters Without Borders press freedom rating, in 2008 Russia was ranked 144 out of 173 countries participating in the rating In January 2013, Russia dropped even lower in this ranking. The Russian authorities have been criticized for obstructing objective coverage of opposition actions, tightening the law on libel, and creating a "black list" of Internet sites President Putin has been repeatedly accused of suppressing independent media In particular, the so-called NTV and TV-6 cases the closure of TVS the closure of independent newspapers or the change of their owners were associated with Putin The dismantling of Most Media led to the establishment of state control over the content of the main TV channels, which made it possible, in particular, to radically (compared to the first Chechen war ) change the approach of TV channels to reflecting the hostilities in Chechnya and influence their perception in Russian society. At the same time, rallies in defense of NTV were the first protests against Putin's policies

The sinking of the submarine "Kursk"

The sinking of the submarine "Kursk", which occurred on August 12, 2000, in the Barents Sea, caused criticism not only of the leadership of the Russian Navy but also of the president himself. The submarine sank as a result of a series of explosions, which led to the death of the entire crew - 118 people Official sources did not immediately report the disaster. The rescue operation began only a day later. According to Novaya Gazeta, the command of the Russian Navy for a long time refused foreign assistance, assuring that they were able to cope on their own. Vladimir Putin authorized the command of the Navy to attract foreign aid only four days after the disaster, on August 16

Economic development

The Russian economy was characterized by the growth of GDP in industrial and agricultural production, construction, and real incomes of the population. The share of the population living below the poverty level has decreased (from 29% in 2000 to 13.4% in 2008) the unemployment rate has decreased from 10.6% in 2000 to 6.2% in 2008 From 1999 to 2007, the production index of manufacturing industries increased by 77%, including the production of machinery and equipment - by 91%, textile and clothing production - by 46%, food production - by 64% Summing up the economic results of Putin's tenure as president of Russia (2000-2007), Thomas Graham, former senior director for Russia at the US National Security Council, wrote:

“ The economy has not only regained all the ground lost in the 1990s but also created a viable service sector that was virtually non-existent during the Soviet period. Russia has accumulated the third-largest gold and foreign exchange reserve after China and Japan ”

In 2021, Russia has a fifth place in terms of gold and foreign exchange reserves

In 2005, Putin announced the start of the implementation of four priority national projects in the socio-economic sphere: "Health", "Education", "Housing" and "Development of the agro-industrial complex "

The negotiation process on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization which began in the mid-1990s has intensified World Bank economists have noted that "Putin has made WTO accession a priority for Russia, and under his administration, negotiations on Russia's accession to the WTO, after several years of inactivity, began to move forward at an accelerated pace" On August 22, 2012, Russia became a member of the WTO.

In 2006, in his address to the Federal Assembly, Putin announced measures to stimulate the birth rate in Russia: increasing child benefits, introducing " maternity capital ", etc.

On February 1, 2008, by splitting the Stabilization Fund, the Reserve Fund and the National Welfare Fund (NWF) were formed. The first was created to cover the budget deficit, and the second - was o provide pensions to citizens (in fact, the funds of the NWF were spent on infrastructure projects and assistance to banks)From.

From 2000-2010 there was a significant increase in foreign investment in Russia: from $11 billion in 2000 to $115 billion in 2010 At the same time, from 2000 to 2016, the total outflow of capital from Russia reached 568.9 billion US dollars

Critical ratings

According to some experts, the problems of the Russian economy during Putin's first two presidential terms were only mothballed or even worsened, and the Russian economy remained dependent on energy prices Here is what The Economist wrote in mid-2008:

In the early 2000s, a flood of petrodollars swept Russia masking economic problems. It is estimated that the share of oil and gas in Russia's GDP has more than doubled since 1999 and, as of Q2 2008, was over 30%. Oil and gas account for 50% of Russian budget revenues and 65% of its exports

Speaking on March 2, 2009, at the Strategy 2020 forum, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Vladislav Surkov speaking about the deep recession that Russia entered at the end of 2008, and the origins of the growth that preceded it, said:

When they say that America is to blame for everything, I want to remind you that our economic growth is a derivative of the bubble that the Americans inflated. We didn't deserve this growth”

American professor Marshall Goldman who studied the economy of the USSR in early 2008, to characterize the economic model built under Putin, used the term " petrostate " (" petrostate "): Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia In his book, the professor argued that Putin's main personal contribution to economic policy was the creation of "national champions" (large state-controlled companies) and the renationalization of major energy assets, which resulted in the creation of a new class of oligarchs, whom he called " slogans " (from the term " silovik ") His opinion was echoed in December 2008 by economist Anders Åslund who stated that Putin's main project was

"The creation of huge, unmanageable state mastodons " and that the latter " strangled large sectors of the economy with their inertia and corruption, while hindering diversification "

President of the Energy Policy Institute and opposition politician Vladimir Milov argued in November 2007 that almost all the reforms that Putin initiated when he took office failed, the adoption of the Land Code " did not lead to the formation of a developed liquid land market ", and the new Labor Code " turned into problems for employers ". Russian sociologist Igor Eidman, director of communications at VTsIOM characterized the socio-political system that finally took shape in Putin's presidency as

"The power of the bureaucratic oligarchy " having "features of an extreme right-wing dictatorship are the dominance of state-monopoly capital in the economy, power structures in governance, clericalism and statism in ideology ”

Relations between the government and big business

According to The Economist when Putin took office in 2000, Putin may have made a tacit agreement with the so-called " oligarchs ": the government will turn a blind eye to all previous violations of the law, on the condition that they abandon the dubious deals characteristic of the beginning and the mid-1990s, and will not participate in political life

Putin put forward the thesis of "equidistant position of all market participants from the authorities" Large entrepreneurs were promised that there would be no revision of the results of privatization, but it soon became clear that the intention to reconsider the place of big business in Russian politics

Many billionaires who made their fortune in the 1990s have lost their influence. Among the victims, in particular, theythe name Vladimir Gusinsk the owner of the Media-Most holding company the role of " gray eminence ", was forced to emigrate and cede his share in the share capital of ORT, Sibneft, and Aeroflot, receiving almost two billion dollars for his shares.197 ^Thus control over the main television channels - ORT (First channel), " VGTRK " and NTV passed to the state or state-owned companies.

In 2003, the so-called " Yukos affair " began. Yukos was sued for tax evasion, and in the course of further investigation, numerous criminal cases were initiated under other articles. Platon Lebedev and Mikhail Khodorkovsky were arrested Presidential chief of staff Alexander Voloshin resigned followed by Premier Mikhail Kasyanov who condemned the arrests of Platon Lebedev and Mikhail Khodorkovsky. On February 24, 2004, two and a half weeks before the presidential elections, Vladimir Putin dismissed the Kasyanov government. On May 31, 2005, Khodorkovsky, along with Platon Lebedev, was convicted of fraud and embezzlement on an especially large scale, as well as for tax evasion

In June 2004, Igor Sechin assistant to the president, deputy head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation whom the press characterizes as one of Putin's closest confidants, was elected to the new board of directors of the state oil company Rosneft and a month later he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the company Soon, the oil-producing culminatingoil company Yuganskneftegaz which belonged to Yukos, came under the control of Rosneft As a result of the competitive sale of Yukos assets, which took place in March-August 2007, the former Yukos assets provided 72.6% of oil and gas condensate production and 74.2% of Rosneft's primary processing of hydrocarbons

Foreign policy

Being and. about. President, Putin stated the need for cooperation with the West including with NATO On 5 March 2000, in an interview on the BBC, he stressed that "Russia is part of European culture" and that he had difficulty presenting NATO as an enemy. Putin did not rule out the possibility of joining the alliance but noted that Russia has a negative attitude toward NATO expansion to the east

Shortly before the presidential election, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first Western politician to visit the new leader of Russia. They immediately became friends. On April 17, when Putin visited London as president, Tony Blair said: “I believe that Vladimir Putin is a leader who is ready to build new relations with the European Union and with the United States, who wants Russia to be a strong and modern power and have strong relations with the West”

In June 2000, by decree of President Putin, the "Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation" was approved The main goals of the country's foreign policy were declared: ensuring reliable security of the country; impact on global processes to form a stable, fair and democratic world order; creation of favorable external conditions for the progressive development of Russia; the formation of a belt of good neighborliness along the perimeter of Russian borders; search for agreement and concurring interests with foreign countries and interstate associations in the process of solving problems determined by Russia's national priorities; protection of the rights and interests of Russian citizens and compatriots abroad; promoting a positive perception of the Russian Federation in the world.

The first term of George W. Bush (2001-2004), especially before the start of the war in Iraq was called by some experts the "historical apogee" of Russian-American relations, referring to the unprecedented high degree of cooperation in the framework of the "war on terror" and close personal ties presidents In June 2001, Putin met with George W. Bush for the first time in Ljubljana the capital of Slovenia George W. Bush, as he put it, "looked into the eyes" of Vladimir Putin, "felt his soul" and saw in him "a straightforward and trustworthy person." The President of Russia called his colleague “a pleasant conversationalist” and “an absolutely normal person who really perceives things”.

The event that predetermined the sharp rapprochement between Russia and the West was the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when Russia without hesitation took the side of the United States. This rapprochement culminated in Russia's participation in the antiterrorist coalition created by the United States to prepare and wage war against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the signing of the so-called Rome Declaration "Russia-NATO Relations: A New Quality" By it, the Russia-NATO Council (“Council of Twenty”) was created, after which, in principle, one could expect the transition of relations between Russia and NATO to a higher level with the prospect of Russia’s full membership in NATO. Russia has provided its airspace for the transit of military cargo and US and NATO troops to Afghanistan Later, in 2007, Putin will sign the law "On the ratification of the agreement between the states participating in the North Atlantic Treaty and other states participating in the Partnership for Peace program, on the status of the Forces dated June 19, 1995, and the Additional Protocol to it" which some in Russia considered "opening the borders for NATO soldiers"

In 2001, the Russian leadership announced the closure of military bases in Cuba and Vietnam effectively refusing to be present in strategically important regions of the world. The reason for the closure was given as economic unprofitability, as well as the general inefficiency of foreign military bases

Professor Andre Liebig notes that the United States itself prevented further rapprochement between Russia and the United States in the early 2000s by announcing in December 2001 a unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty From the Russian point of view, the US withdrawal from the agreement, which ensured the strategic parity of the parties, destroyed hopes for a new partnership and became a destabilizing factor of global significance In response to the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, Russia withdrew from the START II treaty which was replaced by the softer Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty signed in May 2002.

