Putin's Political Essay Example

Introduction

Born in Leningrad (present St. Petersburg), 1952, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin joined Saint Petersburg State University where he pursued a law degree focusing on international law and trade. Putin graduated in 1975 and was not hesitant to join the KGB under the position of an intelligence officer. His service at the Committee for State Security involved an assignment in Dresden, East Germany for six years where he acted as a spy for the Russian government. While he was acting like an outsider, the agency's counterparts did not learn much from his character. His career in KGB lasted for 15 years when he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

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Putin then relocated back to Russia and assumed an administrative post in Leningrad State University. In 1991, Anatoly Sobchak took in Putin as his advisor. Putin built a close relationship with the liberal politician. Later that year, Anatoly was elected as mayor of Leningrad and appointed Putin as the chief of external relations. 1994 came as a surprise to Putin, as he had won Anatoly's confidence that granted him the position of first deputy mayor of his employer (Beer, 2009). The post in the municipal council properly ushered him into his political career. In the next elections in 1996, Anatoly was voted out forcing Putin to move to Moscow. The same year, Putin was offered the office of deputy to the Kremlin's chief administrator, Pavel Borodin. With his administrative finesse, Putin climbed the authority ladder as he liaised with Leningrader Anatoly Chubais. Putin was made the director of the Federal Security Service in 1998 by the then President Boris Yeltsin. After that, he was tasked with the office of secretary for influential Security Council. Yeltsin, amused by Putin's performance, appointed Putin as Prime Minister in 1999. The same year, Yeltsin stepped down from office and appointed Putin as acting President. The next year, Putin was elected in March where he started strategizing about Russia's welfare. He served in office until 2004 and was reelected. In 2008, Putin was constrained from running for the same office due to constitutional terms. However, his protege took office and appointed him as Prime Minister. In this office, he could still maintain his political network. He was then reelected in 2012 for the third time in the presidency.

Putin, as an expert of tactics on intelligence and interrogation, was fully equipped to bring back Russia to its feet, years after the Cold War. He mingled with his workmates from the various fields he indulged in, but he never disclosed too much information about himself (Edwards, 2013). Additionally, he studied the behavior of different people around him and was always an outsider in his experiences. He was ready to fight corruption and to flourish his country's economy. The training he had with the KGB and the Federal Security Service was enough for Putin to put up a strong military team that would protect the country from external attacks. Moreover, with a worldview far from home, Putin learned about how the world works; and there he made his conclusion about the friends and enemies of Russia.

Putin's Policies

Putin, however far from his country, studied the challenges the nation faced and had them on the agenda soon as he climbed to power. His focus was to regain the Russian peace, and assuring his citizens that the country is in safe hands. This was a difficult time for the new president, as the time to revive the nation could not be predicted. His home came first in his agenda, and so he sought to implement certain domestic policies to better the lives of his people.

The newly elected leader addressed the domestic relations by reducing the federal government powers. His idea was to empower the state and local governments, which he thought had much potential. His concept made sense, since centralizing the regions and states would be a better way to maximize their potentials. Putin ensured that the social and economic functions were delegated to the regional and state levels to monitor. The local governments would handle the nation's institutions better, compared to the federal government that would generalize the duty.

Putin had his citizen's woes at heart and had learned of their economic performance in paying taxes. He commenced by instructing the implementation of a modern tax system that was executed by other developed market economies. The president was also aware that most Russians could not bear the 30% tax rate. As relief, he decided to lower the rates to 13% which he believed most, if not all citizens, could handle. His idea was that the tax defaulters comply with the new policy. The outcome of this decision was unexpected, as a great turnout for taxpayers was observed the same year, 2001.

The country's economy came after the people's interests were met. Putin steered his administration in a direction that sought to reform Russia's natural monopolies. The railway system, the Unified Electric Systems, and the Gazprom gas company are the three largest monopolies in the country. In a bid to expand the nation's economic sustainability, Putin's government assumed the control of the companies and welcomed potential competitors into the industry (Cohen, 2007). Putin's concept was that the competition would be healthy in generating more income, and therefore a rise in Russia's economic status.

While still considering his people's welfare, Putin sought to improve the county's demographic situation. The increasing death rate in the nation became alarming and called for a quick response. Putin reconstructed the medical institutions which were a plus to the Russians. The medical revenue made an overwhelming increase since the amenities were better for treatment. Additionally, the Russian leader introduced important projects to boost the country's healthcare, education, housing, and agricultural sectors. The new projects were meant to stabilize the country's economy, as well as to benefit the Russians at large.

