Dmitry Medvedev. Putin was re-elected to the presidency in March 2012.
Early Political Career
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, on October 7, 1952. After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1975, he began his career in the KGB as an intelligence officer. Stationed mainly in East Germany, he held that position until 1989.Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Putin retired from the KGB with the rank of colonel, and returned to Leningrad as a supporter of Anatoly Sobchak (1937-2000), a liberal politician. After Sobchak won election as mayor of Leningrad (1991), Putin became his head of external relations; in 1994, Putin became Sobchak's first deputy mayor.
After Sobchak's defeat in 1996, Putin resigned his post and moved to Moscow. In 1998, Putin was appointed deputy head of management under Boris Yeltsin's presidential administration. In that position, he was in charge of the Kremlin's relations with the regional governments.
Shortly afterward, Putin was appointed head of the Federal Security, an arm of the former KGB, as well as head of Yeltsin's Security Council. In August 1999, Yeltsin dismissed his then-prime minister Sergey Stapashin, along with his cabinet, and promoted Putin in his place.
President of Russia: 1st and 2nd Terms
In December 1999, Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of Russia and appointed Putin acting president until official elections were held (in early 2000). In September 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States, he announced Russia's stance as a U.S. ally. Soon after, however, he announced his opposition—along with the French and German governments—to the U.S. "war on terror," which focused on ridding Iraq of its then-leader, Saddam Hussein.Putin was re-elected to the presidency in 2004. In April 2005, he made a historic visit to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon—marking the first visit to Israel by any Kremlin leader.
Due to term limits, Putin could not run for the presidency again in 2008. (That same year, presidential terms in Russia were extended from four to six years.) When his protégé Dmitry Medvedev succeeded him as president in March 2008, Putin secured the post of Russia's prime minister, continuing his position among the top Russian leadership after eight years at the helm. It wouldn't be long before Putin was back at the helm, however.
Third Term as President
On March 4, 2012, Vladimir Putin was re-elected to the presidency, and he was inaugurated to his third term as Russia's president on May 7, 2012. Soon after taking office, he nominated Medvedev as prime minister.In December 2012, Putin signed into a law a ban on the U.S. adoption of Russian children. According to Putin, the legislation—taking effect on January 1, 2013—aims to make it easier for Russians to adopt native orphans. The adoption ban has spurred international controversy,
reportedly leaving nearly 50 Russian children—who were in the final phases of adoption with U.S. citizens at the time that Putin signed the law—in legal limbo.
Putin further strained relations with the United States the following year. U.S. President Barack Obama canceled a meeting with Putin that August. Obama called off his visit to Russia in reaction to Putin granting asylum to Edward Snowden. Snowden is wanted by the United States for leaking classified information from the National Security Agency.
Around this time, Putin also upset many people with his new anti-gay laws. He has made it illegal for gay couples to adopt in Russia and has placed a ban on propagandizing "nontraditional" sexual relationships to minors. There have been calls to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics to be held Sochi, Russia, because of Putin's violations of human rights.
Chemical Weapons in Syria
In September of 2013, tension rose between the U.S. and Syria in regards to Syria's possession of chemical weapons, resulting in the U.S. threatening to strike Syria if their weapons weren't relinquished. It was later announced that the U.S. would refrain from attacking Syria due to the cooperation of Russia and China, amongst other nations, to come up with an agreement to get Syria to release its chemical weapons.On September 11, 2013, Putin released an op-ed piece entitled "A Plea for Caution From Russia," via The New York Times. In the article, Putin spoke directly to the U.S.'s position in taking action against Syria. He stated that by the U.S. striking Syria, despite the disapproval of several other nations, violence and unrest in the Middle East could potentially escalate. Putin went on to write that the U.S.'s intention to strike Syria under the claim that Bashar al-Assad used the chemical weapons on civilians might be misplaced, with the more likely explanation being the unauthorized use of the weapons by Syrian rebels. He closed the piece by welcoming the continuation of an open dialogue between the involved nations to avoid further conflict in the Middle East.
Personal Life
In 1980, Putin met his future wife, Lyudmila, who was working as a flight attendant at the time. The couple married in 1983 and had two daughters: Maria, born in 1985, and Yekaterina, born in 1986. In early June 2013, after nearly 30 years of marriage, Russia's first couple announced that they were getting a divorce, providing little explanation for the decision, but assuring that they came to it mutually and amicably."There are people who just cannot put up with it," Putin stated. "Lyudmila Alexandrovna has stood watch for eight, almost nine years." Providing more context to the decision, Lyudmila added, "Our marriage is over because we hardly ever see each other.
Vladimir Vladimirovich is immersed in his work, our children have grown and are living their own lives."
An Orthodox Christian, Putin is open about his faith.
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