A new crisis in relations between Russia and the West was associated with the invasion of the United States and its allies in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime in March 2003. Russia, together with Germany and France, sharply criticized the US actions bypassing the UN Security Council The European allies, however, ultimately supported the US According to Putin himself, which he gave at a press conference in 2012, Russian-American relations deteriorated precisely after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the disagreements that arose on this basis

In November 2003, the " Rose Revolution " began in Georgia, as a result of which Mikhail Saakashvili came to power in early 2004 sharply turning Georgia towards the United States and heading for NATO His reign will see the most difficult period in Russian-Georgian relations culminating in in in the 2008 war.

In March 2004 another enlargement of NATO took place Seven Eastern European countries were accepted into the alliance, against Russia's diplomatic efforts, including Estonia Latvia, and Lithuania bordering Russia Making plans for the expansion of NATO and the European Union, increasing their influence on the post-Soviet states, the countries of the West did not pay attention to the fact that the interests of Russia were thus affected

According to the Vedomosti newspaper, Putin perceived the expansion of NATO to the east in 2004 as a "personal betrayal" by US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair whom Putin at that time considered his friends and with whom he was intensively establishing partnerships. relations. 12 years later, in his Crimean speech

Putin will note: “ We were deceived over and over again, decisions were made behind our backs, we were presented with a fait accompli. So it was with the expansion of NATO to the East, with the deployment of military infrastructure near our borders. We were told the same thing all the time: “Well, this does not concern you”

In the presidential elections in Ukraine at the end of 2004, the Russian authorities supported Viktor Yanukovych a candidate from the Party of Regions of Ukraine who advocated economic cooperation with Russia within the framework of the Common Economic Space and giving the Russian language the status of a second state language, However, after the Central Election Commission announced victory in the second round of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, his opponent Viktor Yushchenko led his supporters to the Maidan, accusing the authorities of electoral fraud. The protests that would later be called the Orange Revolution”, did not stop for almost two months. During this crisis, the West and Russia found themselves on opposite sides of the barricades. In the end, in December, it was decided to hold the third round of elections, the winner of which was Yushchenko

An Andrei Illarionov who served as an adviser to Vladimir Putin from 2000-to 2005, later claimed the victory of the "orange coalition" "seriously shocked" and severely disappointed the Russian president. This event, against the backdrop of the war in Iraq and the confrontation with the European Union and NATO, Illarionov believes, "led to a radical reversal in the mind, the worldview of Vladimir Putin in the international arena"

The new Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko proclaimed the Euro-Atlantic vector of the country's development, abandoning the "multi-vector" geopolitical course of his predecessor Leonid Kuchma The Russian leadership negatively assessed both the Orange Revolution itself, which itis considered inspired by the West and Yushchenko's policy All this contributed little to the development of relations between Ukraine and Russia which were consistently deteriorating during all five years under Yushchenko. Yushchenko became close to Mikheil Saakashvili, and Ukraine, like Georgia, declared joining NATO a strategic course

On October 14, 2004, during a visit to Beijing Putin signed an agreement on the transfer of Tarabarov Island half of the Big Ussuri Island on the Amur River with a total area of 337 km², and half of the Big Island on the Argun River o the PRC was called this made it possible to complete the demarcation of the Russian-Chinese border The transfer of the islands caused a mixed reaction in Russia. As a positive result, the improvement of relations with China, the length of the border which is more than 4,300 km, and the removal of the potential threat of a territorial conflict in the future were called. On the other hand, several politicians regarded the transfer of Russian territory as a weakening of Russia's position.

The year 2006 was marked by a sharp deterioration in relations between Russia and the United States because of Georgia, which, under Mikhail Saakashvili, became the main ally of the United States in the post-Soviet space. Saakashvili accused Russia of supporting the separatist aspirations of the authorities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia demanded the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki and Russian peacekeepers from the unrecognized republics In response, Russia stopped importing Georgian wines and mineral water Reacting to what is happening, US Vice President Dick CheneyaccusedCheney accused the Mos cow of "blackmail", "intimidation", "undermining the territorial integrity of neighbors" and "interference in democratic processes" and suggested that Russia "return to democracy" or "become an enemy". In the course of further escalation of tension, Russia announced the beginning of a transport blockade of Georgia, which lasted until 2010, and closed direct flights with Georgia On May 9, 2005, many world leaders, at the invitation of the Russian leadership, took part in the celebrations on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War In September 2005, Putin participated in the commemorative celebrations in New York to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations In 2006, Russia chaired the "Group of Eight" (" Big Eight ").

Since the second half of the 2000s, in public speeches, including at the Munich Conference on Security Policy (February 2007), Putin has expressed dissatisfaction with the military aspects of American foreign policy and expressed fears about the " unrestrained, hypertrophied use of force " and the imposition of the USA of its vision of the world order to other states. In Munich, Putin formulated Russian objections to the deployment of American troops and elements of the American missile defense system in Eastern Europe, as well as to the militarization of space. The Russian leader said that the United States is trying to solve all world problems by military means, and reproached NATO and the European Union for trying to replace the UN

Despite the protests of the Russian leadership, it was not possible to suspend American plans for the deployment of missile defense near the borders of Russia. Because the deployment of the American missile defense system in Eastern Europe threatened to nullify the Russian nuclear missile potential in February 2012, as a response, preparations began in the Kaliningrad region for the deployment of Iskander 9K720 missile systems

Putin's speech in Munich made Western politicians wary. As U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said, "In his single speech, he did more to unite the US and Europe than we could do in a decade." Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt urged that Putin's words be taken seriously: "This is the real Russia as it is now, and perhaps in the next four or five years it will go even further in this direction"

On July 14, 2007, Vladimir Putin signed the Decree "On the Suspension by the Russian Federation of the Treaty on Conventional Arms in Europe and Related International Treaties." Observers believe that this decision was the first step of the Russian leadership towards a radical change in the military-political situation on the European continent, which has been developing since the early 1990s, not in favor of Russia. In December 2007, the unilateral Russian moratorium on the implementation of the CFE Treaty came into force.

At the beginning of 2008, another complication in relations between Russia, the United States, and NATO caused a discussion by the leadership of the North Atlantic Alliance of the appeals of Ukraine and Georgia to join the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) The US went to great lengths to convince its NATO allies of the need for Georgia and Ukraine to join the MAP at the alliance's Bucharest summit in April 2008 even though Georgia and Ukraine still did not receive an official invitation to become MAP participants, they were given to understand that the road to NATO was cleared for them and it was only necessary to wait for a little. for Heads of state and government of NATO member countries announced in Bucharest that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of NATO when they meet the requirements for membership in this organization This decision was confirmed at subsequent NATO summits.

Russia, however, continued to view NATO's eastward advance as a threat to its strategic interests in Europe. Following the results of the April NATO summit (2008), the head of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, General Yuri Baluyevsky, stated that if Georgia and Ukraine join NATO, Russia will be forced to take "military and other measures" to ensure its interests near state borders Vladimir Putin, for his part, announced his intention to "substantially support" Abkhazia and South Ossetia whose leaders addressed him with messages, expressing misgivings about the decision taken at the NATO summit

Estimates for the period 2000-2010

According to Russian political scientist and analyst Kirill Rogov (2015), the first decade of the 21st century in Russian political history was a period of relatively mild electoral authoritarianism, characterized by a high level of popular support for the regime, political stability, and significant economic success. The presence of a stable supermajority allowed Putin, already during his first presidential term, to weaken the political influence of regional leaders and oligarchs, as well as to strengthen his influence in law enforcement agencies (the prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the court) and the national media. The signs of the domestic political crisis of 2011-2013 drew a line under this period .andthee emergence of threats that were taken so seriously by the Russian leadership it went to a radical revision of the existing external and internal balances and, in particular, to a decisive conflict with the West, to which the annexation of Crimea could not but lead

According to the British historian, head of the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University Norman Stone (2007), Putin in the 2000s "managed to pull Russia out of the historical trend, which, if continued, could lead to the disintegration of Russia as a state" Journalist Mark Simpson wrote in The Guardian during this period that Putin has resurrected the Russian state and Russian power and is not afraid to defend Russian interest.

In 2007, the American magazine Time named Putin Man of the Year noting his leadership and desire for stability in Russia

In January 2010, Australian liberal politician Cameron Ross called Putin the best leader of Russia since Peter 1 noting several the achievements during his presidency

Criticism

According to Mikhail Gorbachev, expressed in November 2014, Putin began to fall ill with the same disease that, according to confession, the ex-president of the USSR himself suffered from - self-confidence: “He considers himself a substitute for God, I really don’t know, though …”

The press around the world noted Putin's characteristic lateness to scheduled meetings with heads of state, government, royalty, and the Pope

Allegations of involvement in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko

In November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko died in the UK, a former FSB officer who received political asylum here after fleeing Russia, and worked working for British intelligence MI6 The cause of death was polonium-210 poisoning The poisoning of Litvinenko, and the investigation launched by the British authorities led to the deterioration of Russian-British relations In 2014-2015, a public inquiry into the death of Litvinenko was held in the UK The British court concluded that Litvinenko was killed as a result of an FSB special operation, apparently approved personally by the director of the FSB, Nikolai Patrushevand Russian President Putin The findings of the High Court were dismissed by Putin's representatives as unproven and based on assumptions Alexander Litvinenko accused Putin of pedophilia four months before his poisoning

Skripal poisoning

In March 2018, former GRU officer Sergei Skripal, and his daughter were poisoned in Salisbury UK British experts at Porton Down's secret chemical laboratory determined that a Novichok-class chemical warfare agent had been used in the poisoning Later, the conclusions of British experts were confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons UK government accuses Russia of complicity in attempted murder, and violation of Chemical Weapons Convention Russia categorically rejected these accusations and stated that the poisoning was a provocation that could have been organized by the special services of Great Britain or the United States itself Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning most of the EU countries as well as the USA Canada Australia, and several other countries have taken similar steps out of solidarityRussia responded to this with mirror measures.

