Just a few months short of a quarter of a century leader of russia, Vladimir Putin On Tuesday he will place his hands on a copy of the Constitution and begin another six-year term as president extraordinary power,
Since becoming acting president in late 1999, Putin has shaped Russia into a monolithic figure – crushing political opposition, driving independent-minded journalists out of the country and fostering a growing devotion to prudish “traditional values.” , which pushes many people in the society into this. Margin.
His influence is so powerful that other officials can only stand politely on the sidelines as he starts the war in Ukraine despite expectations that an invasion would lead to international humiliation and harsh economic sanctions, as well as cost Russia a heavy price in the blood of its soldiers. Will have to.
What Putin will do in his next term, with that level of power, is a tough question at home and abroad.
The war in Ukraine, where Russia continues to gain battlefield ground, is of top concern and shows no signs of changing course.
Brian Taylor, a Syracuse University professor and author of “The Code of Putinism,” says, “The war in Ukraine is at the center of his current political project, and I don’t see anything that would change that. And that’s on top of everything else.” Affects.” Said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“It affects who is in what position, it affects what resources are available and it affects the economy, it affects the level of repression internally,” he said.
In his address to the nation in February, Putin vowed to pursue Moscow’s goals in Ukraine and do whatever it takes to “protect our sovereignty and the security of our citizens.” He claimed that the Russian military “has gained a great deal of combat experience” and is “strongly taking the initiative and launching attacks in many areas.”
This would come at a huge expense, which could drain money available for broader domestic projects and education, welfare and poverty-fighting reforms, which Putin detailed in the two-hour address.
Taylor suggested that such projects were included in the address for show and to reflect a real intention to implement them.
Taylor said, “Putin thinks of himself in the grand historical context of the Russian land, bringing Ukraine back to where it belongs, those kinds of ideas. And I think he’s more of a socio-economic type of Beats programs.”
If the war had ended in less than total defeat for either side, and Russia had retained some of the territories it had already captured, European countries feared that Putin might be emboldened to further military adventurism in the Baltic or Poland. Is.
Harvard international relations professor Stephen Walt wrote in the Foreign Policy Journal, “It is possible that Putin has much larger ambitions and will seek new attacks elsewhere after his costly success in Ukraine.” “But it is also entirely possible that his ambitions do not extend beyond the victories won by Russia at great cost and that he has no need or desire to gamble for more.”
But, Walt said, “Russia will be in no position to launch new wars of aggression when the war in Ukraine finally ends.”
Others say that such rational concern cannot prevail. Maxim Samorukov of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center said that “Driven by Putin’s whims and delusions, Moscow is likely to make self-defeating mistakes.”
In a commentary in Foreign Affairs, Samorukov suggested that Putin’s age may have influenced his decision.
“At the age of 71…his awareness of his own mortality certainly impacted his decision-making. His increasing sense of his limited time undoubtedly contributed to his fatal decision to invade Ukraine.”
Overall, Putin is moving into his new term with a tenuous grip on power.
RussiaSamorukov wrote, “Weaknesses are clearly hidden. Now more than ever, the Kremlin makes decisions in a personal and arbitrary manner that lacks even basic controls.”
“The Russian political elite has become more lenient in carrying out Putin’s orders and more obedient to his paranoid worldview,” he wrote. The regime faces “permanent danger of collapsing overnight, as its Soviet predecessor did three decades ago.”
Putin will certainly continue his hostility toward the West, as he said in his state of the nation address, “Wanting to do to Russia what they did to many other regions of the world, including Ukraine: to bring discord to our country.” home, to weaken it from within.”
Putin’s resistance to the West reflects not only anger over its support for Ukraine, but what he sees as undermining Russia’s moral fiber.
Russia last year banned the imaginary LGBTQ+ “movement” by declaring it extremist, which authorities said was a fight for traditional values championed by the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of Western influence. Courts also banned gender reassignment.
Taylor said, “I would expect the role of the Russian Orthodox Church to remain clear.” He also noted the outrage on social media following a party hosted by TV presenter Anastasia Ivleeva, where guests were invited to appear “almost naked”.
He said, “Other actors in the system understood that that thing corresponded to Putin. … There were people who were interested in taking advantage of that kind of thing.”
Although opposition and independent media have all but disappeared under Putin’s repressive measures, Russia is still likely to take further steps to control the information space, including stepping up its efforts to establish a “sovereign Internet.” Is.
The inauguration takes place two days before Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, which commemorates the capture of Berlin by the Soviet Red Army in World War II and the enormous hardships of the war, in which the USSR lost approximately 20 million lives. had lost.
