Putin remains popular after decade in Kremlin

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-10 09:21

MOSCOW: Vladimir who? When an ailing Boris Yeltsin appointed a shadowy intelligence boss prime minister on August 9, 1999, he hardly seemed the man to shape Russia's post-Soviet destiny.

Vladimir Putin was the fourth prime minister in less than two years to be named under the increasingly wayward Yeltsin, and came to power in a period of political chaos when the break-up of the country seemed a real danger.

He was virtually unknown in Russia, let alone abroad.

Putin remains popular after decade in Kremlin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets French GDF Suez's chief executive Gerard Mestrallet (back to camera) in Moscow on July 28, 2009. [AP]

Yet Putin -- now back as prime minister after eight years in the Kremlin -- Sunday marked a full decade in power after making a decisive contribution to Russia's history after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He clipped the wings of the once all-powerful oligarchs, waged a controversial war to destroy Chechen separatists, oversaw an economic boom and never shied from upsetting the West.

He is lauded by nationalist politicians for restoring Russian self-respect but has become a bete noire of rights activists. However, few dispute the importance of Putin in shaping modern Russia.

"He has historic importance as the country stopped moving on a track towards democratic progress and also went on a path towards confrontation with the world," said Lev Ponamarev, one of Russia's best known human rights defenders.

For political analyst Gleb Pavlovsky, "Putin is without doubt a great man who has achieved more than even he intended."

"Putin marked himself down in history by reconciling the people with the new state of Russia," said Pavlovsky, a Kremlin consultant under Putin and head of the Foundation for Effective Policy.

"Ten years ago, the people were split and half the population still believed they lived in the Soviet Union. Putin changed this. In essence he created the conception of a new nation."

Basking in the confidence of a man who appears to have unchallenged control of his country, Putin has in recent days undertaken some extraordinary media stunts that would be unimaginable for any other world leader.

These included diving to the floor of the world's deepest lake - Lake Baikal in Siberia - aboard a mini-submarine in a four-hour voyage breathlessly covered by Russian television.

Just two days later, state media photographed Putin showing off a muscular naked torso while on horseback as he rode Indiana Jones-style through the Siberian steppe.

Another image showed Putin, 56, swimming arms akimbo and gasping for air with a butterfly stroke and bulging biceps that would impress US superstar Michael Phelps.

These antics were clearly aimed at reinforcing Putin's hard man image, a crucial ingredient for his popularity in a country long used to the rule of strongmen.

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