In September 2018, British police released photographs of two Russian citizens suspected of poisoning the SkripalsAccording to the British intelligence services, they are GRU officers who arrived in the UK under false names British Prime Minister Theresa May said that the poisoning was sanctioned by the Russian leadership,, and British Security Minister Ben Wallace blamed Vladimir Putin personally for the poisoning Russia once again denied all accusations.

Poisoning of Alexei Navalny

In August 2020, Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), was poisoned.

On September 2, studies conducted by the Bundeswehr special laboratory showed that Navalny was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group Later, the Novichok poisoning was confirmed by France concerning and Sweden with the under politicians and relevant under reference to the results of their own research in laboratories certified by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW conducted its own study of Navalny's biological samples task force and confirmed the conclusions of the German, French, and Swedish laboratories on the presence of traces of a substance of the Novichok family in the analyzesNavalny, and his team said that Vladimir Putin was personally behind the assassination

On December 14, 2020, the results of a joint investigation by The Insider Bellingcat, and CNN with the participation of Der Spiegel were posted on the Internet containing, in particular, evidence that the attempt on Navalny was carried out by the FSB taskforce acting under the guise of the Institute of Criminalistics of the FSB Vladimir Putin described this investigation as “legalization of US intelligence materials”, and said that if the Russian intelligence services wanted to poison Navalny, they would have gone through with it

Investigation into "Putin's Palace" near Gelendzhik

For the first time, the residence near Gelendzhik allegedly built for Vladimir Putin, became widely known in 2010, when businessman Sergei Kolesnikov in an open letter to Dmitry Medvedev spoke in detail about the construction, and revealed schemes for financing according to journalistic investigations, the object was financed through corruption schemes, and at the expense of the state-owned companies Transneft, and Rosneft In January 2021, the Alexei Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation published a detailed investigation, Palace for Putin History of the biggest bribe » presenting shooting of the territory from a quadrocopter, video reconstruction, and floor plan of the facility FBK estimated the cost of building the palace complex at 100 billion rubles (1.1 billion euros) The investigation named Vladimir Putin as the ultimate beneficiary of the palace.

In January 2021, Putin stated that the palace never belonged to him or his close relatives. At the same time, Arkady Rotenberg an entrepreneur, and friend of Putin, declared himself the owner of the palace According to him, he purchased this residence "several years ago", and intends to turn it into an apartment hotel.

Investigation into "Putin's Yacht"

In 2020, a 140-meter superyacht "Scheherazade" was launched at a shipyard in Germany, whose owner is officially unknown. In mid-March, The New York Times reported, citing sources, that US officials linked her to Vladimir Putinwhose cost is estimated at 700 million dollars unknown. According to the investigation of the team of Alexei Navalny, its crew turned out to be formed from employees of the Federal Security Service

Rallies, and protests

Protest moods of 2010-2012

In January-March 2010, the first mass rallies were held in several Russian cities, demanding the resignation of the Putin government Several protests were held under slogans condemning the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation signed by Putin on January 13, 2010 "On Amendments to the List of Activities Prohibited in the Central Ecological Zone of the Baikal Natural Territory" - as amended by the Decree of August 30, 2001, which created the legal basis for the resumption of the work of the Baikal Pulp, and Paper Mill

On March 11, 2010, the appeal " Putin must go " was posted on the Internet demanding Putin's removal from power. The appeal was signed by several dozen well-known Russian public figures, cultural figures, and leaders of the “non-systemic opposition” The document, in particular, stated:

“We assert that no substantial reforms are possible in Russia today, as long as Putin has real power in the country Getting rid of Putinism is the first but obligatory step on the way to a new free Russia ”

At the beginning of 2016, the campaign website stated that the appeal had collected more than 150,000 signatures from Russian citizens

Since 2008, the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the People's Freedom Party have been publishing "expert reports" criticizing Putin's activities In the report “ Putin Results10 years ”, published in June 2010 with a circulation of one million copies, the authors of the report - Boris Nemtsov, and Vladimir Milov- focused on the topics of corruption, depopulation, social inequality, the situation in the economy, and the situation in the Caucasus

During the fall of 2010-spring 2011, as part of the " Putin must go " campaign, three major rallies were held in the center of Moscow: on October 23, and December 12, 2010, and on February 19, 2011

On March 26, 2011, the Solidarity movement held a rally in several Russian cities dedicated to the 11th anniversary of Putin's election as president of the country Activists of the movement handed out ballots to the respondents asking whether they would vote for Putin now Three-quarters of the poll participants were said to be against the prime minister A contest of anti-Putin posters was also organized in Moscow

In March, the opposition presented its regular report “ PutinCorruption ”, the compilers of which were the co-chairs of the People's Freedom Party VMilov, BNemtsov, and Vladimir Ryzhkov as well as the press secretary of the Solidarity movement Olga ShorinaThe report accused Putin, and his "friends" of enrichment, including information about 30 expensive real estate objects, and five yachts used by Putin, and Medvedev

On September 24, 2011, Putin confirmed his intention to run in the 2012 presidential election at the congress of the United Russia party Putin expressed the hope that after his victory in the presidential elections, the Russian government will be headed by the current president of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev

Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev on the evening of December 24, 2011 (after numerous protests in Moscow) on the air of the Ekho Moskvy radio station called on Putin not to participate in the presidential elections in Russia: “I would advise Vladimir Vladimirovich to leave nowThreenow three terms turned out: two terms as president, one term as prime minister - three terms, that's enough"

The theme of wealth slave places and luxury of representatives of the Russian political authorities in August 2012 was continued in the next report by Boris Nemtsov (co-authored with Leonid Martynyuk) “The life of a galley slave places, yachts, cars, planes, and other accessoriesCommenting on the report, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that all the property listed in it is present, but does not personally belong to Putin, but is owned by the state

Analyzing in her article on the opposition’s attacks on Putin, Elizabeth Wood a professor of Russian studies at the Massachusetts Institute noted that the behavior of the opposition is paradoxical in that they are trying to combine nationalist (or even xenophobic) rhetoric with economic liberalism,, and all kinds of denigration of PutinDespite the fact that the simplest way of political protest is attacks that equate the ruling regime with the personality of the political leadership,, and this practice is common throughout the world, however, in her opinion, in this case, the protest activity of the Russian opposition has become extremely personal, and humiliating

Protest moods after 2013

Corruption in Russia

By 1999, the last year of Boris Yeltsin's presidency, Russia was being called one of the most corrupt countries in the world This year, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), calculated by the international agency Transparency International Russia shared 82-83rd places with Ecuador out of 99 countries included in this rating

In the 2000s, Russia joined several international agreements to combat corruption So, at the end of 2005, Putin submitted to the State Duma a federal law on the ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption of October 31, 2003In March 2006, he signed this law,, and thus the Convention was ratified, which creates the basis for the interaction of law enforcement agencies of various states in the fight against corruption,, and also establishes several standards for anti-corruption policy In July 2006, Putin signed a federal law ratifying the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption

In the early years of Putin's presidency, there was an opinion that the level of corruption had increased compared to the Yeltsin according to a study by the INDEM Foundation, 2001-2005the volume of corruption in the sphere of relations between government, and business has increased almost 10 times (from 33.5 to 316 billion dollars, which exceeded the expenditures of the federal budget of Russia in 2005 ), domestic corruption has increased 4 times,, and the average size of a bribe has increased from 10.2 thousand dollars to 135.8 thousand dollars for the same period

As the authors of the special project of the Kommersant publication note, “Twenty years together values economic history of the times of Vladimir Putin”, which took place on September 14, 2006, the contract killing of Andrey Kozlov First Deputy Head of the Bank of Russia, who headed the Committee for Banking Supervision of the Central Bank, made obvious the existence in the Russian economy of a conglomerate of the banking business, and corrupt groups involved in the laundering of shadow income in Russia, and their export to other jurisdictions, as well as providing "gray" consumer imports with understated customs values follows from media publications, this system has existed for years, and could not help but have high-ranking officials in law enforcement agencies, and other government institutions as accomplicesOfficial recognition of the existence of this system did happen part part of the development of the situation was the arrest, and death in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center in 2009 of the auditor Sergei Magnitsky whose actions could threaten the servicing of shadow financial flows associated with the liberalization of shares. Gazprom "

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the Central Bank of Russia has begun to gradually block the channels of money laundering, and clean up the Russian banking system, which developed in the 1990s during the formation of financial, and industrial groups, into a minimally civilized stateThis work made it possible to reveal the presence of systemic business ties between Russian law enforcement agencies, and organized crime organized under politician Vladimir crime Magnitsky case was the reason for the imposition of sanctions against Russia by the US, and the EU

In February 2008, Boris Nemtsov one of the leaders of the SPS party,, and Vladimir Milov former Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia, published a report “PutinResults” where it was stated that one of the most negative results of Putin's presidency was a significant increase in the level of corruption This topic was developed in several more reports: “ Putin Result 10 years ” (published by the Solidarity movement in June 2010 ), and “Putin Corruption” (published by the People’s Freedom Party in March 2011, among the authors is also a politician Vladimir Ryzhkov )In August 2012, BNemtsov, in collaboration with LMartynyuk, presented the report “The life of a galley slave places, yachts, cars, planes, and other accessories”

In March 2011, Putin, as head of government, announced the need to introduce a rule requiring government officials to report on their expenses relevant under the law (“On control over the compliance of expenses of persons holding public office, and other persons with their income”) was signed by him in early December 2012

According to a study by the British auditing company Ernst & Young conducted in the spring of 2012, in 2011 corruption risks in Russia have significantly decreased, and in many respects have become below the global average study more than 1,500 top managers of the largest companies from 43 countries of the world took part in the Ernst & Young studySotudystudy stud if in 2011 39% of managers surveyed in Russia stated the need to give bribes in cash to protect buss offenses and or achieve corporate benefits, then in 2012 this number was 16% The Corruption Perceptions Index according to Transparency International in Russia as of 2011 was 2.4 points (143 out of 183 countries).

