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Student Life at International School Bangkok

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Student Life at International School Bangkok

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Hanna and Paolatics: Putin’s Problem

Hanna+and+Paolatics%3A+Putin%E2%80%99s+Problem
AFP

“Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.”

– Vladimir Putin

December 8th, 1991 marks the date of the dissolvement of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, more commonly known as the glorious USSR. It marked the dawn of a new age for the Russian people, who had been under a game of political push-and-pull ever since the cessation of the reign of the czars. The first-ever president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, ignited the beginning strides of the nation towards the modern idea of a united Republic. But this dream of a better future, a future which actually yielded peace, land, and bread for all, was short lived.

His, leadership, however, ended in 1999. The new replacement head of state was none other than Vladimir Putin, who concreted his authoritative position through an election process in March 2000. Putin has managed to serve in office for three terms, which means that it has been a grand total of 12 years in which Russia has been controlled by good old Vlad.

Vladimir is seen as being very popular among the Russian inhabitants. In the presidential election, 53% of the votes were to his favour in 2000, which grew rapidly to 73% in 2004, and then 64% in 2012. So obviously, Putin is doing something right.

But, honestly… what in the world has Putin done to gain him this cult following? Well, actually, many things. After Putin took charge, Russia’s financial situation generally improved. This has been considered  a crucial factor in also helping the nation with its falling population birth rates. Other than being the epitome of what a “powerful leader” should be, he is also a symbol of the classic idea of masculinity.

According to The Guardian, “Putin has given [the people] something much more in keeping with the macho spirit of the Russian muzhik: a horse-riding, bare-chested, tiger-wrestling, clean living, straight-talking action man”, which allows us to come to the distinct conclusion that, well, women want to be with him, and men want to be him!

Needless to say, this trend of “Putin fanaticism” is not one uniformly found across the globe. Western leaders have deemed Putin a “dictator” and a “threat to the stability and peace of the world.” This is mainly because his political moves and regulations have relatively been, arguably, pretty extreme.

In 2014, under Putin’s leadership, Russian troops were sent into the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, claiming it to be Russian territory. Putin’s attempt to “establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, and stability to the people of Ukraine”, actually ended up causing dangerous unrest in all of Eastern Ukraine. This event led to the other members of the G8 suspending Russia from the group, and then introducing the first round of sanctions against the country.

He has put forth new restrictions on the LGBTQ+ community, banning “homosexual propaganda”, such as the rainbow flag or any sort of media with homosexual characters. All this, of course, was done to “protect the children and leave them in peace.”

Putin has also put major restrictions on Russian media, blatantly violating any form of freedom of speech. Internet access is restricted, and all content on the websites have to be ‘Kremlin Approved’.  While there is a vast array of print media available for Russian citizens, there are only three major television networks which are all controlled Kremlin loyalists.

When asked why Putin is so disliked, Chloe Duval (10), responded, “Putin uses unnecessary violence to solve conflict, as well as being unyielding and stubborn when it comes to agreements. I think the main reason why many dislike him is because Putin, unlike many Western politicians, is not diplomatic whatsoever.”

Now — the next presidential elections for Russia will be held in 2018. Although technically Putin can run, he has not yet made any official statements. Nevertheless, there are still many candidates that have voiced their intentions of running, we predict that we will see Putin destroying his competition (figuratively… or literally who knows Putin is a wild card). After all, is this not what he has always done up until now?

Hanna W and Paola L

 

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Hanna and Paolatics: Putin’s Problem