Vladimir Putin

Putin redirects here. For other uses, see Putin (surname).

VVP redirects here. For the cycling team with abbreviation VVP, see Vrienden van het Platteland.
This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the
patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is
Putin.

more than halved, and the Russians self-assessed life satisfaction rose signicantly.[9] Putins rst presidency was
marked by high economic growth: the Russian economy
grew for eight straight years, seeing GDP increase by
72% in PPP (as for nominal GDP, 600%).[9][10][11][12][13]
As Russias president, Putin and the Federal Assembly
passed into law a at income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes.[14][15] As Prime
Minister, Putin oversaw large-scale military and police
reform. His energy policy has armed Russias position
as an energy superpower.[16][17] Putin supported hightech industries such as the nuclear and defence industries.
A rise in foreign investment[18] contributed to a boom in
such sectors as the automotive industry. However, capital investment recently dropped 2.5% because of the crisis in Ukraine according to forecasts by economists from
the IMF.[19] Putin has cultivated an image of a strongman
and a popular cultural icon in Russia.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian:

; IPA: [vldimr vldimrvt
putn] ( ), born 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Soviet
Union) has been the President of Russia since 7 May
2012. Putin previously served as President from 2000
to 2008, and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to
2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. During his last term
as Prime Minister, he was also the Chairman of United
Russia, the ruling party.
For 16 years Putin was an ocer in the KGB, rising to
the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired to enter politics in his native Saint Petersburg in 1991. He
moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris
Yeltsin's administration where he rose quickly, becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999 when Yeltsin
unexpectedly resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000
presidential election and was reelected in 2004. Because
of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term in
2008. Dmitry Medvedev won the 2008 presidential election and appointed Putin as Prime Minister, beginning
a period of so-called tandemocracy.[2] In September
2011, following a change in the law extending the presidential term from four years to six,[3] Putin announced
that he would seek a third, non-consecutive term as President in the 2012 presidential election, an announcement
which led to large-scale protests in many Russian cities.
He won the election in March 2012 and is serving a sixyear term.[4][5]

1 Ancestry, early life and education

Putin was born on 7 October 1952, in Leningrad (modern
day Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union,[20]
to parents Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (19111999)
and Maria Ivanovna Putina (ne Shelomova; 19111998).
His mother was a factory worker, and his father was a
conscript in the Soviet Navy, where he served in the
submarine eet in the early 1930s, and later served on the
front lines in the demolition battalion of the NKVD during World War II[21][22][23][24] and was severely wounded
in 1942.[25] Two elder brothers, Viktor and Albert, were
born in the mid-1930s; Albert died within a few months
of birth, while Viktor succumbed to diphtheria during
the siege of Leningrad in World War II. Vladimir Putins
paternal grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (1879
1965), was a chef who at one time or another cooked for
Vladimir Lenin, Lenins wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, and
on several occasions for Joseph Stalin.[26] Putins maternal grandmother was killed by the German occupiers of
Tver region in 1941, and his maternal uncles disappeared
at the war front.[26]

Many of Putins actions are regarded by the domestic opposition and foreign observers as undemocratic.[6] The
2011 Democracy Index stated that Russia was in a long
process of regression [that] culminated in a move from
a hybrid to an authoritarian regime in view of Putins
candidacy and awed parliamentary elections.[7] In 2014, The ancestry of Vladimir Putin has been described as a
Russia was excluded from the G8 group as a result of its mystery with no records surviving of any ancestors of any
annexation of Crimea.[8]
people with the surname Putin beyond his grandfather
During Putins rst premiership and presidency (1999 Spiridon Ivanovich. His autobiography, Ot Pervogo Litsa
[21]
2008), real incomes increased by a factor of 2.5, real (English: In the First Person), which is based on Putins
wages more than tripled; unemployment and poverty interviews, speaks of humble beginnings, including early
years in a communal apartment, shared by several fami1

KGB CAREER

sport seriously in the form of sambo and then judo. In his

youth, Putin was eager to emulate the intelligence ocer
characters played on the Soviet screen by actors such as
Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Georgiy Zhzhonov.[28]
Putin graduated from the International Law branch of
the Law Department of the Leningrad State University
in 1975, writing his nal thesis on international law.[29]
His thesis was titled The Most Favored Nation Trading Principle in International Law.[30] While at university he had to join the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union, and remained a member until the party was dissolved in December 1991.[31] Also at the University he
met Anatoly Sobchak who later played an important role
in Putins career. Anatoly Sobchak was at the time an
Assistant Professor and lectured Putins class on Business
Law (khozyaystvennoye pravo).[32]

2 KGB career

Putins father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin

lies, in Leningrad. Two Russian journalists speculate on a

newspaper article that Putins ancestry might be linked to
Putyanin clan, one of the oldest clans in the Russian history, based on pretended physical similarities to a 13thcentury individual, lack of online sources linked to the
family name Putin and the similarity of its spelling with
that clans name.[27]

Putin in KGB uniform

Putin with his mother, Maria Ivanovna, in July 1958

On 1 September 1960, he started at School No. 193 at

Baskov Lane, just across from his house. By 11 years old
he was one of a few in a class of more than 45 pupils who
was not yet a member of the Pioneers, largely because of
his rowdy behavior. At 12 years of age he started taking

Putin joined the KGB in 1975 upon graduation, and underwent a years training at the 401st KGB school in
Okhta, Leningrad. He then went on to work briey in
the Second Chief Directorate (counter-intelligence) before he was transferred to the First Chief Directorate,
where among his duties was the monitoring of foreign-

3
ers and consular ocials in Leningrad.[33][34]
From 1985 to 1990, the KGB stationed Putin in Dresden,
East Germany.[35] During that time, Putin was assigned
to Directorate S, the illegal intelligence-gathering unit
(the KGBs classication for agents who used falsied
identities) where he was given cover as a translator and
interpreter.[36] One of Putins jobs was to coordinate efforts with the Stasi to track down and recruit foreigners in
Dresden, usually those who were enrolled at the Dresden
University of Technology, in the hopes of sending them
undercover in the United States. Despite this, Putin biographer Masha Gessen disputes the KGB Spymaster
image that has been built around him and instead says
that Dresden was essentially a backwater job that Putin
himself resented:

Putin and his colleagues were reduced

mainly to collecting press clippings, thus contributing to the mountains of useless information produced by the KGB. Former agents
estimate they spent three-quarters of their
time writing reports. Putins biggest success in his stay in Dresden appears to have
been in...[contacting] a U.S. Army Sergeant,
who sold them an unclassied Manual for 800
marks.[36]

3 Political career
Main article: Political career of Vladimir Putin

3.1 Saint
Petersburg
(19901996)

administration

In May 1990, Putin was appointed as an advisor on international aairs to Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. Then, on
28 June 1991, he became head of the Committee for External Relations of the Saint Petersburg Mayors Oce,
with responsibility for promoting international relations
and foreign investments.[42] That Committee headed by
Putin also registered business ventures.
Less than one year later, Putin was investigated by the
city legislative council, and the investigators concluded
that Putin had understated prices and permitted the export of metals valued at $93 million, in exchange for foreign food aid that never arrived.[43][44] Despite the investigators recommendation that Putin be red, Putin remained head of the Committee for External Relations
until 1996.[45][46] From 1994 to 1996, Putin held several
other political and governmental positions in Saint Petersburg.[47][47]