In April 2013, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law introduced by Putin prohibiting officials, deputies, judges, law enforcement officers from having bank accounts, and financial assets abroad; real estate abroad is allowed to have, but it must be declared without fail

In 2014, the Corruption, and Organized Crime Investigation Project (OCCRP) named Putin the OCCRP Person of the year according to OCCRP, this was facilitated by "the unsurpassed merits of Russian President Vladimir Putin Donbassn turning his country into the world's largest center for laundering criminal money, connecting all organized crime of Ukrainian Crimea, and DDonbasto it as well as an" impeccable "reputation in terms of ensuring impunity for corrupt criminal offense offenses and offenses and the transformation of organized criminal groups into an integral part of the state system”

In 2014, a detailed study of the corruption of Putin, and his circle was published: Karen Dawisha's "Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?" ( Eng Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia? )

In 2016, U.SDeputy Secretary of the Treasury for Counterterrorism, and Financial Intelligence Adam Shubin accused Putin of corruption, and pointed out that the official salary of $110,000 a year is not an accurate indicator of the wealth of the Russian PresidentInpresident the BBC film "Putin's Secret Riches", shown by the BBC on January 25, Shubin expressed the opinion that "Putin has a lot of experience in disguising his real wealth" A representative of the US presidential administration confirmed that Shubin's words correspond to the position of the White HouseMatthew Rodjansky, director of the Cannon Institute in the United States, noted that Putin's accusations of corruption are circulating in the WestnotWest not for the first year, they were put forward by both officials, and private individuals commenting on the new harshness against Putin, political scientist Dimitri Simes attributed it to partisan competition in the United States ahead of the US presidential election, and attempts to avoid the impression that " Obama is backing down on Putin, and that Putin is outmaneuvering Obama." American political scientist and Sovietologist Teodor Karasik believes that allegations of corruption are a political blow to the Putinist system,, and the purpose of the strike is to use the economic problems in Russia“However,” the expert believes, “there is a misunderstanding of the White House that this does not work in Russia,, and even more so about the Putin system.” Putin's spokesman called the allegations of corruption a fabrication, and slander requiring proof

After the invasion of Ukraine (2022)

Protest actions with anti-war, and anti-Putin slogans also spread to other countries of the world from Australia to Japan In Berlin, more than 100,000 people took part in the demonstration (according to activists, about 500,000 people ) Putin's decision to invade Ukraine was condemned by the leaders of a number several, and by more than 200 Nobel laureates ^{European, Western, Israeli media}criticized Putin's actions German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said that "Putin lied to the West" On March 16, the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling Vladimir Putin a war criminal and urging the International Criminal Court to investigate him Putin was criticized by cultural, and sports figures some of them equated Putin, and Hitler In Russia, famous people are asking Putin to stop the invasion Russian actors, musicians, writers, and teachers opposed the war with Ukraine Anti-war protests began in Russia

Historical parallels with Hitler

Some observers have noted similarities between Putin's words, and actions during the invasion of Ukraine, and Hitler's rhetoric, and actions before, and at the start of World War IIFor example, Doctor of Economics, and Political Sciences, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense Dov Za email argues maintaining that there is a similarity between Hitler's rhetoric in the seizure of the Sudetenland, and Putin's rhetoric in the invasion of Ukraine - Hitler claimed that Germans live in the Sudetenland, who do not want to be part of Czechoslovakia, Putin claimed that Russians live in Donetsk, and Lugansk, who do not want to be part of Ukraine and are being harassed by the Ukrainian government Historian Benjamin Nathans points out the same, adding that Putin may be motivated by a sense of national humiliation after the collapse of the USSR, just as Hitler was motivated by Germany's defeat in World War ^I.

Worldview, political views, attitude to religion

outlook

According to Leonid Mlechin

"a young man who wants to become a scout chooses a field of activity in which the usual rules of morality and morality do not apply task of a scout is to persuade others to commit a crime: after all, a recruited agent is forced to steal documents, give out secrets, lie to everyone, including those closest to him, betray friends, and homeland the same time, the recruiting officer knows that his agent may end up behind bars or even experts sure that such work in itself often causes severe damage to the intelligence officer's psyche. That's why in the intelligence school they try to arm the listeners morally, explaining that in the name of the Motherland, everything must be done"

According to political preferences, political scientists, and journalists attribute Vladimir Putin to an s as conservative although one of the world's leading news portals Business Insider believes that Vladimir Putin is not a conservative, but a real politician who is guided solely by his own interests, not moral or ideological principles

Among the philosophers, and historians quoted by Putin, there are predominantly right-wing conservatives: IAIlyin KNLeontiev LNGumilyov NABerdyaev NMKaramzin DIMendeleev V SSolovyov Putin's favorite philosopher is calledIAIlyin Philosopher Michel Yelchaninov has described the core features of Putin's worldview as conservatism, an anti-Western theory of a special "Russian path",, and Eurasianism ^{At the same time, the Soviet past} left its mark on Putin's worldview

In a 2013 interview, Putin described himself as a pragmatist with a conservative bent According to Peskov, he is skeptical, and “without optimism” about the monarchy In 2014, Putin himself, in one of his statements, ranked himself among the liberals also in the same year called himself “the biggest nationalist in Russia” and in 2018 he called himself “the most correct, and effective nationalist” in Russia In 2016, the president said that he always liked, and continues to like socialist ideas According to Alexei Venediktov, "Putin is not a Stalinist,, and he does not like Stalin ", among the Russian monarchs, Catherine II considers the most pleasant

Attitude to Russian, and Soviet history

In 2013, Putin initiated the creation of a single line of Russian history textbooks for secondary schools, which should be devoid of internal contradictions, and double interpretations The study of Russian history in schools using textbooks reformatted to fit the new historical, and cultural standard began in the 2016/2017 academic year On April 25, 2005, in a message to the Federal Assembly, Putin called the collapse of the USSR the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century and called on society to consolidate in the matter of arranging a newly democratic Russia

In December 2019, Putin devoted several speeches at international, and Russian forums to the issue of the West’s responsibility for the outbreak of World War II while mentioning the European Parliament’s resolution “ On the Importance of Preserving Historical Memory for the Future of Europe ”, timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in which an equal sign was put between communist ideology and Nazism,, and it was also stated that the war was the direct result of the Non-Aggression Treaty between the two totalitarian powers - Germany, and the USSR which, according to the authors of the resolution, "had a common goal - the conquest of the whole world." Putin sharply criticized the resolution of the European Parliament, pointing out the role that according to him, the Western European powers played in the events leading up to the outbreak of World War II The true causes of the war, according to Putin, lie in the enslaving conditions of the Treaty of Versailles which became a “national humiliation” for Germany,, and the subsequent policy of European states towards Germany, which created a springboard for a future war As for the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact", it was the latest in a series of peace agreements that Nazi Germany signed with other European countries in the 1930sSeparately, Putin touched on the role of Poland, characterizing it extremely negatively, and advising its current leadership to “apologize for what happened before” Putin's speeches provoked a sharp reaction from the Polish authorities

Russian political scientist Alexei Makarkin believes that the president’s emphasis on the events of pre-war history, and the sharpness of his assessments are because history in Russia has traditionally been used to legitimize power, both within the country, and at the foreign policy level,, and the main factor in the legitimacy of the Russian the state leftover citizens maintaining from Soviet times is the Great Patriotic War, and victory in this war is still a matter of pride for the vast majority of Russian citizens maintaining this legitimacy obviously implies the need to protect the Russian version of the events of the war from critics both outside the country Russian and inside it

Back in May 2014, Russia criminalized the public denial of the facts established by the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal the public approval of the crimes established by this verdict, “the dissemination of knowingly false information about the activities of the USSR during the Second World War”, as well as the “dissemination of those expressing clear disrespect for society information about the days of military glory, and memorable dates of Russia related to the defense of the Fatherland, as well as the desecration of the symbols of the military glory of Russian corresponding article “Rehabilitation of Nazism” was introduced into the Russian Criminal Code After that, according to Alexei Makarkin, the mechanisms of censorship, and self-censorship intensified in the Russian public space - for example, in 2017, the expert council of the Higher Attestation Commission refused to approve the decision to award the degree of Doctor of Science to Kirill Alexandrov for his dissertation “Generals, and officers of the armed formations of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia 1943 -1946"

Putin has repeatedly expressed regret about the collapse of the USSR calling it the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.

Putin spoke sharply about the results of the activities, and ideas of the leader of the October Revolution,, Lenin Lenin, according to the president, led to the destruction of historical Russia

Attitude towards religion

In January 2012, during the election campaign, Putin revealed that he had been baptized into Orthodoxy as an infant The baptism took place in November 1952 (on StMichael's Day ) in Leningrad at the Transfiguration Cathedral

Putin has repeatedly drawn parallels between Christianity, and communist ideology, arguing that the core values of the Code of the Builder of Communism— “freedom, fraternity, equality, justice” — “are all laid down in Holy Scripture, it’s all there… Ideas are generally good… but the practical implementation of these wonderful ideas in our country was far from what the utopian socialists expounded”

In an interview with CNN host Larry King on September 8, 2000, to the question: "Do you believe in a higher power?" Putin replied:

“I believe in manI believe in his good intentionsIintentionsgood and believe that we are all here to do good and if we do this,, and we do it together, then we will be successful in our relations, in relates between our states But the most important thing is that we will achieve the most important thing in this way - we will achieve comfort in our own heart.

Putin met regularly with Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, and All Russia (beginning on December 31, 1999, the day Boris Yeltsin handed over presidential power to Putin,, and on January 11, 2000, when Putin, together with Alexy II, took part in a reception in the Kremlin, dedicated to the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ), meets with the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia Kiril participates in religious services, during trips around the country visits various Orthodox churches, and monasteries, during divine services he overshadows himself with the sign of the cross In the early 2000s, a version circulated in the Russian media that Putin's confessor was Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) Putin himself has never confirmed or denied this version.

