Vladimir Putin- Who is he?
Who is Vladimir Putin? – The new Russian president, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, started his political career at a very early age of 23. In the year 1975, after completing his graduation, he joined KGB, the security agency of Russia and was stationed in East Germany.
Became External Affairs Minister And First Deputy Mayor
After retiring from KGB in 1991 as a Lieutenant Colonel, he came back to Russia and held an administrative position at the University of Leningrad from where he had graduated. Then, he became an advisor of a liberal politician named Anatoly Sobchak after the fall of communism. It is under his leadership that in 1994, he became the deputy Mayor and the external affairs, minister.
Joined The President’s Administration
In 1996, he joined the then President’s administration and went on to become the head the Federal security. In 1999, he was promoted to become the prime minister of Russia. After the president retired in 1999, he was appointed as the acting president. In the 2005 elections, he was re-elected as the president.
His First Term As The President
During his first term, Putin mainly focused on restructuring the government and held criminal investigations of high-profile Russian citizens’ business dealings. He also continued to focus on Russia’s military campaign in Chechnya.
Putin extended help to the US during the terrorist attacks that happened in September 2001, as part of his anti-terror campaign. However, he did not support the United States on the subject of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and joined hands with French President-Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor- Gerhard Schroder to oppose the idea.
His presidential term ended in 2008. Putin then went on to serve as prime minister to the then-president, Dmitry Medvedev, until 2012, when he again took office as the president of the country.
His Achievements And Reforms at a Glance
- He has been appreciated for the stability he brought to the Russian Government and continued to make many changes to the domestic and foreign policies. Russia has changed from a chaotic and an open country to a systematic one in his rule.
- Putin signed into a law a ban on the U.S. adoption of Russian children in December 2012. Followed by this in 2013, he made the adoption of children by gay couples, illegal in Russia.
- In 2013, it entered into a deal with the US to destroy the alleged holding of weapons by Syria.
- Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in 2014 in his presidency.
In recent years, Putin has shifted focus toward greater economic and military cooperation with Asian countries. He entered into a major deal to supply gas to China, worth $400bn. Also, he entered into a joint naval exercise between the two countries, in the Mediterranean Sea. Further, in his inclination towards the Asian countries, he accepted the to export of Russian railroad technology to North Korea.
Putin enjoys the approval rating of 86%, in February, the highest of any Kremlin leader. He was reportedly nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Main Image Source : Pixabay
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