In March 1994, Putin was appointed as First Deputy

Chairman of the Government of Saint Petersburg. In
May 1995, Putin organized the Saint Petersburg branch
of the pro-government Our Home Is Russia political
party, the liberal party of power founded by Prime MinDuring the Fall of the Berlin Wall, a mob threatened to
ister Viktor Chernomyrdin. During the summer and austorm the KGB building, Putin burned the KGBs les and
tumn of 1995, Putin managed legislative election camsent frantic requests for orders from his bosses in the cappaign of Our Home Is Russia. From 1995 through June
ital. Moscow is silent, Putin later recalled in his ocial
1997,
Putin led the Saint Petersburg branch of Our Home
biography.[37]
Is Russia.[47]
Following the collapse of the communist East German
government, Putin was recalled to the Soviet Union
and returned to Leningrad, where in June 1991 he as- 3.2 Early Moscow career (19961999)
sumed a position with the International Aairs section
of Leningrad State University, reporting to Vice-Rector In 1996, Mayor Anatoly Sobchak lost his bid for reelecYuriy Molchanov.[34] In his new position, Putin main- tion in Saint Petersburg. Putin was called to Moscow
tained surveillance on the student body and kept an eye and in June 1996 became a Deputy Chief of the
out for recruits. It was during his stint at the university Presidential Property Management Department (other lanthat Putin grew reacquainted with his former professor guages) headed by Pavel Borodin. He occupied this posiAnatoly Sobchak, then mayor of Leningrad.[38]
tion until March 1997. During his tenure Putin was rePutin resigned from the active state security services with sponsible for the foreign property of the state and orgaUnion
the rank of lieutenant colonel on 20 August 1991 (with nized transfer of the former assets of the Soviet[32]
and
Communist
Party
to
the
Russian
Federation.
[38]
on the second
some attempts to resign made earlier),
day of the KGB-supported abortive putsch against Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev.[39] Putin later explained
his decision: As soon as the coup began, I immediately
decided which side I was on, though he also noted that
the choice was hard because he had spent the best part of
his life with the organs.[40] In 1999, he described communism as a blind alley, far away from the mainstream
of civilization.[41]

On 26 March 1997, President Boris Yeltsin appointed

Putin deputy chief of Presidential Sta, which he remained until May 1998, and chief of the Main Control Directorate of the Presidential Property Management
Department (until June 1998). His predecessor on this
position was Alexei Kudrin and the successor was Nikolai
Patrushev, both future prominent politicians and Putins
associates.[32]

3 POLITICAL CAREER
the position Putin occupied until August 1999. He became a permanent member of the Security Council of the
Russian Federation on 1 October 1998 and its Secretary
on 29 March 1999.

3.3 First Premiership (1999)

On 9 August 1999, Vladimir Putin was appointed one of
three First Deputy Prime Ministers, and later on that day
was appointed acting Prime Minister of the Government
of the Russian Federation by President Boris Yeltsin.[54]
Yeltsin also announced that he wanted to see Putin as his
successor. Still later on that same day, Putin agreed to
run for the presidency.[55]
On 16 August, the State Duma approved his appointment as Prime Minister with 233 votes in favour (vs.
84 against, 17 abstained),[56] while a simple majority
of 226 was required, making him Russias fth PM in
fewer than eighteen months. On his appointment, few
expected Putin, virtually unknown to the general public, to last any longer than his predecessors. He was
initially regarded as a Yeltsin loyalist; like other prime
ministers of Boris Yeltsin, Putin did not choose ministers
himself, his cabinet being determined by the presidential
administration.[57]
Yeltsins main opponents and would-be successors were
already campaigning to replace the ailing president, and
they fought hard to prevent Putins emergence as a potential successor. Putins law-and-order image and his
On 27 June 1997, at the Saint Petersburg Mining Instiunrelenting approach to the Second Chechen War, soon
tute, guided by rector Vladimir Litvinenko, Putin decombined to raise Putins popularity and allowed him to
fended his Candidate of Science dissertation in ecoovertake all rivals.
nomics, titled The Strategic Planning of Regional Resources Under the Formation of Market Relations.[48] While not formally associated with any party, Putin
[58]
This exemplied the custom in Russia for a rising pledged his support to the newly formed Unity Party,
young ocial to write a scholarly work in midcareer.[49] which won the second largest percentage of the popular
When Putin later became president, the dissertation be- vote (23.3%) in the December 1999 Duma elections, and
came a target of plagiarism accusations by fellows at in turn he was supported by it.
the Brookings Institution; though the allegedly plagiarised study was referenced,[50][51] the Brookings fellows
felt sure it constituted plagiarism albeit perhaps not 3.4 Acting Presidency (19992000)
intentional.[50] The dissertation committee denied the
accusations.[51][52]
Putin as FSB director, 1 January 1998

On 25 May 1998, Putin was appointed First Deputy Chief

of Presidential Sta for regions, replacing Viktoriya
Mitina; and, on 15 July, was appointed Head of the
Commission for the preparation of agreements on the
delimitation of power of regions and the federal center attached to the President, replacing Sergey Shakhray.
After Putins appointment, the commission completed
no such agreements, although during Shakhrays term as
the Head of the Commission there were 46 agreements
signed.[53] Later, after becoming president, Putin canceled all those agreements.[32]
On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin head
of the FSB (one of the successor agencies to the KGB), Putin landing in Grozny in a Su-27 ghter jet, 20 March 2000

3.6

Second Presidential term (20042008)

On 31 December 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned

and, according to the Constitution of Russia, Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation. On assuming this role, Putin went on a previously scheduled
visit to Russian troops in Chechnya.

5
ness magnates, such as Gennady Timchenko, Vladimir
Yakunin, Yury Kovalchuk, Sergey Chemezov, with close
personal ties to Putin, also emerged.
Many in the Russian press and in the international media warned that the death of some 130 hostages in the
special forces rescue operation during the 2002 Moscow
theater hostage crisis would severely damage President
Putins popularity. However, shortly after the siege had
ended, the Russian president was enjoying record public
approval ratings 83% of Russians declared themselves
satised with Putin and his handling of the siege.[66]

The rst Presidential Decree that Putin signed, on 31

December 1999, was titled On guarantees for former
president of the Russian Federation and members of
his family.[59][60] This ensured that corruption charges
against the outgoing President and his relatives would not
be pursued.[61] Later, on 12 February 2001, Putin signed
a similar federal law which replaced the decree of 1999. A few months before elections, Putin red Prime Minister
While his opponents had been preparing for an elec- Kasyanovs cabinet and appointed Mikhail Fradkov to his
tion in June 2000, Yeltsins resignation resulted in the place. Sergey Ivanov became the rst civilian in Russia
Presidential elections being held within three months, on to take the Defense Minister position.
26 March 2000; Putin won in the rst round with 53% of In 2003, a referendum was held in Chechnya adopting
the vote.[62]
a new constitution which declares the Republic as a part

3.5

First Presidential term (20002004)

of Russia. Chechnya has been gradually stabilized with

the establishment of the parliamentary elections and a regional government.[67][68]
Throughout the war, Russia severely disabled the
Chechen rebel movement. However, sporadic violence
continued to occur throughout the North Caucasus.[69]

3.6 Second Presidential term (20042008)

Taking presidential oath beside Yeltsin, May 2000

Vladimir Putin was inaugurated president on 7 May 2000. Speaking at the 2005 Victory Day Parade on Red Square
He appointed Minister of Finance Mikhail Kasyanov as
his Prime minister.
The rst major challenge to Putins popularity came in
August 2000, when he was criticized for his alleged mishandling of the Kursk submarine disaster.[63] That criticism was largely because it was several days before he
returned from vacation, and several more before he visited the scene.[63]
Between 2000 and 2004, Putin set about reconstruction of the impoverished condition of the country, apparently winning a power-struggle with the Russian oligarchs, reaching a 'grand-bargain' with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain most of their powers, in exchange for their explicit support and align- Putin with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel in March 2008
ment with his government.[64][65] A new group of busi-

3 POLITICAL CAREER
Transition (BOFIT) in 2008 found that state intervention
had made a positive impact on the corporate governance
of many companies in Russia: the governance was better
in companies with state control or with a stake held by the
government.[76]
Putin was criticized in the West and also by Russian liberals for what many observers considered a wide-scale
crackdown on media freedom in Russia. On 7 October
2006, Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who exposed corruption in the Russian army and its conduct in Chechnya,
was shot in the lobby of her apartment building. The
death of Politkovskaya triggered an outcry in Western
media, with accusations that, at best, Putin has failed
to protect the countrys new independent media.[77][78]
When asked about the Politkovskaya murder in his interview with the German TV channel ARD, Putin said
that her murder brings much more harm to the Russian
authorities than her writing.[79] By 2012 the performers
of the murder were arrested and named Boris Berezovsky
and Akhmed Zakayev as possible clients.[80]

With George W. Bush at a pier along the Black Sea, in Sochi, 5

April 2008

On 14 March 2004, Putin was elected to the presidency

for a second term, receiving 71% of the vote.[62] The
Beslan school hostage crisis took place in September
2004, in which hundreds died. In response, Putin took
a variety of administrative measures.

