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Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 7, 1952 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Political orientation | Anti-communism Russian nationalism Social conservatism |
| Political party | All-Russia People's Front |
| Website | |
| eng.putin.kremlin.ru | |
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Владимир Владимирович Путин; born October 7, 1952) is a Russian right-wing politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, previously being in the office from 1999 until 2008. He was also prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. As of 2025, Putin is the second-longest serving European president, after Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.
Putin is demonized by the Western press for his economic policies which threaten the Western global monopoly on the oil markets, as well as his foreign policy which is against NATO in general. His regime has defended the sovereignty of states (such as Syria[1][2] and Venezuela)[3] against Western regime change efforts. Putin's popularity is decreasing, but his approval rate remains above 75%.[4]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Vladimir Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, Soviet Union to Maria Shelomova and Vladimir Putin. In Leningrad Putin attended Primary School No. 193 from 1960–1968 before attending High School No. 281 until he completed his studies in 1970. In his younger years he was a troublemaker before committing himself to his studies around age 12 and took up martial arts along with joining the Young Pioneers.[5]
In school Putin decided to work in intelligence and consequently became a student at Leningrad State University in 1970 to study law. Putin graduated with a degree in law in 1975 and joined the KGB.[5]
Political career[edit | edit source]
Initially a key ally of Anatoly Sobchak, Putin had helped enforce Yeltsin's takeover of the USSR from 1990. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he quickly rose the ranks in Yeltsin's administration and eventually became the favorite for president for loyalty during the 1993 and 1999 impeachment processes against Boris Yeltsin, both of which have failed.[6]
Presidency[edit | edit source]
During his first tenure as president, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, with GDP measured by purchasing power increasing by 72%, real incomes increased by a factor of 2.5, real wages more than tripled; unemployment and poverty more than halved and the Russians' self-assessed life satisfaction rose significantly.[7] This contributes to Western demonization, since the West had profited from the 1990s "Shock Therapy" of mass privatizations, which Putin has reversed.
In 2022, Putin gained a large amount of infamy among bourgeois media for the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict, with many of the reports about the conflict being exaggerated or even fabricated.
Criticism[edit | edit source]
Anti-communism[edit | edit source]
In 2000, Putin was quoted as saying, "Anyone who doesn't regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains."[8] However, later Putin would state that Russia’s economic issues stemmed from its Soviet legacy, famously saying “only Africans needed our galoshes to walk on the hot sand”. However, during bourgeois leadership, the share of energy exports grew from 40.5% to 75.3% compared to 1990. Meanwhile, shoes (galoshes) shrank from 3% to less than 0.5%.[9]
Putin opposes Lenin's policy of national self-determination and criticized the Bolsheviks for creating a separate Ukrainian state.[10]
Homophobia[edit | edit source]
Putin supported a 2013 bill that discriminated against LGBTQ+ people and criminalized activism for LGBTQ+ equality.[11]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Assad thanks Putin for Russia's efforts "to save our country"" (2017-11-21). CBS News. Archived from the original on 2025-03-22.
- ↑ Damien Sharkov (2017-11-21). "Russian President Says His Generals Saved Syria as He Hugs Bashar al-Assad" Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2023-10-06.
- ↑ Russia and Venezuela Cooperate in the Defense Sector (2021-06-22). Telesur. Archived from the original on 2024-08-14.
- ↑ Larry C. Johnson (2022-11-26). "Star CIA Analysts Are Out of Touch With Reality When it Comes to Russia" CovertAction Magazine. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Biography ∙ Vladimir Putin". Kremlin. Archived from the original on 2025-08-25.
- ↑ https://tass.ru/info/15972287
- ↑ Sergei Guriev, Aleh Tsyvinski, Anders Åslund, Andrew C. Kuchins (2010). Russia After the Global Economic Crisis: 'Challenges Facing the Russian Economy after the Crisis' (pp. 12–13). Peterson Institute for International Economics; Centre for Strategic and International Studies; New Economic School. ISBN 978-0-88132-497-6
- ↑ Michael Wines, "PATH TO POWER: A political profile.; Putin Steering to Reform, But With Soviet Discipline," New York Times, February 20, 2000; "Vladimir Putin 1952– Russian statesman, President of the Russian Federation 2000–8 and since 2012," in Oxford Essential Quotations, 5th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2017).
- ↑ @Vasiliy_Sadonin (14/07/2021). "Top 10 Anti-Soviet Fairytales by Putin | USSR | Galoshes | Socialism". YouTube.
- ↑ "PSL statement: NATO expansion must end to guarantee peace in Ukraine" (2022-02-22). Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ↑ Stewart Stout (2013-08-27). "Russia: The struggle against anti-LGBTQ repression" Liberation School. Archived from the original on 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2023-01-14.