According to the Los Angeles Times Putin, together with Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, and All Russia played a decisive role in May 2007 in overcoming the 80-year split between the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and in bringing the ROCOR into the ROC as a self-governing church

According to Putin, "both the traditional confessions of Russia, and the nuclear shield are the components that strengthen the Russian statehood, create the necessary prerequisites for ensuring the internal, and external security of the country"

globe andIn 2013, Putin took first place in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of "the most influential people in the world" pushing Barack Obama to these campaign second place according to the compilers of the rating, Putin deserved the first place, since 2013 he showed himself as “an autocrat who actively demonstrated strength in his own country, and in the international arena” In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, and the beginning of the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine the result was repeated In 2016, Putin was named the most powerful person in the world by Forbes magazine for the fourth time “The Russian president has extended his country's influence to almost every corner of the globe wants according to between honorAnd at home,, and in Syria,, and in the presidential elections in the United States, Putin gets what he want unconstrained established world norms, he has been able to increase his influence in recent years,” the magazine noted

In October 2015, at a meeting with the participants of the Valdai Forum Putin described himself as a “dove with iron wings” Among the human qualities most unpleasant to Putin are lies, and incompetence It was noted that even during the years of service in the Dresden residency, Putin was distinguished from his colleagues by a purely sober lifestyle

Former U.SPresident Barack Obama who met with Putin on numerous occasions, noted in his memoirs published in 2020 that he reminded him of “the tough bosses brought up by the laws of the streets who used to rule Chicago”

Putin's height is 170 cm, which, according to journalist Emmanuel Grynszpan, published in the Swiss publication Le Temps during his tenure as president created certain problems when photographing him next to other political figures

Dynamics of support for Putin (2010-2020)

According to Russian political scientist, and analyst Kirill Rogov (2015), the first decade of the 1st century in Russian political history was characterized by a high level of popular support for the regime, political stability,, and significant economic successThe signs of the domestic political crisis of 2011-2013 drew a line under this period, which was preceded by the Russian financial, and economic crisis of 2008-2010In the first phase of the crisis, the population was inclined to blame it on external factors, and retained confidence in the Putin system, but after the winter of 2010-2011a surge in inflation led to a deterioration in income dynamics, current assessments of the situation, and Putin's approval have declinedSince the spring of 2011, the positive dynamics of real incomes, and assessments of personal financial situation have been restored,, and the dynamics of assessments of the current situation has stabilized, but Putin's own rating continued to declineAdded to this was a significant deterioration in economic dynamics in the second half of 2012–2013, which took place against the backdrop of high oil pricesThe situation that arose was taken so seriously by the Russian leadership that it went for a radical revision of the existing external, and internal balances, and, in particular, for a decisive conflict with the West,annexation of Crimea Putin has been the most popular politician in Russia since 1999

Despite Putin's attempt at conservative consolidation in 2012-2013, his rating, which had fallen by December 2011, remained at the level of 63-65%,, and the regional elections of September 2013 demonstrated either the passivity of the population where there were no elections competition, or the mobilization of protest voting where opposition candidates were admitted to the elections: in Moscow, in the mayoral elections, Alexei Navalny received about 30% of the vote,, and in Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman won, gaining 36% of the vote

Period 2009-2013 in general, it was characterized by a weakening of the political factors of support for Putin as a leader, and a decrease in confidence in the socio-political systemPutin during this period no longer had such a stable super-majority of support as beforeWhile the level of approval of President Putin in 2013 stabilized at 63%, the quality of support continued to deteriorate - the group of firm supporters of Putin was shrinking, while the share of those who had determined their negative attitude towards him was growingThe desire to see Putin as head of state after 2018 was stated in 2013 by 20-25% of respondents,, and even the proportion of those who would like to see Putin or a person continuing his policy in this post was only 40%, while exactly the same number of people talked about the desire to see a person as president, which will offer a different solution to Russia's problemsThe decline in Putin's popularity looked like a systemic phenomenon associated with voters' overestimation of both the effectiveness of the current political regime, and its basic values and ideologiesIn particular, serious changes have taken place in the respondents' assessment of the key concept of the Putin system - the "vertical of power"

Thus, the period 2010-2013was generally characterized by a weakening of the political factors of support for Putin as a leader, a decrease in confidence in the socio-political system, devaluation of Putin's image, and a gradual reassessment of those basic ideologies, and values ("order", "centralization", "stability") that were associated with this image, and which determined the loyalty of the population to the institutional solutions proposed by the leader

The restoration of the supermajority could only be achieved through a serious mobilization project, comparable to the war in Chechnya (2000) or the war in Georgia (2008)The annexation of Crimea, which provoked a large-scale conflict with the West, according to Kirill Rogov, was designed to “reformat the domestic political space, form a new supermajority of the nation that is fighting for the return of its historical territories with an alliance of hostile powers, marginalize the elites advocating a pro-Western agenda (social, and economic modernization ),, and thus provide new grounds for the legitimacy of the regime in the medium term”

In the spring of 2014, a sharp increase in Putin's rating was recorded According to the international research association Gallup Institute (Gallup), the level of support for Putin among Russians rose to a record level of 83% (an increase of 29% in a year) Sociologists noted that such a high level of approval is primarily due to Russia's position on the crisis in Ukraine, and the admission of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation as well as the triumphant performance of the Russian teams at the Olympic, and Paralympic Games in Sochi

In February 2015, according to the Levada Center levels according to the level of approval of Putin's activities as president reached 86%

According to VTsIOM published in October 2015, Putin's work approval rating was 89.9%The high level of support was explained by the successful military operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria

In 2018, following the highly unpopular pension reform Vladimir Putin's approval rate dropped to pre-Crimea levels according to VTsIOM, the rating fell from 17 to 24 June from 72.1% to 63.4%As of May 24, 2019, the level of approval of the activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to VTsIOM, was 65.8%

Image promotions

In February 2014, the XXII Olympic Winter Games were held in Sochi

In the summer of 2018, Russia hosted the 21st FIFA World Cup In December 2010, after the victory of the Russian bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Putin, then still in the rank of prime minister, personally flew to Zurich to thank the members of the FIFA executive committee for the trust placed in Russia The Western press, in particular the press of England, which lost the right to host the World Cup to Russia, has repeatedly accused Vladimir Putin of bribing high-ranking FIFA members

On August 31, 2008, Putin visited the Ussuri Nature Reserve where he got acquainted with the program to save the Ussuri tigers In the same place, in the taiga, scientists from the Institute of Ecology, and Evolution named after A.NSevertsova 5-year-old tigress was caught in a special trapHaving discovered that the animal was freed from the loop,, and in order to prevent the tigress from escaping into the taiga, Putin shot her in the shoulder blade from a device for remote immobilization of animals, put a GPS collar on the sleeping animal with his own handsIn the winter of the same year, it was reported that Putin was monitoring the movements of the animal in the Ussuri taigaAccording to the official version, the tigress, nicknamed Earring, has already managed to acquire offspringHowever, after comparing the photographs of Serga taken by camera traps during the movement of the animal in the taiga with those in which the tigress was next to Putin, the bloggers stated that they depicted different animals September 11, 2012, according to Masha Gessen, Putin, in a conversation with her, admitted that the tiger he shot then was from a zoo,, and the whole story was invented by him to draw attention to tigers Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov in an interview with Interfax said that Gessen "expressed the content of this meeting quite correctly, with the exception of a number of minor flaws" Environmental, and image campaigns involving Putin caused, according to analysts, criticism, and ridicule in the Russian, and foreign press, as well as in the blogosphere

On September 5, 2012, at the Kushevat ornithological station near Salekhard Putin took part in an experiment conducted as part of the Flight of Hope project to save the Siberian Cranes listed in the Red Book In order to show the six Siberian Cranes bred in the Ryazan nursery the flight route for wintering in warmer climes, Putin in white overalls at the head of the crane wedge, being at the helm ^of a motorized hang glider made three flights: the first trial, two more - together with the Siberian Cranes This news caused ridicule in blogs: Internet users competed in wit, and composing jokes on this topic, many remembered Valery Leontiev 's popular song Hang Glider Masha Gessen, editor-in-chief of the Vokrug Sveta magazine, refused to cover Putin's crane flight, after which, according to her, she was fired from the post of editor-in-chief of the magazine On April 28, 2010, Putin visited the Franz Josef Land archipelago where he got acquainted with the work of an expedition of scientists observing the population of polar bears Putin put a GPS collar on one of the bearsLater in the press there were allegations that the animal was caught in advance, and kept locked up for several days before the arrival of a distinguished guest under the influence of strong sedatives

Later, "Putin's Cranes", accompanied by a trike, flew to the Beloozersky Federal Reserve located in the Armizonsky district of the Tyumen region however, a flock of local gray cranes flew away for the winter without them on October 9, "Putin's Siberian Cranes", together with ornithologists, returned by plane back to their home - to the Oksky Reserve According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets publication, after Putin's flight, the problems of the West Siberian Siberian Cranes ceased to be dealt with,, and by 2017 their population was on the verge of extinction

On August 10, 2011, while visiting an archaeological site at the site of the ancient Greek Phanagoria Putin dived with scuba gear to the bottom of Taman Bay From the bottom, Putin raised two amphoras according to the head of the archaeological expedition, VI century ADe This event caused jokes, and derisive comments in the press, both in Russia, and abroad On October 4, 2011, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov in an interview with the Dozhd TV channel, admitted that Putin did not find the amphorae, but they were planted in advance In 2012 Masha Gessenin an article for Bolshoy Gorod magazine, she wrote that Putin, in a conversation with her, confirmed that the amphoras were planted,, and laughed "at idiots who could even think that this was not so." According to Putin, the amphora plot was invented so that people would know their history

In August 2015, Putin descended in a bathyscaphe to a depth of 80 m in the Black Sea as part of an expedition of the Russian Geographical society atto the bottom, the president saw a ship, which, according to him, dates back to the time of the development of relations between Kievan Rus, and Byzantium.

In July 2019, Putin plunged into a bathyscaphe to the bottom of the Gulf of Finland according to honor the memory of the submariners who died aboard the submarine SSuchhch-308 "Syomga" which sank during the Great Patriotic War

Hobbies

He enjoys skiing Master of sports in sambo (1973), and judo (1975) champion of Leningrad in judo (1976) honored coach of Russia in sambo (1998) champion of the Central Council DSO "Trud" winner of the USSR Cup winner of the DSO "Zalgiris", and " Kalev " championships, became a multi nnerwinners of university championships In his youth, Anatoly Rakhlin was Putin's judo coach for 11 years. (1938-2013), later coach of the Russian women's judo according to Sakhalin, Putin could wrestle beautifully, “even as a kid he knew how to endure pain”, “took in competitions not with “physics”, but with resourcefulness.” At the same time, Putin's actions, the coach pointed out, were difficult to calculate, he was a dangerous opponent Putin himself noted that the judo mentor probably played a "decisive role" in his life Since 1998, Putin has been the honorary president of the StPetersburg judo sports club Yavara-Neva In November 2014, the International Committee of the Kyokushin-kan Karate-Do Organization awarded Vladimir Putin the eighth dan Kyokushinkai

In 1999, a book by Putin co-authored with Vasily Shestakov, and Aleksey Levitsky on practical judo lessons, Learning Judo with Vladimir Putin, was published On October 6, 2008, a presentation of an educational film, a video supplement to this book, took place in the Konstantinovsky Palace The film was filmed in StPetersburg with Putin as himself During the visit of the President of Russia to the 2012 Olympics in London, it became known that Putin himself continues to practice judo, and supports the Judo Federation of the Russian Federation In 2013, he became the owner of the honorary ninth dan in the Korean martial art of taekwondo, and in 2021 he was deprived of this.