In 2007, "Dissenters Marches" were organized by the opposition group The Other Russia,[81] led by former chess
champion Garry Kasparov and national-Bolshevist leader
Eduard Limonov. Following prior warnings, demonstrations in several Russian cities were met by police action, which included interfering with the travel of the
protesters and the arrests of as many as 150 people who
attempted to break through police lines.[82] The Dissenters Marches have received little support among the
Russian general public, according to polls.[83]
On 12 September 2007, Putin dissolved the government
upon the request of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
Fradkov commented that it was to give the President a
free hand in the run-up to the parliamentary election.
Viktor Zubkov was appointed the new prime minister.[84]

In 2005, the National Priority Projects were launched In December 2007, United Russia won 64.24% of the
to improve Russias health care, education, housing and popular vote in their run for State Duma according to
election preliminary results.[85] United Russias victory in
agriculture.[70][71]
December 2007 elections was seen by many as an indicaThe continued criminal prosecution of Russias then richtion of strong popular support of the then Russian leadest man, President of YUKOS company Mikhail Khodorership and its policies.[86][87]
kovsky, for fraud and tax evasion was seen by the international press as a retaliation for Khodorkovskys donations In his last days in oce Putin was reported to have taken
to both liberal and communist opponents of the Kremlin. a series of steps to re-align the regional bureaucracy to
The government said that Khodorkovsky was corrupting make the governors report to the prime minister rather
a large segment of the Duma to prevent tax code changes than the president.[88][89] Putins oce explained that the
such as taxes on windfall prots and closing oshore tax changes... bear a rening nature and do not aect the esevasion vehicles. Khodorkovsky was arrested, Yukos was sential positions of the system. The key role in estimating
bankrupted and the companys assets were auctioned at the eectiveness of activity of regional authority still bebelow-market value, with the largest share acquired by the longs to the President of the Russian Federation.
state company Rosneft.[72] The fate of Yukos was seen in
the West as a sign of a broader shift of Russia towards
a system of state capitalism.[73][74] This was underscored 3.7 Second Premiership (20082012)
in July 2014 when shareholders of Yukos were awarded
$50 billion in compensation by the Permanent Arbitra- Main article: Vladimir Putins Second Cabinet
tion Court in The Hague.[75]
A study by Bank of Finland's Institute for Economies in Putin was barred from a third term by the Constitu-

3.8

Third Presidential term (2012present)

tion. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was

elected his successor. On 8 May 2008, only a day after handing the presidency to Medvedev, Putin was appointed Prime Minister of Russia, maintaining his political dominance.[90]
The Great Recession hit the Russian economy especially
hard, interrupting the ow of cheap Western credit and
investments. This coincided with tension in relationships
with the EU and the US following the 2008 South Ossetia war, in which Russia invaded neighboring Georgia
populated by less than 5 million people.

7
tens of thousands Russians engaged in protests against
alleged electoral fraud, the largest protests in Putins
time; protesters criticized Putin and United Russia and
demanded annulment of the election results.[94] However, those protests, organized by the leaders of the
Russian non-systemic opposition, sparked the fear of
a colour revolution in society, and a number of antiOrange counter-protests (the name alludes to the Orange
Revolution in Ukraine) and rallies of Putin supporters were carried out, surpassing in scale the opposition
protests.[95][96][97]

However, the large nancial reserves, accumulated in

the Stabilization Fund of Russia in the previous pe- 3.8
riod of high oil prices, alongside the strong management
helped the country to cope with the crisis and resume
economic growth since mid-2009. The Russian governments anti-crisis measures have been praised by the
World Bank, which said in its Russia Economic Report
from November 2008: prudent scal management and
substantial nancial reserves have protected Russia from
deeper consequences of this external shock. The governments policy response so farswift, comprehensive, and
coordinatedhas helped limit the impact.[91]

Third Presidential
present)

term

(2012

Putin taking the presidential oath at his 3rd inauguration ceremony, 7 May 2012

Vladimir Putin with Dmitry Medvedev, March 2008

On 4 March 2012, Putin won the 2012 Russian presidential elections in the rst round, with 63.6% of the
vote.[62] While eorts to make the elections transparent were publicized, including the usage of webcams
in polling stations, the vote was criticized by the Russian opposition and by international observers from the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for
procedural irregularities.[98]

Putin has named the overcoming of consequences of the

world economic crisis one of the two main achievements
of his 2nd Premiership.[71] The other named achievement
was the stabilisation of the size of Russias population
between 20082011 following the long period of demographic collapse started in the 1990s.[71]

Anti-Putin protests took place during and directly after the presidential campaign. The most notorious
protest was the Pussy Riot performance on 21 February, and subsequent trial.[99] Also, an estimated 8,000
20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on 6 May,[100][101]
when eighty people were injured in confrontations with
At the United Russia Congress in Moscow on 24 Septem- police,[102] and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arber 2011, Medvedev ocially proposed that Putin stand rests taking place the following day.[103]
for the Presidency in 2012, an oer which Putin ac- Putins presidency was inaugurated in the Kremlin on 7
cepted. Given United Russias near-total dominance of May 2012.[104] On his rst day as President, Putin issued
Russian politics, many observers believed that Putin was 14 Presidential decrees, which are sometimes called the
all but assured of a third term. The move was expected May Decrees by the media, including a lengthy one statto see Medvedev stand on the United Russia ticket in ing wide-ranging goals for the Russian economy. Other
the parliamentary elections in December, with a goal of decrees concerned education, housing, skilled labor trainbecoming Prime Minister at the end of his presidential ing, relations with the European Union, the defense interm.[92] During the 2012 presidential campaign, Putin dustry, inter-ethnic relations, and other policy areas dealt
published 7 articles to present his vision for the future.[93] with in Putins program articles issued during the presiAfter the parliamentary elections on 4 December 2011, dential campaign.[105][106]

3 POLITICAL CAREER

Anti-Putin protesters march in Moscow, 2012

In 2012 and 2013, Putin and the United Russia party

backed stricter legislation against the LGBT community,
in Saint Petersburg, Archangelsk and Novosibirsk; a law
against homosexual propaganda (which prohibits such
symbols as the rainbow ag as well as published works
containing homosexual content) was adopted by the State
Duma in June 2013.[107][108][109][110][111] Responding to
international concerns about Russias legislation, Putin
asked critics to note that the law was a ban on the propaganda of pedophilia and homosexuality and he stated
that homosexual visitors to the 2014 Winter Olympics
should leave the children in peace but denied there was
any professional, career or social discrimination against
homosexuals in Russia.[112] He publicly hugged openly
bisexual ice-skater Ireen Wust during the games.[113]
Also in June 2013, Putin attended a televised rally of the
All-Russia Peoples Front where he was elected head of
the movement,[114] which was set up in 2011.[115] According to journalist Steve Rosenberg, the movement is intended to reconnect the Kremlin to the Russian people
and one day, if necessary, replace the increasingly unpopular United Russia party that currently backs Putin.[116]
3.8.1

Intervention in Ukraine and annexation of

Crimea

Main article: 2014 Russian military intervention in

Ukraine
In the wake of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, exiled
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych put into writing his request that Putin initiate Russias use of military forces to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine.[117]
On the same day, Putin requested and received authorization from the Russian Parliament to deploy Russian
troops to Ukraine in response to the crisis.[118] Russian
troops accordingly mobilized throughout Crimea and the
southeast of Ukraine. By 2 March, Russian troops had
complete control over Crimea.[119][120][121] Then a 16
March Crimean status referendum was held in which an
majority of 93 percent of voters voted to secede from
Ukraine and join Russia; but Western leaders had de-

