- The global community is quite aware of how the Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has consolidated his hold on the administration through a slew of measures making him indispensable to that country. As reported recently, Vladimir Putin won a fifth term as Russia’s president with an eye-popping 87% vote share. The global community is also aware of how Putin’s penchant for cocking a snook at them by not only exhibiting a tendency to go overboard in his expansionist ambitions but also successfully navigating the backlash for waging uncalled-for war against Crimea earlier, and now Ukraine. The sanctions imposed by the international watchdog United Nations and other countries for these indiscretions have had little effect on Russia, though.
PC: The Armenian Weekly
- Of course, the recent election victory was met with skepticism from many around the world. But there’s little doubt Putin is popular in Russia. Only Stalin was in power longer, which pushed many to search for an ideological peg to handle their analysis. Mind you, the key to understanding Putin’s approach is the backdrop. Following the Soviet collapse, Russia was left adrift in the 1990s. Enter Putin, with a heavy emphasis on statism to both provide stability and solve problems. Note that Putinism is based on cherry-picking cultural memories. It anchors itself in nostalgia based on czarist and Soviet themes. The celebration of the WWII victory is perhaps even more pronounced than in the Soviet era.
- As is his wont, Putin succinctly encapsulated his ideology in 2012 when he wrote our country – where for many people the civil war still isn’t over, and the past is extremely politicized – needs some careful cultural therapy. Russia was the early winner in the economic war unleashed by the West in 2022 after it invaded Ukraine. It hurt Western economies while Russia didn’t crumble thanks to its oil reserves. According to IEA, it remains the world’s biggest net exporter even if its revenue from it fell in 2023 on account of G7 price caps and discounts. But two years on, the story is different. Russia’s inflation rate in February was 7.7%. Both the euro area and the US have done better in bringing their economies under control.
PC: Socialist Worker
- Further, the inflation rate in the euro area was 2.6%, while it was 3.2% in the US. False pride propping up ideology has left it with no answers about the future. A chip on the shoulder means Russia’s geared to be a wartime economy where Putin is reportedly transferring firms of erstwhile oligarchs to a new set of favorites. Moreover, Russia faces typical Western problems without an economy that has the same level of sophistication. Fertility rates have dropped and Putin’s exhorting Russians to have more children. That’s as futile as cherry-picking the past. Russia could have been much more. For now, Putin will continue to hold sway over the country as well as globally even if it is destructive rather than constructive for the communities.