In 2011, he mastered skating and started playing hockey

Putin loves the works of KiplingtoKipling sKiplingince childhood in adulthood he prefers the work of MYuLermontov Speaking in 2013 at the first Congress of Parents, he called for the inclusion of Bella Akhmadulina 's poems in the compulsory school curriculum in literature One of Putin's favorite songs is " Where the Motherland Begins " by VBasner, and MMatusovsky Putin himself sings this melody, and plays it on the piano which is why the song is referred to in the press as "the unofficial anthem of the Soviet security officer" Favorite musical group - group " Lyube " Putin is a fan of the opera work of Dmitri Hvorostovsky the Swedish musical quartet ABBA listens with pleasure to the chanson of Grigory Leps gypsy music, and songs, the Gypsy Dvor ensemble performed more than once at Putin's personal celebrations At Putin's invitation, Khibla Gerzmava an opera singer, and People's Artist of the Russian Federation, repeatedly performed in front of his guests in the Kremlin

Collects geographical maps, and postage stamps with images of prominent people He loves fishing, and spearfishing in July 2013 he caught a 21-kilogram pike on a lake in Tuva with a lure A characteristic technique is fly-fishing

Fluent in German can speak English According to Willy Wimmer former Vice-Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vladimir Putin distinguishes among other politicians by the ability to accurately, and confidently translate spontaneous German speech in front of an audience

Personal life

Family

On June 6, 2013, in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel, Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin announced that their marriage was actually completed by mutual decision wedding, as Putin later noted, was not held, therefore, according to him, the religious side of divorce does not exist The divorce itself, explained Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov as of March 2014, was formalized On July 28, 1983, 30-year-old Putin married 25-year-old Lyudmila Alexandrovna Shkrebneva

Children and grandchildren

Two daughters were born into the marriage: Maria (April 28, 1985, in Leningrad ) and Katerina (August 31, 1986, in Dresden ) - studied at StPetersburg State University (entered in 2003) - Maria in biology and soil Katerina - at the eastern faculty The privacy of Putin's daughters is carefully guarded, a version was published that if they were registered at the university, then not under their last names On December 20, 2012, responding at a press conference to a direct question from a journalist about whether he has grandchildren, Putin evaded the answer, explaining that the country hardly needed to know this, but said that both of his daughters were in Moscow, " study and partly work”

According to information disseminated in Western and Russian media, Maria is married to the Dutchman Jorrit Joost Faassen, a businessman, former top manager of Gazprombank and the Russian consulting group MEF Audit The media mentioned that for some time Maria lived in the Dutch city of Vorschoten but Putin claimed in 2015 that none of his daughters had ever lived abroad As of 2015, Maria Faassen is a graduate of the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of Moscow State University (according to The New Times she studied as Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova ), candidate of medical sciences, specialist in the field of endocrinology Co-author of a scientific study on the topic "The state of the antioxidant system of the blood in patients with acromegaly "He is an employee of the Endocrinological Research Center in Moscow, participates in the charity project of the Alfa-Endo Foundation, funded by the Alfa Group the purpose of which is to help children with diseases of the endocrine system Co-owner of Nomeco, which is involved in the implementation of the largest private investment project in the Russian healthcare sector to combat cancer; its cost is estimated at 40 billion rubles

According to media reports, Katerina under the surname Tikhonova (patronymic "Tikhonovna" was her maternal grandmother) from February 2013 to January 2018 was married to Kirill Shamalov- the son Nikolai Shamalov co-owner of the Rossiya bank Putin's comrade in the Ozero cooperative Katerina heads the National Intellectual Development Foundation and the Innopraktika company together with Moscow State University, she is implementing a $1.7 billion development project on Sparrow HillsCandidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (2019) Sources close to the university's leadership, on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Reuters and Bloomberg that Tikhonova is Putin's daughter answering journalists' question about his relationship with Tikhonova, Putin did not confirm this fact, but he did not deny it either

According to published data, on August 15, 2012, a son was born to Maria in Moscow The birth of Putin's grandson was also confirmed in 2014 by his longtime friend, musician Sergei Roldugin Finally, in June 2017, Putin confirmed in an interview with Oliver Stone for his documentary The Putin Interviews that he has grandchildren During the Direct Line on June 15, 2017, Vladimir Putin said that his second grandson had recently been born

Relatives

In connection with family ties with Putin, the press also mentioned:

Grandfather - Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (1879-1965).

Cousin - Igor Aleksandrovich Putin (born March 30, 1953, in Leningrad), engineer, a lawyer by education, served in the Armed Forces for 24 years, then worked in the civil service, in 2013 vice president and board member of Master Bank

Cousin-nephew - Roman Igorevich Putin (born in 1977), chairman of the board of directors of MRT Group of Companies LLC, co-owner of MRT-AVIA From July to November 2020, he was the chairman of the People Against Corruption party; in December 2020, he established and headed Russia Without Corruption partyHe put forward his candidacy in the 214th constituency of StPetersburg in the parliamentary elections of 2021, but eventually withdrew it on the recommendation of a person I respect At least until 2013, he owned the offshore Infinite Capital Corp, registered in the Seychelle

The son of a cousin is Mikhail ShelomovFrom the 2000s until 2017, he worked as a chief specialist in the StPetersburg office of Sovcomflot Through subsidiaries, he owns 8.4% of the shares of Rossiya Bank 12.47% of Sogaz (since 2004), 100% of SOGAZ-real estate (since 2009) and 50% of Igora Drive, which built a car racing track near the ski resort Igora near StPetersburgAccording to the OCCRP investigation “Putin and intermediaries” published in September 2017 Mikhail Shelomov is part of the president’s inner circle of 21 people and over the past few years has acquired assets worth $573 million, and at the end of 2016 received 2.04 billion rubles net profit (more than 5.5 million rubles per day ).

Niece by cousin - Anna Evgenievna Tsivileva (according to the investigation of the publication "Agency")Wife of the Governor of the Kemerovo Region Sergei Tsivilev Since March 2012, she bought the Kolmar coal company for a symbolic price from Gennady Timchenko Since then, according to various estimates, the company has received more than 11 billion rubles in financial assistance from the state, its value is $ 2.5 billion, and if the plan for 2022 is fulfilled, the company can enter the top 5 largest coal miners in RussiaShe was awarded by her husband the medal "For Service to Kuzbass"

Nephew by cousin - Mikhail PutinPutinA doctor by education, in 2018 he became Deputy Chairman of GazpromDmitry Peskov admitted that he is a "distant relative" of Putin, with whom the president "actually does not communicate "

Income information

There is a more complete article Vladimir_Putin#Personal_wealthin the other language section

In February 2008, Putin, when asked about his financial condition and the sources of his wealth, answered that he was “the richest man not only in Europe but also in the world,” but his wealth is intangible: he is “rich because he collects emotions” and also because "the people of Russia have twice entrusted him with the leadership of such a great country." Putin called the allegations of a multibillion-dollar fortune “just chatter that has nothing to discuss,” concluding that “they picked it all out of their noses and smeared it on their pieces of paper”

Putin's declared income for 2018 amounted to 8.6 million rubles according to the declaration, Putin owns an apartment of 77 m² and a garage of 18 m², and an apartment of 153.7 m² is also in use Putin still owns two GAZ M21 cars, a Niva car and a Skif trailer The official income of the president, according to the declaration for 2019, amounted to 9.7 million rubles, the composition of movable and immovable property did not change compared to 2018.

Health status

On November 30, 2012, the Japanese agency Kyodo Tsushin officially announced that the December visit of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to Moscow was postponed due to Putin's poor health and back pain Responding to this message, DPeskov explained that the Japanese prime minister, making a statement, proceeded from unreliable informationThe head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov said that Putin had no health problems, but admitted that he had a minor sports injury Since the beginning of autumn 2012, for the first time, the press began to receive information about some of Putin's health problemsDuring the September APEC summit in Vladivostok observers noted that Putin moved with a noticeable limp Then the attention of journalists was attracted by the less than usual mobility of the head of state, the unmotivated cancellation of a number of foreign trips Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the president had a common sports injury - he pulled a muscle in trainingIn October, Reuters claimed that due to back problems, Putin was forced to wear a bandage and needed surgery On November 27, 2012, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that while doing judo, Putin suffered a back injury

Putin is skeptical about taking medicines, even if they are ordinary cold pills, his doctor, general director of the Medical Center of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, testified in August 2013 Sergey Mironov Putin prefers folk remedies to drug treatment - tea with honey, a bath, massages a recovery procedure and adaptation to stressful loads, she practices swimming according to the doctor, from the point of view of medicine, the state of Putin's body is much younger than his years In case of emergency, treatment takes place in the Central Clinical Hospital On December 24, 2012, during the president's visit to India the Indian Express agency, citing government sources, reported that Putin had spent time on medical therapy for his back for the same reason, the traditional lunch with the Prime Minister was canceled, as well as dinner with the President of India

Residences and official vehicles

Since 2000, Putin has been living permanently in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence in the near Moscow region There he also receives official guests and holds business meetings leaving the presidency in 2008, Putin chose the Novo-Ogaryovo residence for life used by the Federal Law of February 12, 200,1 N 12-FZ “On Guarantees to the President of the Russian Federation, who has ceased to exercise his powers, and to members of his family” For the speedy arrival of the head of state to work in the Kremlin by Mi -8 helicopter, by May 2013, a helicopter landing site was built in the Trinity Garden Putin decided to regularly use a helicopter to travel to work involve Moscow from traffic jams caused by the daily passage of the presidential motorcade In the Kremlin, Putin has a service apartment