Putin laying wreaths at a monument to the defenders of Sevastopol in World War II, 9 May 2014

clared the referendum illegal and vowed to punish Russia with economic sanctions.[122] This vow lead to the
rst sanctions issued against Russia (more followed after pro-Russian unrest spread to the south and east of
Ukraine).[123][124] Although Putin at the time stated that
no Russian troops were active in Crimea but only local forces of self defence on 17 April 2014 he stated
Of course our troops stood behind Crimeas self-defence
forces.[125] Putin outlined his Crimean views on 18
March in his so-called "Crimean speech". In this speech
he claimed that the ousting of Yanukovych was "coup"
perpetrated by "nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and
anti-Semites".[126] In the speech he also referred to the
(then new) Yatsenyuk Government and the (then) acting
Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov as so-called
Ukrainian authorities who had introduced a scandalous
law on the revision of the language policy, which directly
violated the rights of the national minorities".[127] In the
speech he also claimed that Russia and Ukraine were one
nation" and that Russia would always protect the millions of Russian speakers in Ukraine but that Ukrainians should not believe those who want you to fear Russia, shouting that other regions will follow Crimea.[128]
Also on 18 March Putin and the new leadership of Crimea
signed a bill that lead to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.[128]
Following the Crimean referendum unrest increased in
eastern Ukraine apart from Crimea.[130] On 17 April
2014 Putin stated he hoped not to send Russian troops
into Ukraine but didn't rule it out, accusing the Kiev
government of committing 'a serious crime' by using
the military to quell unrest.[131] Putin added that he reserves the right to use armed force to protect ethnic Russians in "Novorossiya".[132] On 7 May 2014, after discussions with Switzerland's President Didier Burkhalter
in an attempt to de-escalate mounting tensions of Russian troop massing on the border of southeast Ukraine
during and following the Crimean intervention, Putin announced a pullback of these forces.[133] In a reference to
25 May 2014 presidential elections in Ukraine, Putin indicated that the Ukrainian elections were a step in the

9
authorities in Ukraine want.[140] Putin also once again
called the Euromaidan Revolution a political coup and
claimed that by supporting President Poroshenko and his
Yatsenyuk Government western governments were supporting Russophobes.[140] In the interview Putin again admitted that during the 2014 Crimean crisis Our armed
forces blocked literally the Ukrainian forces located in
Crimea, but it was not in attempt to force anyone to vote,
its impossible to do so. It was done in order to prevent
the bloodshed.[140]

Putin called on separatists to postpone their referendum on independence, and expressed support for Ukraines presidential election on 25 May.[129]

In his annual speech on 4 December 2014 Putin stated

that the March 2014 annexation of Crimean was a historic event that would not be reversed because Crimea is
Russias spiritual ground the same as Temple Mount in
Jerusalem for those who confess Islam and Judaism. And
this is exactly how we will treat it from here for ever.[141]
In the speech Putin also stated Every nation has an inalienable, sovereign right to its own path of development ... Russia always has and always will respect that.
This applies fully to Ukraine, the brotherly Ukrainian
nation.[141] He again called the 2014 Ukrainian revolution a coup, a forcible seizure of power in Kiev
in February and lawlessness.[141] According to Putin
the War in Donbass was armed forces suppressing the
people in the southeast who did not agree with this
lawlessness.[141] He also stated the tragedy in the southeast fully conrms that our position is right.[141]

right direction.[133] The same day he also expressed that

the Ukrainian separatists that had self-proclaimed the
Donetsk Peoples Republic and Lugansk Peoples Republic (in eastern Ukraine) should wait to hold their
11 May 2014 referendum on independence in order
to create proper conditions for this dialogue.[134] (The
referendum was held as scheduled on 11 May 2014;
the separatists claimed nearly 90% voted in favour of
independence.[130][135] ) Putin pledged to respect the result the 25 May 2014 Ukrainian presidential election and
also maintained that Russia wanted to continue negotiations with the West over Ukraine, but that Russias oer
to do so was turned down by the West.[136] Putins main
concern expressed in St Petersburg on 23 May 2014 was 4 Domestic policies
with Ukraines failure for pay its large nancial debts to
Russia, with Putin referring to the $3 billion loaned to Main article: Domestic policies of Vladimir Putin
Ukraine by Russia before Yanokovych was ousted.[136]
On 14 August 2014, on a visit to Crimea, Putin called
for calm and eorts to put an end to the conict in
Ukraine. We must calmly, with dignity and eectively, build up our country, not fence it o from the
outside world, he told Russian ministers and Crimean
parliamentarians.[137] On 26 August 2014 Putin met with
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in Minsk where he
expressed a willingness to discuss the situation while calling on Ukraine not to escalate its oensive. Poroshenko
responded by demanding Russia halt its supplying of
arms to separatist ghters. He said his country wanted
a political compromise and promised the interests of
Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine would be
considered.[138]

Putins domestic policies, especially early in his rst presidency, were aimed at creating a vertical power structure.
On 13 May 2000, he issued a decree putting the 89 federal
subjects of Russia into seven administrative federal districts and appointed a presidential envoy responsible for
each of those districts (whose ocial title is Plenipotentiary Representative).

In a mid-November ARD interview Putin indicated Russia would not allow a military defeat of the pro-Russian
side in the War in Donbass when he stated that Russia
would not allow Ukraine to destroy all their political opponents what, according to Putin, the west the central

proved by the Federal Assembly of Russia, Putin gained

the right to dismiss heads of the 89 federal subjects (there
are presently several fewer federal subjects in Russia than
there were in 2000). In 2004, the direct election of those
heads (usually called governors) by popular vote was

According to Stephen White, Russia under the presidency

of Putin made it clear that it had no intention of establishing a second edition of the American or British political system, but rather a system that was closer to Russias
own traditions and circumstances.[142] Putins administration has often been described as a "sovereign democracy".[143] According to the proponents of that descripOn 10 September 2014 Putin said he had lit candles at tion, the governments actions and policies ought above
a Russian Orthodox church in Moscow for those who all to enjoy popular support within Russia itself and not
suered and who gave their lives defending the people in be determined from outside the country.[144][145]
Novorossiya".[139]
In July 2000, according to a law proposed by him and ap-

10

4 DOMESTIC POLICIES

On 13 May 2000, Putin introduced seven federal districts for

administrative purposes. On 19 January 2010, the 8th North
Caucasian Federal District (shown here in purple) was split
from Southern Federal District. On 21 March 2014, the new
9th Crimean Federal District was formed after the accession of
Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.

replaced with a system whereby they would be nominated by the President and approved or disapproved by
regional legislatures.[146][147] This was seen by Putin as a
necessary move to stop separatist tendencies and get rid
of those governors who were connected with organised
crime.[148] This and other government actions eected
under Putins presidency have been criticised by many independent Russian media outlets and Western commentators as anti-democratic.[149][150] In 2012, as proposed
by Putins successor Dmitry Medvedev, the direct election of governors was re-introduced.[151]
During his rst term in oce, Putin moved to curb the
political ambitions of some of the Yeltsin-era oligarchs,
resulting in the exile or imprisonment of such people as
Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky; other oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich and
Arkady Rotenberg[152] soon joined Putins camp. Putin
presided over an intensied ght with organised crime
and terrorism that resulted in two times lower murder
rates by 2011,[153] as well as signicant reduction in the
numbers of terrorist acts by the late 2000s (decade).[154]
Putin succeeded in codifying land law and tax law
and promulgated new codes on labour, administrative,
criminal, commercial and civil procedural law.[15] Under Medvedevs presidency, Putins government implemented some key reforms in the area of state security, the
Russian police reform and the Russian military reform.