The military system in Russia had been stabilized since Putin was aware of the tactics that need to be implemented in the nation's army. The country was experiencing economic decline and unavoidable consequences when it conflicted with Chechnya. The internal conflict between Russia and Chechnya required active intervention to prevent further damage to the country's development. Putin settled the internal terrorism acts that people from Chechnya portrayed. Later, Chechnya joined hands with Russia and became part of the larger Russian Federation.

The foreign policies Putin implemented involved Russian's relationship with other nations. Putin tried as much as possible not to seem weak to other countries that threatened him, and at the same time wished to tighten those relationships. Putin came into power when some signatures into several peace initiatives were already signed. Russia had already joined the G-8 club, including seven other powerful countries. The cause of this move was to bond with the most industrialized nations and note down a thing or two about the governance and involvement in the economic sector.

Putin was focused on mediating with the nations Russia had international conflicts with and has shown great performance in the nation's peace engagements (Lukyanov, 2016). Russia supports the United Nations and other organizations whose main initiatives are to maintain the peace in the Middle East. Putin has been supportive of the involvement of the UN or other multilateral agencies in case of regional conflicts.

Following the aftermath of the Cold War, Russia had not been too close with other nations, especially from the West. The country needed a new strategy and time to revitalize to the power it once held. Putin's Security Council secretary release a statement after his first election as president. The secretary stated that the internal economic threats that Russia's security received were more disastrous than any external threats. In a bid to improve the foreign investment, Putin created ties with the West.

Putin's foreign policies required that he comes to a consensus with the West about the issue of arms control and regulation. The idea was that the United States and Russia reduce the production of nuclear warheads since they are both potential rivals that could start another world war. In 2002, Putin and the former U.S. president George W. Bush agreed to a strategic reduction of the nuclear weapons (Nygren, 2007). The treaty was followed by Russia's involvement with other 19 NATO member states. The 20 nations established a policy whereby they would cooperate whenever an issue of counterterrorism arises. In 2002, however, the U.S withdrew from the treaty it signed with Russia, forcing the latter to do the same by canceling the nuclear weapons regulation agreement.

Putin and his council passed on a draft foreign policy with a set of guidelines from resembling the Soviets. The concept was to strengthen the nation's military. Russia highlighted the economic, social and political instability as the chief security issue. Putin's government also stated that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons in the case of a conventional attack. The president increased the defense budget and welcomed the support of defensive and security agencies. Additionally, this policy ensured a better treatment for the Russians that are within the former Soviet republics. Putin allocated about 20 million of those Russians for their economic interests and concerns.

Putin expanded his relation to China, adding up to his foreign policies. The two nations hosted several talks about their relationship, and have since shown support for the sales of ammunition and oil. China allied with Russia during the Chechnya conflict. As a sign of appreciation, Russia supported China during the Taiwan issue.

Later in Putin's leadership, Iraq faced an opposition about the need to disarm itself from the nuclear warheads it possessed. Since Russia and the U.S. were at loggerheads, the two disagreed in the terms to be implemented in resolving Iraq's issue. The U.S. and the United Kingdom were supporting the use of power to disarm Iraq, while Russia, France, and Germany insisted that different measures should be taken. After the fall of Baghdad, Putin became lenient with the U.S and stated that they are the two largest nuclear powers in the universe.

Putin's Current Policies

Putin's third election as president in 2012 came as a surprise to other nations. His prominence had overwhelmed Russians. The policies he had implemented were in favor of the people's interests, as well as the country's status. Although some of the positive effects of his policies took long to notice, the amendments finally worked.

In the bid to prove his country's superiority, Putin extended his relations to several outer regions. He has made ties with the better part of the Middle East, Australia, and Russians former Soviet states. His biggest fear was that he fails to get support from several countries in case of a major attack. With his intellectual and interrogative skills, he was able to make allies that did favors to show signs of good faith.

In his current regime, the Russian president has not enforced new policies. However, he has strengthened the treaties he made, adding more to them by assuring other countries of a stable relationship. Apart from the numerous criticisms, the president has received, Putin has ensured the safety of his people and the stabilization of Russia's affairs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Putin's rise to power and his regime is a riddle that takes time to understand. The Russian leader, even with his counterparts, did not disclose his tactics. He observed the enemies and close allies to his nation before joining politics. Additionally, he used his understanding of how different...