In addition to Novo-Ogarev, Putin uses several residences in different parts of Russia for his stay and activities: in particular, near StPetersburg - the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna; I Sochi- Bocharov Ruchey; in the Tver region- " Rus ", on the territory of the national park "Zavidovo"; on the Valdai lake- Long Beards

UIn2018, Putin used a Mercedes Pullman as an official car on May 7, 2018, at the inauguration, for the first time, he publicly drove a new Russian limousine for the Cortege project Putin's permanent presidential aircraft is Il-the 96 onboard which there is an office and apartments of the head of state, a meeting room, and a command control panel of the Armed Forces

Putin in culture

Putin is often mentioned in popular, street, internet culture, and other picture posters, songs, graffiti, short videos,s and films, including documentaries, jokes, s and more are dedicated to the PresidentAnalyzing the Soviet television film about the illegal intelligence agent " Seventeen Moments of Spring ", film critics Stephen Lovell and Mark Lipovetsky draw parallels between Putin and Stirlitz noting that both adherence to a patriotic mission is combined with a European image

In May 2015, the Cossack Union of StPetersburg installed a bust of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the image of the Roman Emperor in the suburbs of the city "as a tribute to the annexation of Crimea"

On May 29, 2018, in the village of Chastoozerye Kurgan Region on the initiative of State Duma deputy AVIltyakov the monument “Serving the Fatherland” was opened was assumed that in the center of the monument there would be a 3.5-meter figure of Russian President Vladimir Putin by sculptor Olga Yuryevna KrasnosheinaHowever, the presidential administration strongly opposed it, and two days before the opening of the monument, the sculpture was dismantled

In philately

Three postage stamps of Russia as well as postage stamps of Azerbaijan North Korea Liberia Moldova Slovakia were dedicated to V.VPutin Slovenia and Uzbekistan

Filmography

2001 — “PutinLeap year" A is a film about the first year of Vladimir Putin's presidency.
2007 - " 55 " - a documentary film by Nikita Mikhalkov about the presidency of Vladimir Putin was shown for the 55th anniversary of Putin.
2012 - film "Putin, Russia and the West"
2015 - " President " - Russian full-length documentary film by Vladimir Solovyov
2015 - " CrimeaThe Way to the Motherland " is a Russian feature-length documentary by Andrey Kondrashov
2015 - "The World Order" - Russian full-length documentary film by Vladimir Solovyov.
2016 - " Ukraine on Fire " - American feature documentary film by Igor Lopatyonok
2017 - " Interview with Putin " - American four-part documentary film by Oliver Stone
2017 - "Big, beloved, dear" - Russian short feature film by the children's film studio "Tenth Muse".
2018 - "Valaam" - a Russian documentary film by Andrey Kondrashov.
2018 - World Order 2018 - Russian full-length documentary film by Vladimir Solovyov.
2018 - "Putin" - Rua Asian feature film by Andrey Kondrashov.
2018 - " Putin's Witnesses " - Russian documentary film by Vitaly Mansky
2018 - " The Case of Sobchak " - Russian documentary by Vera Krichevskaya
2019 - " In the fight for Ukraine " - an American full-length documentary film by Igor Lopatyonok
2020 - series "Putin: the story of a Russian spy" Three-part documentary
2021 — « Palace for PutinThe story of the biggest bribe "- an FBK investigative documentary

List of awards and honorary titles of Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
; President of the Russian Federation ;
	since May 7, 2012
Head of the government	Viktor Zubkov (2012, acting ); Dmitry Medvedev (2012-2020)b; Mikhail Mishustin (since 2020); Andrey Belousov (2020, acting )
Predecessor	Dmitry Medvedev
May 7, 2000 - May 7, 2008; ( acting December 31, 1999 - May 7, 2000)
Head of the government	Mikhail Kasyanov (2000-2004); Viktor Khristenko (2004, acting ); Mikhail Fradkov (2004-2007); Viktor Zubkov (2007-2008)
Predecessor	Boris Yeltsin
Successor	Dmitry Medvedev
; Chairman of the State Council of the Russian Federation ;
	since May 7, 2012
Predecessor	Dmitry Medvedev
November 22, 2000 - May 7, 2008
Predecessor	post established
Successor	Dmitry Medvedev
; Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation ;
	May 8, 2008 - May 7, 2012
President Dmitry	Dmitry Medvedev
Predecessor	Victor Zubkov
Successor	Viktor Zubkov ( acting ); Dmitry Medvedev
August 16, 1999 - May 7, 2000; ( acting August 9-16, 1999)
The president	Boris Yeltsin; himself ( acting )
Predecessor	Sergei Stepashin
Successor	Mikhail Kasyanov
; Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union State ;
	May 27, 2008 - July 18, 2012
Predecessor	Victor Zubkov
Successor	Dmitry Medvedev
; Chairman of the United Russia party ;
	May 7, 2008 - May 26, 2012
Predecessor	Boris Gryzlov
Successor	Dmitry Medvedev
; Chairman; of the Council of CIS Heads of State ;
	January 1 — December 31, 2017
Predecessor	Almazbek Atambaev
Successor	Emomali Rahmon
September 16, 2004 - May 20, 2006
Predecessor	Leonid Kuchma
Successor	Nursultan Nazarbaev
January 25, 2000 - January 29, 2003
Predecessor	Boris Yeltsin
Successor	Leonid Kuchma
; Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation ;
	March 29 - August 9, 1999
President	BorisPlace Yeltsin
Predecessor	Nikolai Bordyuzha
Successor	Sergey Ivanov
; Director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
	July 5, 1998 - August 9, 1999
The president	Boris Yeltsin
Predecessor	Nikolai Kovalev
Successor	Nikolai Patrushev
Birth	October 7, 1952 (age 69) Leningrad, USSR;
Name at birth	Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
Father	Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin
Mother	Maria Ivanovna Putina
Spouse	Lyudmila Putina (Shkrebneva) (1983-2013)
Children	daughters:; Maria (b. 1985); Katerina (b. 1986)
The consignment	CPSU (until August 1991); PDR (1995-1999); Unity (1999-2001); United Russia (chairman, but not a party member, 2008-2012) non-; partisan (since 2012)
Education	Leningrad State University; Higher School of the KGB of the USSR; Red Banner Institute of the KGB of the USSR
Academic degree	Ph.D. in Economics (1997)
Profession	lawyer, intelligence officer, politician _
Activity	Presidency, civil service, special service
Attitude towards religious	orthodoxy
;	;
Website	kremlin.ru ( president. rf )
Military service
Years of service	1975-1991, 1998-1999
Affiliation	USSR → Russia
Type of army	KGB of the USSR → FSB of Russia → Armed Forces of Russia; ; ;
Rank	Colonel (1999); Class rank Active State Councilor of the Russian Federation 1st class;
commanded	Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; (December 31, 1999 - May 7, 2008;; since May 7, 2012)
battles	Second Chechen War ;; War in South Ossetia ;; The military operation in Syria ;; CSTO operation in Kazakhstan n ;; The Russian invasion of Ukraine (222) ;
Place of work	Moscow Kremlin; " Gorki-9 ",; " Bocharov Ruchey ",; " Long Beards "

List of awards, prizes, and titles awarded to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.State

Soviet

Order of the Badge of Honor (1988)

Russian

Order of Honor (March 12, 1996) - for services to the state and a great contribution to the arrangement of the customs border with the Baltic states
The gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (March 30, 1998) - for active participation in the preparation of the Message of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly in 1998
The gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (February 22, 1999) - for his great contribution to strengthening the country's defense capability and in connection with the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland
The gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (July 30, 1999) - for active participation in the implementation of the plan for the political settlement of the conflict between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Nominal naval broadsword from the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, and the commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, Mikhail Yezhel (2000)
Commemorative medal of A. M. Gorchakov ( Russian Foreign Ministry, January 2001)
Order "For Merit to the Republic of Dagestan" (September 13, 2014) - for his great personal contribution to the protection of the constitutional order and in connection with the 15th anniversary of the defeat of international terrorists who invaded the territory of the Republic of Dagestan