4.1

Russian GDP since the end of the Soviet Union.

ceeded that of Russian SFSR in 1990, meaning it overcame the devastating consequences of the 1998 nancial
crisis and preceding recession in the 1990s.[12]
During Putins eight years in oce, industry grew substantially, as did production, construction, real incomes,
credit, and the middle class.[10][12][13][156][157] Putin has
also been praised for eliminating widespread barter and
thus boosting the economy.[158] Ination remained a
problem however.[12]
In 2001, Putin obtained approval for a at tax rate of
13%;[159][160] the corporate rate of tax was also reduced
from 35 percent to 24 percent;[159] Small businesses also
get better treatment. The old system, with high tax rates,
has been replaced by a new system where companies can
choose either a 6-percent tax on gross revenue or a 15percent tax on prots.[159] The overall tax burden is lower
in Russia than in most European countries.[161]
A central concept in Putins economic thinking was the
creation of so-called National champions, vertically integrated companies in strategic sectors that are expected
not only to seek prot, but also to advance the interests of the nation. Examples of such companies include
Gazprom, Rosneft and United Aircraft Corporation.[162]
A fund for oil revenue allowed Russia to repay all of the
Soviet Unions debts by 2005.[12] Payments from the fuel
and energy sector accounted for nearly half of the federal
budgets revenues. The large majority of Russias exports
are made up of raw materials and fertilizers,[12] although
exports as a whole accounted for only 8.7% of the GDP
in 2007, compared to 20% in 2000.[163]
After 18 years of trying, Russia joined the World Trade

Economic, industrial, and energy poli- Organization on 22 August 2012. However, there were
cies
few immediate economic benets evident from that WTO

See also: Economy of Russia and Energy policy of Russia

Under the Putin administration from 2001 to 2007,
the economy made real gains of an average 7% per
year,[155] making it the 7th largest economy in the world
in purchasing power. Russias nominal Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) increased 6 fold, climbing from 22nd to
10th largest in the world. In 2007, Russias GDP ex-

membership.[164]
Under Putin as President and Premier, most of the worlds
largest automotive companies opened plants in Russia,
which Putin encouraged via tax incentives, as well as
protectionist measures which discouraged imports.[165]
In 2005, Putin initiated an industry consolidation programme to bring the main aircraft producing companies

4.2

Environmental policy

11
On the other hand Russia diversied its export markets
by building the Trans-Siberian oil pipeline to the markets of China, Japan and Korea, as well as the Sakhalin
KhabarovskVladivostok gas pipeline in the Russian Far
East. Russia has also recently built several major oil and
gas reneries, plants and ports. Additionally, Putin has
presided over construction of major hydropower plants,
such as the Bureya Dam and the Boguchany Dam, as well
as the restoration of the nuclear industry of Russia, with
some 1 trillion rubles ($42.7 billion) allocated from the
federal budget to nuclear power and industry development before 2015.[170] A large number of nuclear power
stations and units are currently being constructed by the
state corporation Rosatom in Russia and abroad.

A construction program of oating nuclear power plants

will provide power to Russian Arctic coastal cities and
gas rigs, starting in 2012.[171][172] The Arctic policy of
Russia also includes an oshore oileld in the Pechora
Sea is expected to start producing in early 2012, with the
worlds rst ice-resistant oil platform and rst oshore
Arctic platform.[173] In August 2011 Rosneft, a Russian
government-operated oil company, signed a deal with
ExxonMobil for Arctic oil production.[174] The scale of
Under Putin, Russia strengthened its position as a key oil and gas the investment is very large. Its scary to utter such huge
supplier to much of Europe.
gures said Putin on signing the deal.[174]
under a single umbrella organization, the United Aircraft
Corporation (UAC). The aim was to optimize production
lines and minimise losses.[166] The UAC is one of the socalled national champions and comparable to EADS in
Europe.[167]

The construction of a pipeline at a cost of $77bn, to be

jointly funded by Russia and China, was signed o on by
President Putin in Shanghai on 21 May 2014. It would
be the biggest construction project in the world for the
following 4 years, Putin said at the time. On completion in 4 to 6 years, the pipeline would deliver natural
gas from the state-majority-owned Gazprom to Chinas
state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation for
the next 30 years, in a deal worth $400bn.[175]

In a similar fashion, Putin created the United Shipbuilding Corporation in 2007, which led to the recovery of
shipbuilding in Russia. Since 2006, much eorts were
put into consolidation and development of the Rosatom
Nuclear Energy State Corporation, which led to the renewed construction of nuclear power plants in Russia. In 4.2 Environmental policy
2007, the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation was established, aimed to boost the science and technology and Main articles: Environment of Russia and Environmental
issues in Russia
high-tech industry in Russia.[168]
In 2004, President Putin signed the Kyoto Protocol treaty
In the decade following 2000, energy in Russia helped
transform the country, especially oil and gas energy. This
transformation promoted Russias well-being and international inuence, and the country was frequently described
in the media as an energy superpower.[169] Putin oversaw
growing taxation of oil and gas exports which helped nance the budget, while the oil industry of Russia, production, and exports all signicantly grew.
Putin sought to increase Russias share of the European
energy market by building submerged gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine and other countries which were often
seen as non-reliable transit partners by Russia, especially
following Russia-Ukraine gas disputes of the late 2000s
(decade). Russia also undermined the rival pipeline
project Nabucco by buying the Turkmen gas and redi- Putin uses a tranquilizer gun to sedate an Amur Tiger in the
Ussuri Nature Reserve in Primorsky Krai, 2008.
recting it into Russian pipelines.

12

4 DOMESTIC POLICIES

designed to reduce greenhouse gases.[176] However Russia did not face mandatory cuts, because the Kyoto Protocol limits emissions to a percentage increase or decrease
from 1990 levels and Russias greenhouse-gas emissions
fell well below the 1990 baseline due to a drop in economic output after the breakup of the Soviet Union.[177]
Putin personally supervises and/or promotes a number of
protection programmes for rare and endangered animals
in Russia:
The Amur Tiger Programme[178]
The White Whale Programme[179]
The Polar Bear Programme[180]
The Snow Leopard Programme[181]

4.3

Putin visiting the Tuva Republic, Siberia, 2007

the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia after the

80-year schism.[185]

Religious policy

Putin and United Russia enjoy high electoral support

in the national republics of Russia, in particular in the
Muslim-majority republics of Povolzhye and the North
Main article: Religion in Russia
Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism, Caucasus.
Under Putin, the Hasidic FJCR became increasingly inuential within the Jewish community, partly due to
the inuence of Federation-supporting businessmen mediated through their alliances with Putin, notably Lev
Leviev and Roman Abramovich.[186][186][187] According
to the JTA, Putin is popular amongst the Russian Jewish
community, who see him as a force for stability. Russias
chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, said Putin paid great attention
to the needs of our community and related to us with a
deep respect.[188]

4.4 Military development

With religious leaders of Russia, 2001

Main article: Russian military reform

The resumption of long-distance ights of Russias
dened by law as Russias traditional religions and a
[182]
part of Russias historical heritage
enjoyed limited
state support in the Putin era. The vast construction and
restoration of churches, started in 1990s, continued under Putin, and the state allowed the teaching of religion in
schools (parents are provided with a choice for their children to learn the basics of one of the traditional religions
or secular ethics). His approach to religious policy has
been characterised as one of support for religious freedoms, but also the attempt to unify dierent religions under the authority of the state.[183] In 2012, Putin was honored in Bethlehem and a street was named after him.[184]
Putin regularly attends the most important services of the
Russian Orthodox Church on the main Orthodox Christian holidays. He established a good relationship with
Patriarchs of the Russian Church, the late Alexy II of
Moscow and the current Kirill of Moscow. As President, he took an active personal part in promoting the
Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, signed 17 May 2007 that restored relations between the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church and

Putin in the cockpit of a Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber before

the ight, August 2005.

strategic bombers was followed by the announcement by

Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov during his
meeting with Putin on 5 December 2007, that 11 ships,
including the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, would take part

4.5

Human rights policy

13
the Arctic.[194][195]

4.5 Human rights policy

Main article: Human rights in Russia
See also: Russian foreign agent law, Internet Restriction
Bill and Dima Yakovlev Law
In November 2001, Putin attended a Civic Forum spon-