The defeat of Nazi Germany is integral to modern Russia’s identity and Putin’s justification of the war in Ukraine as a comparable conflict.
Since becoming acting president in late 1999, Putin has shaped Russia into a monolithic figure – crushing political opposition, driving independent-minded journalists out of the country and fostering a growing devotion to prudish “traditional values.” , which pushes many people in the society into this. Margin.
His influence is so powerful that other officials can only stand politely on the sidelines as he starts the war in Ukraine despite expectations that an invasion would lead to international humiliation and harsh economic sanctions, as well as cost Russia a heavy price in the blood of its soldiers. Will have to.
What Putin will do in his next term, with that level of power, is a tough question at home and abroad.
The war in Ukraine, where Russia continues to gain battlefield ground, is of top concern and shows no signs of changing course.
Brian Taylor, a Syracuse University professor and author of “The Code of Putinism,” says, “The war in Ukraine is at the center of his current political project, and I don’t see anything that would change that. And that’s on top of everything else.” Affects.” Said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“It affects who is in what position, it affects what resources are available and it affects the economy, it affects the level of repression internally,” he said.
In his address to the nation in February, Putin vowed to pursue Moscow’s goals in Ukraine and do whatever it takes to “protect our sovereignty and the security of our citizens.” He claimed that the Russian military “has gained a great deal of combat experience” and is “strongly taking the initiative and launching attacks in many areas.”
This would come at a huge expense, which could drain money available for broader domestic projects and education, welfare and poverty-fighting reforms, which Putin detailed in the two-hour address.
Taylor suggested that such projects were included in the address for show and to reflect a real intention to implement them.
Taylor said, “Putin thinks of himself in the grand historical context of the Russian land, bringing Ukraine back to where it belongs, those kinds of ideas. And I think he’s more of a socio-economic type of Beats programs.”
If the war had ended in less than total defeat for either side, and Russia had retained some of the territories it had already captured, European countries feared that Putin might be emboldened to further military adventurism in the Baltic or Poland. Is.
Harvard international relations professor Stephen Walt wrote in the Foreign Policy Journal, “It is possible that Putin has much larger ambitions and will seek new attacks elsewhere after his costly success in Ukraine.” “But it is also entirely possible that his ambitions do not extend beyond the victories won by Russia at great cost and that he has no need or desire to gamble for more.”
But, Walt said, “Russia will be in no position to launch new wars of aggression when the war in Ukraine finally ends.”
Others say that such rational concern cannot prevail. Maxim Samorukov of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center said that “Driven by Putin’s whims and delusions, Moscow is likely to make self-defeating mistakes.”
In a commentary in Foreign Affairs, Samorukov suggested that Putin’s age may have influenced his decision.
“At the age of 71…his awareness of his own mortality certainly impacted his decision-making. His increasing sense of his limited time undoubtedly contributed to his fatal decision to invade Ukraine.”
Overall, Putin is moving into his new term with a tenuous grip on power.
RussiaSamorukov wrote, “Weaknesses are clearly hidden. Now more than ever, the Kremlin makes decisions in a personal and arbitrary manner that lacks even basic controls.”
“The Russian political elite has become more lenient in carrying out Putin’s orders and more obedient to his paranoid worldview,” he wrote. The regime faces “permanent danger of collapsing overnight, as its Soviet predecessor did three decades ago.”
Putin will certainly continue his hostility toward the West, as he said in his state of the nation address, “Wanting to do to Russia what they did to many other regions of the world, including Ukraine: to bring discord to our country.” home, to weaken it from within.”
Putin’s resistance to the West reflects not only anger over its support for Ukraine, but what he sees as undermining Russia’s moral fiber.
Russia last year banned the imaginary LGBTQ+ “movement” by declaring it extremist, which authorities said was a fight for traditional values championed by the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of Western influence. Courts also banned gender reassignment.
Taylor said, “I would expect the role of the Russian Orthodox Church to remain clear.” He also noted the outrage on social media following a party hosted by TV presenter Anastasia Ivleeva, where guests were invited to appear “almost naked”.
He said, “Other actors in the system understood that that thing corresponded to Putin. … There were people who were interested in taking advantage of that kind of thing.”
Although opposition and independent media have all but disappeared under Putin’s repressive measures, Russia is still likely to take further steps to control the information space, including stepping up its efforts to establish a “sovereign Internet.” Is.
The inauguration takes place two days before Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, which commemorates the capture of Berlin by the Soviet Red Army in World War II and the enormous hardships of the war, in which the USSR lost approximately 20 million lives. had lost.
The defeat of Nazi Germany is integral to modern Russia’s identity and Putin’s justification of the war in Ukraine as a comparable conflict.
