Vladimir Putin was born in 1952 (66-years old) and graduated from Leningrad State University in 1975 as a law student. He has two children, but divorced his wife in 2014. He is an Orthodox Christian with a black belt in judo.
He then spent 16 years in the KGB, and was director of the FSB (Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB--both "b"s come from bezopasnosti), replacing Boris Yeltsin as Acting President in 1999. Putin, thus, has been effectively running Russia for two decades. In 2018 he gained 76% of the votes, meaning he will continue to be president into 2024.
Mind you, Russia earned a score of 28, ranking #138, in the Corruption Perceptions Index, with Denmark (88) and New Zealand (87) as the two least corrupt. The USA stands at #22 with 71. Somalia is last (10) at #180. Clearly, Russia also does not do well in Freedom:
- Various Scandinavian countries 100
- Japan 96
- Canada 90
- USA 86
- Russia 20
- China 11
- North Korea 3
- Syria 0
Of course, Russia does not have anything resembling a democracy:
- # 1 Norway 9.87
- # 2 Iceland 9.58
- # 25 USA 7.96
- # 66 Singapore 6.38
- #130 China 3.32
- #144 Russia 2.94
- #167 North Korea 1.08
About the Russian economy? You can't really use real GDP growth, for #1 in 2018 was Libya (17.8%) and #2 Rwanda (8.5%), with the USA at #107 (2.8%) and Russia at #123 (2.3%). Incremental GDP might be more useful, for in 2018-2019 USA was #1, China #2 and Russia #7. However, in 2019-2020, China was #1, USA #2 and Russia not in the top 15. In the 2015-2020 period, China #1, USA #2 and Russia #11.
So if Russia is not doing all that well economically, and is horrible for democracy, corruption and freedom, why do I say Vladimir Putin has been successful?
Putin influences many things international:
- He has been advising North Korean leader Kim Jung Un on nuclear matters.
- There are lingering fears that he significantly affected the European Union elections this year.
- He has waffled on global warming, but his latest position is that weather changes are natural and not man-made. Of course, as the world heats up, Russia gains over the rest of the world.
- While Russia has not benefitted from the Middle East war, the USA has suffered a lot more.
- His greatest triumph is having a puppet in the White House. How else can you explain Donald Trump:
- Not caring that the U.S. budget deficit will reach $1 trillion next year.
- Trashing the FBI and our intelligence community, compromising our ability to watch over Putin.
- Continuing to dismiss Russian interference in the 2016 election.
- Rolling back environmental laws and quitting the Paris climate change agreement.
So will Putin again insure that Trump wins the 2020 presidential election? Maybe not. There is only so much you can gain from this fool in the White House, who regularly puts his foot in his mouth. Plus, the latest just out from Forbes today:
Go ahead, read that article. Maybe more serious for Putin, ominously, at the end of last year, The Hill proclaimed:
Vladimir Putin without a doubt appears to be the most successful leader in the world today. With the weakest of hands, an economy not much larger than Spain, and a gross domestic product per capita thousands of dollars smaller than Malaysia, he has asserted massive negative influence around the globe since becoming president of Russia six years ago.
However, there are danger signals:
But with his dual obsession on the importance of buffer states such as Ukraine and the disruption of the West, Putin ignores what should be his greatest concern, which is the mirror held up to it by China. The many successes in this neighboring country, compared to the dragging Russian economy, is a reflection on his leadership that will not be ignored forever by its citizens and elites. In 1905, Russia was in a similar situation. Japan, which Moscow viewed as an inferior Asian country, defeated Russia. The powerful victory of Japan over a Russia isolated in its own belief system shocked all levels of Russian society. It fermented a snowballing of disbelief in the legitimacy of the czar leading toward the revolution.
Finally:
Moreover, while both countries do not have many friends, Russia has clients, while China has partners. This is a significant difference. Putin has been rightfully accused of following a 19th century foreign policy, but that is a symptom, not a problem. His real problem is that Russia has remained a 19th century market. All his fears about the West are truly illusionary compared to the reality of the vast economic achievements of China.
Surely enough Politico magazine reports:
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