Aboard battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy during Northern Fleet exercise in 2005

in the rst major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since

Soviet times.[189] The sortie was to be backed up by 47
aircraft, including strategic bombers.[190]
While from the early 2000s (decade) Russia started
pumping more money into its military and defence industry, it was only in 2008 that the full-scale Russian military reform began, aimed to modernize Russian Armed
Forces and made them signicantly more eective. The
reform was largely carried by Defense Minister Anatoly Russian opposition on the March of Peace against annexation of
Serdyukov during Medvedevs Presidency, under super- Crimea, Moscow, March 2014 related media
vision of both Putin, as the Head of Government, and
Medvedev, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian
sored by his administration with the purpose of bridging
Armed Forces.
the chasm between state ocials and grassroots activists
Key elements of the reform included reducing the armed including former Soviet dissident and Helsinki Watch,
forces to a strength of one million; reducing the number Ludmila Alekseeva.
of ocers; centralising ocer training from 65 military
A year later, Putin met with a similar group on Internaschools into 10 'systemic' military training centres; cretional Human Rights Day and proclaimed that his heart
ating a professional NCO corps; reducing the size of the
was with them:
central command; introducing more civilian logistics and
auxiliary sta; elimination of cadre-strength formations;
reorganising the reserves; reorganising the army into a
Protecting civil rights and freedoms is a
brigade system; reorganising air forces into an air base
highly
relevant issue for Russia. You know that
system instead of regiments.[191]
next year will see the tenth anniversary of our
The number of Russias military districts was reduced
constitution. It declares the basic human rights
to just 4. The term of draft service was reduced from
and freedoms to be the highest value and it entwo years to one, which put an end to the old harassment
shrines them as self implementing standards. I
traditions in the army, since all conscripts became very
must say that this is of course a great achieveclose by draft age. The gradual transition to the majorment.
ity professional army by the late 2010s was announced,
and a large programme of supplying the Armed Forces
with new military equipment and ships was started. The According to Human Rights Watch since May 2012,
Russian Space Forces were replaced on 1 December 2011 when Vladimir Putin was reelected as president, Russia has enacted many restrictive laws, started inspecwith the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces.
tions of nongovernmental organizations, harassed, intimIn spite of Putins call for major investments in strate- idated, and imprisoned political activists, and started to
gic nuclear weapons, these will fall well below the New restrict critics. The new laws include the so-called forSTART limits due to the retirement of aging systems.[192] eign agents law, which is widely regarded as overbroad
Putin has also sought to increase Russian military pres- by including Russian human rights organizations which
ence in the Arctic. In August 2007, a Russian expedition receive some international grant funding, the treason law,
planted a ag on the seabed below the North Pole.[193][193] and the assembly law which penalizes many expressions
Russian submarines and troops have been increasing in of dissent.[196][197]

14

5 FOREIGN POLICY

Foreign policy

federations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup, also for the
rst time in Russian history. In 2013, Putin stated that
gay athletes would not face any discrimination at the 2014
Main article: Foreign policy of Vladimir Putin
[201]
President Barack Obama did
See also: Foreign relations of Russia and List of presi- Sochi Winter Olympics.
not
attend
the
2014
Winter
Olympics,[202] joining other
dential trips made by Vladimir Putin
[203]
As of late 2013, Russian-American relations were at a western leaders in the apparent symbolic boycott.

5.1 Relations with Europe, NATO and its

member nations

Addressing Olympic Committee in Guatemala, 2007 (using uent

English)

low point.[198] The United States canceled a summit (for

the rst time since 1960), after Putin gave asylum to
Edward Snowden, who had stolen NSA secrets.[198]
Washington regarded Russia as obstructionist regarding
Syria and Iran. In turn, those nations have looked to
Russia (and China) for protection against the United
States.[199]
Europe needs Russian oil, but worries about interference
in the aairs of Eastern Europe. Russia remains angry
over the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe. Central Asia sees Moscow as a former overlord, which is too
powerful to ignore, even as countries assist American involvement in Afghanistan.[198]
Putin with Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi, in 2008.
In Asia, India has moved from a close ally of the Soviet
Union to a partner of the United States with strong nu- See also: NATORussia relations and RussiaUnited
clear and commercial ties. Japan and Russia remain at States relations
odds over the ownership of the Kurile islands; this dispute has hindered cooperation for decades.[198] China has Under Putin, Russias relationships with NATO and the
moved from a client state of Russia in the 1950s, to a bit- U.S. have passed through several stages. When Putin
ter antagonist in the 1960s and 1970s, to a situation where rst became President, the relations were cautious. Afits economic powerhouse sees Russia as a source of raw ter the 9/11 attacks when Putin quickly supported the
materials, as well as an ally in the United Nations.[198]
U.S. in the War on Terror, the opportunity for partnerOn the lighter side, Putin has won international support
for sport in Russia. In 2007, he led a successful eort
on behalf of Sochi (located along the Black Sea near the
border between Georgia and Russia) for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics,[200] the
rst Winter Olympic Games to ever be hosted by Russia. Likewise, in 2008, the city of Kazan won the bid
for the 2013 Summer Universiade, and on 2 December
2010 Russia won the right to host the 2017 FIFA Con-

ship appeared.[204] However, the U.S. responded by further expansion of NATO to Russias borders and by unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty.[204] Since 2003, when Russia did not support the
Iraq War and when Putin became ever more distant from
the West in his internal and external policies, the relations
continued to deteriorate. According to Russia scholar
Stephen F. Cohen, the narrative of the mainstream U.S.
media, following that of the White House, became anti-

5.2

Relations with South and East Asia

Putin.[204] In an interview with Michael Strmer, Putin

was quoted saying that there were three questions which
most concerned Russia and Eastern Europe: namely, the
status of Kosovo, the Conventional Forces in Europe
treaty and American plans to build missile defence sites
in Poland and the Czech Republic, and suggested that
all three were linked.[205] In Putins view, concessions on
one of these questions on the Western side might be met
with concessions from Russia on another.[205] In a January 2007 interview, Putin said Russia is in favor of a
democratic multipolar world and of strengthening the systems of international law.[206]

15
2007.[211]
Vladimir Putin strongly opposed Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, warning supporters of that precedent that it would de facto destroy the whole system of
international relations.[212][213][214]
Putin had friendly relations with former American President George W. Bush, and many European leaders.
Putins cooler and more business-like relationship
with Germanys current Chancellor, Angela Merkel is often attributed to Merkels upbringing in the former DDR,
where Putin was stationed when he was a KGB agent.[215]
Relations between Russia and the United Kingdom deteriorated when the United Kingdom granted political asylum to Putins former patron, oligarch Boris Berezovsky
in 2003.[216] This deterioration was intensied by allegations that the British were spying and making secret payments to pro-democracy and human rights groups.[217]
The end of 2006 brought more strained relations in the
wake of the death by polonium poisoning of Alexander
Litvinenko in London.[218][219] In 2007, the crisis in relations continued with expulsion of four Russian envoys
over Russias refusal to extradite former KGB bodyguard
Andrei Lugovoi to face charges in the alleged murder of
Litvinenko.[216] Mirroring the British actions, Russia expelled UK diplomats and took other retaliatory steps.[216]
In 2009 Putin called the MolotovRibbentrop Pact immoral and in 2014 he asked if there was anything bad
about that.[220]

5.2 Relations with South and East Asia

See also: IndiaRussia relations, Peoples Republic of
China-Russia relations and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
In 2012, Putin wrote an article in the Hindu newspaper,
Bush and Putin in 2007

In February 2007, Putin criticized what he called the

United States monopolistic dominance in global relations, and almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations. He said the result of it is that no
one feels safe! Because no one can feel that international
law is like a stone wall that will protect them. Of course
such a policy stimulates an arms race.[207] This came
to be known as the Munich Speech, and former NATO
secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheer called the speech, disappointing and not helpful.[208] The months following
Putins Munich Speech[207] were marked by tension and a
surge in rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic. Both Russian and American ocials, however, denied the idea of
a new Cold War.[209]
Putin publicly opposed plans for the U.S. missile shield in
Europe, and presented President George W. Bush with a
counterproposal on 7 June 2007 which was declined.[210]
Russia suspended its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe on 11 December

Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao at the 2003 APEC Summit in

Thailand

saying that The Declaration on Strategic Partnership between India and Russia signed in October 2000 became
a truly historic step.[221][222] Prime Minister Manmohan