Foreign

Bronze medal " For Merit to the National People's Army " ( German: Verdienstmedaille der Nationalen Volksarmee , 1989, GDR )
Order of Ho Chi Minh ( Vietnamese: Huân chương Hồ Chí Minh , March 1, 2001, Vietnam )
Gold medal of the Greek Parliament (December 6, 2001) - as a sign of love and respect of the Greek people for the Russian
Golden Medal of Honor of the City of Athens (December 2001)
Order of the Golden Eagle ( Kazakh Altyn Kyran Order, January 8, 2004, Kazakhstan ) - for an outstanding personal contribution to strengthening traditional relations, friendship, brotherhood, and trust between the peoples of Kazakhstan and Russia, promoting the establishment of good neighborly and mutually beneficial political, economic and cultural ties between the two states
Gold medals of the Senate and Congress of the Cortes Generales (February 9, 2006, Spain )
Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor ( French Grand'croix de la Légion d'honneur, September 22, 2006, France ) - for the contribution of the President of Russia to the development of comprehensive cooperation
Order of King Abdulaziz (February 11, 2007, Saudi Arabia )
Order of Zayed (September 10, 2007, UAE )
Order of Ismaili Somoni, I degree ( Tajik Order Ismaili Somoni, October 6, 2007, Tajikistan ) - for strengthening the strategic partnership and alliance between Tajikistan and Russia
Order of Distinguished Service ( USB. "Buyuk Hizmetleri uchun" order, February 20, 2008, Uzbekistan ) - for great merits in the comprehensive development and deepening of traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation, as well as a significant contribution to ensuring international security and stability
Saxon "Order of Gratitude" in the field of politics ( German "Dankesorden", January 16, 2009, Saxony ) - for the return of three paintings to the gallery of old masters in Dresden, efforts in the Russian-Saxon cultural exchange, and for the "future contribution" to the development of relations between Germany and Russia
Order of the Precious Wand with Pearls ( Mong. Erdeniin Ochir odon, May 13, 2009, Mongolia ) - for merits in strengthening the friendship between Mongolia and Russia
Grand Chain of the Order of the Liberator ( Spanish: Gran Collar Orden del Libertador, April 2, 2010, Venezuela )
Distinction " Nominal firearms " ( Ukr. Vіdznaka "Named firearms", October 27, 2010, Ukraine )
Order Chain of the Order of the Republic of Serbia ( Serb. Order of the Republic of Serbia, February 25, 2013, awarded on October 16, 2014, Serbia ) - for outstanding achievements in the development and strengthening of peaceful cooperation and friendly relations between Serbia and Russia
Order of Friendship of Peoples ( Belarusian Order of Friendship of the People, March 14, 2013, Belarus ) - for a significant personal contribution to the development of integration cooperation and strengthening friendly relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation
^Grand Cross of ^the Order of Saint Charles _ _
Order "Jose Martí" ( Spanish: Orden José Martí , July 11, 2014, Cuba )
Commemorative medal in honor of the 75th anniversary of the victory at Khalkhin Gol (September 3, 2014, Mongolia )
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit ( French Grand-Croix de l'Ordre Nationale du Merite, September 28, 2017, Guinea ) - for help in the fight against Ebola and the opening of a center for the study of this disease
Order "For contribution to the development of cooperation" ( Turkm. Hyzmatdaşlygy ösdürmäge goşandy üçin, October 1, 2017, Turkmenistan ) - for a significant personal contribution to strengthening the independence and sovereignty of our country, the development of political, economic, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation, strengthening the state and public activities of the international prestige of the country, and also taking into account the merits in improving the efficiency of training and education of the younger generation, training highly qualified specialists
Order "Manas" I degree ( Kyrgyz "Manas" order, November 22, 2017, Kyrgyzstan ) - for an outstanding contribution to strengthening the strategic partnership and developing the alliance between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation
Order of Friendship ( Chinese: 友谊勋章, June 8, 2018, China ) - as a sign of the high respect of the Chinese people for President Putin, and as a sign of deep friendship between the great peoples of China and Russia
Order "Uatsamonga" ( Ossetian Order "Uatsamongæ", August 24, 2018, South Ossetia ) - in recognition of the exceptional personal role in repelling the armed aggression of Georgia against the Republic of South Ossetia, as well as in establishing the sovereign statehood of the Republic of South Ossetia
Order "Honor and Glory" I degree ( Abkh. "Akhdz-captcha" Borden, August 24, 2018, Abkhazia ) - for the great personal contribution of the Russian leader to the development of the Abkhaz statehood, strengthening interstate relations, ensuring peace and stability, as well as for active support provided to Abkhazia in the socio-economic development
Order of Agostinho Neto ( port. Ordem Agostinho Neto, April 4, 2019, Angola ) - in gratitude for the support of the republic for many years
Order "The First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev" ( Kaz. "Kazakhstan Respublikasynyn Tұңgysh Prezidentі - Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev" Order, May 27, 2019, Kazakhstan ) - in honor of commemorating the 25th anniversary of the idea ofEurasian integration and the 5th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as for a special contribution to the deepening and expansion of cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan

Religious

Public Order of Merit for the Ummah, 1st class (?, KTsMSK )
Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir I degree (February 8, 2002, Russian Orthodox Church )
Order "Holy Tsar Boris" (March 3, 2003, BOC )
Order "Sheikh ul-Islam" (February 21, 2006, Caucasus Muslim Board ) - in recognition of the high role of Russia in establishing relations between different religions, between people of various faiths, recognizing the high role of Russia, promoting the dialogue of cultures and strengthening stability in the Transcaucasian region
Order of Glory and Honor (2007, Russian Orthodox Church ) - for an invaluable contribution to the strengthening of Russian statehood and the spiritual and moral revival of Russian society
Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh , 1st class ( ROC )
Order of St. Sava , 1st class (2011, SPC )
Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, I degree (2016, Panteleimon Monastery (Athos) )
Order of the Commonwealth (March 25, 2002, CIS Interparliamentary Assembly ) - for active participation in the activities of the Interparliamentary Assembly and its bodies, contribution to strengthening friendship between the peoples of the Commonwealth member states
Badge of Honor of the Commonwealth of Independent States (October 7, 2002) - for outstanding contribution to the strengthening and development of the Commonwealth of the Independent States, friendship, good neighborliness, mutual understanding, and mutually beneficial cooperation between the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Medal "Salvation" (2005, Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia )
Commemorative medal of the Commonwealth of Independent States (February 22, 2008) - for his great personal contribution to strengthening cooperation and friendship between the states and peoples of the Commonwealth of Independent States, mutual understanding and trust between the leaders of the CIS member states

Academic

Russian

Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts
Honorary Doctor of the Russian Military Medical Academy (January 15, 2000)
Honorary Doctor, Member of the Academic Council of the Law Faculty of St. Petersburg University (2000)
Honorary Professor of the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions (October 7, 2008)

Forign

Honorary Doctor of Law of the Turkmen State University named after Makhtumkuli (May 19, 2000, Turkmenistan )
Honorary Doctor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (October 2, 2000, India )
Honorary Doctor of the Baku Slavic University (January 10, 2001, Azerbaijan
Honorary Doctor of Yerevan State University (May 25, 2001, Armenia )
Honorary Doctor of the University of Athens (December 6, 2001, Greece )
Honorary Doctor of the University of Belgrade (March 15, 2011, Serbia )
Honorary Doctor of the University of Peloponnese (February 22, 2018, Greece )
Honorary Doctorate from Tsinghua University (April 26, 2019, China )

Honorary Citizen

Russian

Honorary Citizen of Kazan (August 4, 2005) - for an outstanding contribution to the economic, social, spiritual development of the city
Honorary citizen of St. Petersburg (2006)
Honorary citizen of Astrakhan (2008)
Honorary citizen of Sortavala (2010)
Honorary Citizen of the Republic of Crimea
Honorary citizen of the city of Sevastopol

Foreign

Honorary citizen Vrbas ( Serbia )
Honorary Citizen of Loznica (Serbia)
Honorary Citizen of Raska (Serbia)
Honorary Citizen of Apatin (Serbia)
Honorary Citizen of Požarevac (Serbia)
Honorary Citizen of Sombor (2007, Serbia)
Honorary Citizen of Kosovo and Metohija (2011, Serbia)

Sports

Master of Sports of the USSR in judo and sambo
Honored Coach of Russia in SAMBO (June 5, 1998)
5th dan Kyokushinkai (April 29, 2001 from Hatsuo Royama)
7th dan Kyokushinkai (December 13, 2009, Kyokushinkan version, also not held by Hatsuo Royama)
8th dan Kyokushinkai (November 21, 2014, Kyokushin version, from the President of the International Karate-Do Organization Kyokushin-kan Hatsuo Royama)
8th dan judo of the International Judo Federation (October 10, 2012, from the President of the International Judo Federation Marius Vizer in connection with the 60th anniversary)
The owner of the 9th dan Goju-Ryu (July 22, 2010, Okinawa, from the chairman of the All Japan Karate Federation and the head of the Goju-Ryu karate school Katsuyuki Fukatoshi)

Awards

2001 - Laureate of the Peter the Great National Prize
2002 - laureate of the award "For outstanding work to strengthen the unity of Orthodox peoples"
2002 - winner of the Moscow Union of Journalists award "For openness to the press" with the wording "For a sincere desire to convey to every Russian the reforms carried out by the state"
Laureate of the Ogonyok magazine award
2004 - laureate of the "Person of the Year 2004" award in the nomination "State and political activity" "for the strengthening of Russian statehood"
December 19, 2007 - announced by Time magazine as Person of the Year -2007
September 3, 2008 - First place in the ranking of "The Most Influential People in the World" - according to Vanity Fair magazine
July 9, 2011 - became the winner of the prestigious German political award "Kvadriga", however, on July 16 of the same year, the Organizing Committee canceled its decision to award the award. The reason for the withdrawal of the award was criticism from both several members of the organizing committee and the media
2011 - V. Putin was awarded the Chinese Confucius Peace Prize
November 4, 2013 - Prize of the World Russian People's Council
November 27, 2013 - the title of "Person of the Year-2013" (Russian Biographical Institute) - for strengthening Russia's position in the international arena and exceptional contribution to the settlement of the Syrian conflict
September 2020 - Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine "for using the COVID-19 pandemic to teach the world that politicians have a greater impact on life and death than scientists and doctors". Together with him, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, US President Donald Trump, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador were named laureates.

Withdrawn

Golden Olympic Order (2001). Deprived in 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
9th Dan Taekwondo (2013). Deprived in 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Order of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) (October 11, 2014). Deprived in 2022.

Toponyms

The former Pobedy Avenue in the city of Grozny was renamed Vladimir Putin Avenue in 2008.
In June 2012, before Putin's official visit to Palestine, a street was named in his honor, on which the Russian Center for Science and Culture was opened at the same time and since 2013 a cultural and business center in Russia has also been built
Putin's streets exist in Bethlehem and Tskhinval.
Pond named after Putin in the Moscow region
Vladimir Putin Peak - a peak in the Tien Shan mountain system in Kyrgyzstan (received the name in 2011)

Biography of Vladimir Putin | Height | Age | Net Worth | Wife | Religion | Instagram | Children | Youth | Family in 2022

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich

Origin

Childhood and youth

Career before joining the government

Service in the KGB of the USSR (1975-1991)

Work in St. Petersburg (1990-1996)

Work in Moscow (1996-1999)

Thesis defense (1997)

Prime Minister (August - December 1999)

Acting President (December 31, 1999 - May 7, 2000)

First and second presidential terms (2000–2008)

Dynamics of support for Putin (2000-2010)

Second Chechen War

Fight against terrorism in the North Caucasus

Reforming the political system

Personal policy

Law enforcement reform

Media position

The sinking of the submarine "Kursk"

Economic development

Critical ratings

Relations between the government and big business

Foreign policy

Estimates for the period 2000-2010

Criticism

Allegations of involvement in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko

Skripal poisoning

Poisoning of Alexei Navalny

Investigation into "Putin's Palace" near Gelendzhik

Investigation into "Putin's Yacht"

Rallies, and protests

Protest moods of 2010-2012

Protest moods after 2013

Corruption in Russia

After the invasion of Ukraine (2022)

Historical parallels with Hitler

Worldview, political views, attitude to religion

outlook

Attitude to Russian, and Soviet history

Attitude towards religion

Dynamics of support for Putin (2010-2020)

Image promotions

Hobbies

Family

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In philately

List of awards and honorary titles of Vladimir Putin

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