October 31, 2007. Copyright 2007, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Putin keeps the world guessing
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, October 31, Graphic News:  Ever since he sprang from relative obscurity to replace an ailing Boris Yeltsin in 2000, RussiaŐs President Vladimir Putin has liked to keep people guessing. As the end of his second term draws nearer, the mystery surrounding his long-term plans grows deeper.

PutinŐs announcement that he will stand for the Unity Party in parliamentary polls has fuelled speculation that the former KGB spy intends to take a nominal break and then return for a third presidency -- something the Kremlin doesnŐt prohibit -- or that he intends to reshape Russian politics to grant himself more power in a prime ministerial role.

In addition, Putin has not promoted any viable successor, saying only that there were five possible candidates for the job. While the media has discussed several candidates, including Sergei Ivanov and Dmitry Medvedev, the joint first deputy prime ministers themselves have not expressed an interest in seeking the post. Some Kremlin watchers say the field is being kept open to test public opinion about PutinŐs continuation in power.

Either way, a Russia without Putin is now virtually unthinkable. During his two terms Russians have enjoyed both economic growth and pride in their resurgence as a world power. Many appear to accept the loss of some democratic freedoms as a fair trade-off for an improvement in their daily lot. Putin consistently achieves 80 percent in popularity polls.

Meanwhile, an opposition group called the Other Russia, fronted by former chess champion Gary Kasparov, has echoed Western concerns about the clampdown on the media and strong involvement of the KGBŐs successor, the FSB, in propping up the Putin apparatus.

For his opaque style of rule, Putin could not have been better prepared. Born in Leningrad in 1952 to a factory worker and a sailor, he grew up reading spy novels and longing to become a secret agent. On graduating from Leningrad University, he went straight into the KGB. He later held several prominent positions, including heading the Committee of External Relations for Mayor Anatoly Sobchak in his native city.

In the late 1990s he climbed quickly through the ranks of the government of President Boris Yeltsin. In July 1998 he became head of the FSB and by October that year he was heading the security council of the Russian Federation. A year later, with YeltsinŐs backing, he was appointed one of three first deputy prime ministers, then prime minister.

When an erratic and ailing Yeltsin resigned in December 1999, Putin stepped in. His reputation for law and order and his tough handling of the crisis in breakaway Chechnya made him a virtual shoe-in at presidential polls the following year. Immediately he set about centralising power, reorganising administrative districts to marginalise opponents. 

If suspicion is a key tenet of his rule -- observers muse that he simply does not trust anyone to do his job as well as him -- national pride is another. He reintroduced the old Soviet national anthem after complaining that citizens were not passionate enough about the new one. He has used the countryŐs vast energy resources to leverage more power on the world stage, and he has made it plain that Moscow will stand up to the West on issues such as the Iraq war and IranŐs nuclear programme. 

Given that he combines a preference for doing some things Soviet-style, including his apparent intolerance of opponents, with a belief in free market economic policies, it is no wonder that Putin has people confused. In personal terms, too, he is a fitness fanatic and perfectionist but he is known for his coarse humour. He has been criticised for his apparent lack of emotion, but he is known to value loyalty from others.

Putin remains a contradiction, and so does his Russia.
/ENDS