16

5 FOREIGN POLICY

Singh during Putins 2012 visit to India: President Putin relations were uneven: Russia did not fulll the conis a valued friend of India and the original architect of the tract of selling to Iran the S-300, one of the most poIndia-Russia strategic partnership.[223]
tent anti-aircraft missile systems currently existing. HowPutins Russia maintains positive relations with other ever, Russian specialists completed the construction of
BRIC countries. The country has sought to strengthen Iran and the Middle Easts rst civilian nuclear power faties especially with the Peoples Republic of China by cility, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, and Russia has
signing the Treaty of Friendship as well as building the continuously opposed the imposition of economic sancTrans-Siberian oil pipeline geared toward growing Chi- tions on Iran by the U.S. and the EU, as well as warning
against a military attack on Iran. Putin was quoted as
nese energy needs.[224] The mutual-security cooperation
[205]
though he expressed
of the two countries and their central Asian neighbours describing Iran as a partner,
concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme.[205]
is facilitated by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of In April 2008, Putin became the rst Russian PresiChina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and dent who visited Libya.[235] Putin condemned the foreign
military intervention of Libya, he called UN resolution
Uzbekistan.
everyThe announcement made during the SCO summit that as defective and awed, and added It allows[236][237]
thing.
It
resembles
medieval
calls
for
crusades.
Russia resumes on a permanent basis the long-distance
patrol ights of its strategic bombers (suspended in Upon the death of Muammar Gadda, Putin called it
1992)[225][226] in the light of joint Russian-Chinese mil- as planned murder by the US, saying: They showed
itary exercises, rst-ever in history held on Russian to the whole world how he (Gadda) was killed, and
blood all over. Is that what they call a
territory,[227] made some experts believe that Putin is in- There was [238][239]
democracy?"
clined to set up an anti-NATO bloc or the Asian version of OPEC.[228] When presented with the suggestion
that Western observers are already likening the SCO to
a military organisation that would stand in opposition to
NATO, Putin answered that this kind of comparison is
inappropriate in both form and substance.[225]

5.3

Relations with Middle Eastern and

North African countries

On 16 October 2007 Putin visited Iran to participate in

the Second Caspian Summit in Tehran,[229][230] where
he met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[231][232] This was the rst visit of a Soviet or Russian
leader to Iran since Joseph Stalin's participation in the
Tehran Conference in 1943, and thus marked a signicant event in Iran-Russia relations.[233] At a press conference after the summit Putin said that all our (Caspian)
states have the right to develop their peaceful nuclear programmes without any restrictions.[234]

Putin in Jerusalem, Israel, 2005

Regarding Syria, from 2000 to 2010 Russia sold around

$1.5 billion worth of arms to that country, making
Damascus Moscows seventh-largest client.[240] During
the Syrian civil war, Russia threatened to veto any sanctions against the Syrian government,[241] and continued to
supply arms to the regime.
Putin opposed any foreign intervention. In June 2012,
in Paris, he rejected the statement of French President
Francois Hollande who called on Bashar Al-Assad to step
down. Putin echoed the argument of the Assad regime
that anti-regime 'militants were responsible for much of
the bloodshed. He also talked about previous NATO interventions and their results, and asked What is happening in Libya, in Iraq? Did they become safer? Where are
they heading? Nobody has an answer.[242]

On 11 September 2013, an opinion, written by Putin, was

published in the New York Times regarding international
Putin with Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 2007
events related to the United States, Russia and Syria.[243]
Putin subsequently helped to arrange for Syria to disarm
Subsequently, under Medvedevs presidency, Iran-Russia itself of chemical weapons.[244]

5.4

5.4

Relations with post-Soviet states

Relations with post-Soviet states

See also: Color revolutions, RussiaUkraine gas

disputes, RussiaUkraine relations, BelarusRussia
relations, GeorgiaRussia relations, KyrgyzstanRussia
relations and Eurasian Union
A series of the so-called color revolutions in the postSoviet states, namely the Rose Revolution in Georgia in
2003, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 and the
Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan in 2005, led to frictions
in the relations of those countries with Russia. In December 2004, Putin criticised the Rose and Orange Revolution, according to him: If you have permanent revolutions you risk plunging the post-Soviet space into endless
conict.[245]

17
regions of Russias historic south and was created
on a whim by the Bolsheviks".[253] He went on to declare that the February 2014 ousting of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had been orchestrated by the
West as an attempt to weaken Russia (our Western partners have crossed a line. They behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally) and that the people who
had come to power in Ukraine were "nationalists, neoNazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites".[253] In a July 2014
speech midst the an armed insurgency in Eastern Ukraine
Putin stated he would use Russias entire arsenal and
the right of self defence to protect Russian speakers
outside Russia.[254] In late August 2014, Putin stated:
People who have their own views on history and the
history of our country may argue with me, but it seems to
me that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are practically
one people.[255]

Meeting with Mikheil Saakashvili, then-president of Georgia, in

2008

A number of economic disputes erupted between Russia

and some neighbours, such as the Russian import ban of
Georgian wine. And in some cases, such as the Russia
Ukraine gas disputes, the economic conicts aected
other European countries, for example when a January
2009 gas dispute with Ukraine led state-controlled Russian company Gazprom to halt its deliveries of natural gas
to Ukraine,[246] which left a number of European states,
to which Ukraine transits Russian gas, to have serious
shortages of natural gas in January 2009.[246]
The plans of Georgia and Ukraine to become members of NATO have caused some tensions between Russia and those states.[247] In 2010, Ukraine did abandon
these plans.[248] Putin allegedly declared at a NATORussia summit in 2008 that if Ukraine joined NATO
Russia could contend to annex the Ukrainian East and
Crimea.[249] At the summit he told the US President
George W. Bush that Ukraine is not even a state!"
while following year Putin referred to Ukraine as the
Little Russia.[250] Following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, in March 2014, the Russian Federation annexed
Crimea.[120][121][251] According to Putin this was done
because "Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.[252] After the Russian annexion of Crimea he had speeched that Ukraine includes

The proposed Eurasian Union with the most likely immediate

members: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

In August 2008, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili

attempted to restore control over the breakaway South
Ossetia. However, the Georgian military was soon defeated in the resulting 2008 South Ossetia War after regular Russian forces entered South Ossetia and then Georgia proper, and also opened a second front in the other
Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia together with
Abkhazian forces.[256][257] During this conict, according
to high level French diplomat Jean-David Levitte, Putin
intended to depose the Georgian President and declared:
I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls.[258]
Despite existing or past tensions between Russia and
most of the post-Soviet states, Putin has followed the
policy of Eurasian integration. Putin endorsed the idea
of a Eurasian Union in 2011,[259][260][261][262] (the concept was proposed by the President of Kazakhstan in
1994).[263] On 18 November 2011, the presidents of
Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement,
setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Union by

18

SPEECHES

2015.[264]

5.5

The Dutch Safety Board that is investigating the incident released a preliminary report in September 2014,
but stated that the nal report will be published within
Relations with Australia, Latin Amer- one year of the crash.[271]

ica, and others

See also: AustraliaRussia relations, RussiaVenezuela
relations, CubaRussia relations and BrazilRussia
relations

6 Speeches

Putin and his successor Medvedev enjoyed warm relations with the late Hugo Chvez of Venezuela. Much
of this has been through the sale of military equipment;
since 2005, Venezuela has purchased more than $4 billion
worth of arms from Russia.[265] In September 2008, Russia sent Tupolev Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela to carry
out training ights.[266] In November 2008, both countries held a joint naval exercise in the Caribbean.[267] Earlier in 2000, Putin had re-established stronger ties with
Fidel Castro's Cuba.

During his terms in oce Putin has made eight annual

addresses to the Federal Assembly of Russia,[272] speaking on the situation in Russia and on guidelines of the
internal and foreign policy of the State (as prescribed in
Article 84 of the Constitution[273] ). On 18 March 2014
Putin made a well-publicized speech about the situation
in Crimea.[274] On 24 October 2014 he also spoke Valdai
speech.[275][276][277][278]

6.1 Addresses to the Federal Assembly

6.2 Speeches abroad

BRICS leaders at the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, 15

November 2014

In September 2007, Putin visited Indonesia and in doing

so became the rst Russian leader to visit the country in
more than 50 years.[268] In the same month, Putin also attended the APEC meeting held in Sydney where he met
with John Howard, who was the Australian Prime Minister at the time, and signed a uranium trade deal for Australia to sell uranium to Russia. This was the rst visit by
a Russian president to Australia.[269]
Prior to Putins attendance at the 2014 G20 summit,
scheduled for mid-November in Brisbane, Australia,
Australias prime minister at the time, Tony Abbott, explained in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC)'s 7:30 program that he will be seeking a meeting with the Russian president to discuss the
Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 incident:
Look, I'm going to shirt-front Mr Putin.
You bet you are - you bet I am. I am going
to be saying to Mr Putin, Australians were
murdered. They were murdered by Russianbacked rebels using Russian-supplied equipment. We are very unhappy about this.[270]

Putin making his Munich speech in 2007.

One of the most important and widely publicized

speeches of Putin made abroad was made on 10 February 2007 on the Munich Conference on Security Policy,
and hence became known as the Munich speech. It was
dubbed by the press to be the turning point of the Russian foreign policy, and western observers called it the
most tough speech from a leader of Russia since the time
of the Cold War.[279] The speech was also seen as been
made by Putin to openly assert a reprised role of Russia
in international politics that would be close to that of the
Soviet Union; a return to this role is seen as one of the
achievements of Putins presidency.[279]
In the Munich speech Putin called for upholding the principle security for everyone is security for all, criticized
the policies of the United States and NATO, condemned
the unipolar model of international relations as awed
and lacking moral basis, condemned the "hypocrisy"
of countries trying to teach democracy to Russia, condemned the domination of hard power and enforcement
by the U.S. norms and laws to other countries bypassing

19
international law and substitution of the United Nations
by NATO or the EU.[279] Putin also called for a stop to the
militarization of space and questioned the plans to deploy
American missile defense in Europe as threatening strategic nuclear balance and spurring a new arms race. He
also claimed that the countries dubbed as rogue states by
the West were not going to be capable of threatening Europe or the U.S. with ballistic missiles in the foreseeable
future.[279] His speech was criticized by some attendant
delegates at the conference, including former NATO secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheer who called it disappointing
and not helpful.[208]

6.3

Outdoor speeches

lowed, that Russia has its own free will. He compared

the political situation at the moment (when fears were
spread in the Russian society that 20112012 Russian
protests could instigate a color revolution directed from
abroad) with the First Fatherland War of 1812, reminding that its 200th anniversary and the anniversary of the
Battle of Borodino would be celebrated in 2012.Putin
cited Lermontov's poem Borodino and ended the speech
with Vyacheslav Molotov's famous Great Patriotic War
slogan The Victory Shall Be Ours!" ("
!").[97][282]
On the post-election celebration rally, while making an
acceptance speech, Putin was for the rst time ever seen
with tears in his eyes (later he explained that it was
windy). He said to a 110,000-strong audience: I told
you we would win and we won!"[96][283]

7 Public image
Main article: Public image of Vladimir Putin

7.1 Ratings, polls and assessments

With Dmitry Medvedev on the day of the Russian presidential election, 2008. The soundtrack is Lubeh, Putins favourite
band.[280]

Notable Putins outdoor speeches include his addresses

during the Victory Day Moscow Military Parades one every 9 May in the years between 2000 and 2007. Under
Putins presidency and premiership, the old Soviet tradition of 9 May Parades, which had been in decline in
1990s, was gradually restored in full grandeur. Since the
2008 Moscow Victory Day Parade the armoured ghting Putins (red) and Medvedevs (blue) Endorsement Index.
vehicles resumed regular taking part in the Red Square
parades. Putin often used the Victory Day occasion to
discuss Russias military development and Russias security and foreign aairs. For example, he said on 9 May
2007 that threats are not becoming fewer but are only
transforming and changing their appearance. These new
threats, just as under the Third Reich, show the same contempt for human life and the same aspiration to establish
an exclusive dictate over the world.[281]
During his 2012 presidential campaign Putin made a single outdoor public speech at the 100,000-strong rally of
his supporters in the Luzhniki Stadium on 23 February,
Russias Defender of the Fatherland Day.[97] In the speech
he called not to betray the Motherland, but to love her, to
unite around Russia and to work together for the good,
to overcome the existing problems.[282] He said that the
foreign interference into Russian aairs should not be al-

Putins approval (blue) and disapproval (red) ratings 1999-2014

According to public opinion surveys in June 2007, Putins

approval rating was 81%, the second highest of any leader
in the world that year,[284][285] following British Prime

20
Minister Tony Blair, who received a 93% public approval rating in September 1997.[286][287][288] In January
2013, Putins approval rating fell to 62%, the lowest point
since 2000 and a ten-point drop over two years.[289] In
May 2014 his approval rating rose to 85.9%, a six-year
high.[290] Observers see Putins high approval ratings as
a consequence of the signicant improvements in living standards and Russias reassertion of itself on the
world scene during his presidency.[291][292] One analysis attributed Putins popularity, in part, to state-owned
or state-controlled television.[293] A 2005 survey showed
that three times as many Russians felt the country was
more democratic under Putin than it was during the
Yeltsin or Gorbachev years, and the same proportion
thought human rights were better under Putin than under
Yeltsin.[293]

7 PUBLIC IMAGE
Belarus.[306][307] Former UK Foreign Secretary David
Miliband once described Putin as a ruthless dictator
whose days are numbered.[308] U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney called Putin a real threat to the stability and peace of the world.[309] Former U.S. Secretary
of State Henry Kissinger wrote: For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for
the absence of one.[310]

In the fall of 2011, the anti-Putin opposition movement in

Russia became more visible, with street protests against
allegedly falsied parliamentary elections (in favor of
Putins party, United Russia) cropping up across major
Russian cities. Following Putins re-election in March
2012, the movement ran out of steam, mainly for two
reasons: lack of common positive programme other than
topple Putin and the increased crackdown on street ralPutin was Time magazines Person of the Year for lies. In fact, observers noted the protests resulted in what
2007.[294] In April 2008, he was put on the Time 100 most was not intended: instead of liberalization, the governinuential people in the world list.[295] In 2013 and 2014, ment policy grew more conservative.[311]
he was ranked as the worlds most powerful person by After yet another round of EU and U.S. sanctions against
Forbes.[296][297]
Russian ocials, President Vladimir Putins approval ratFormer Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev credited Putin ing has reached a record high of 87 percent, according to
with having pulled Russia out of chaos,[298] but has also the results of a survey published on 6 August 2014 by the
criticized Putin for restricting freedom of press and for independent Levada Center pollster.[312][313]
seeking the third term in the presidential elections.
Criticism of Putin has been widespread especially over 7.2
the internet in Russia,[299] and it is said that the Russian youth organisations nance a full network of progovernment bloggers.[300] In the U.S. embassy cables
published by WikiLeaks in late 2010, American diplomats said Putins Russia had become a corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir
Putin, in which ocials, oligarchs and organised crime
are bound together to create a virtual maa state.[301][302]
Putin called it slanderous.[303]

Personal image: Superputin

Driving a race car, 2010 (see video).

Putin has an outdoor, sporty, tough guy image in the

media, demonstrating his physical capabilities and taking part in unusual or dangerous acts, such as extreme
sports and interaction with wild animals.[314] For example, in 2007, the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda published a huge photograph of a bare-chested Putin vacaProtest against Putins increasingly authoritarian rule, Saint Pe- tioning in the Siberian mountains under the headline: Be
Like Putin.[315]
tersburg, 2012
By western commentators and the Russian opposition,
Putin has been described as a dictator.[304][305] Putin
biographer Masha Gessen has stated that Putin is a
dictator, comparing him to Alexander Lukashenko of

Photo ops during his various adventures are part of a

public relations approach that, according to Wired, deliberately cultivates the macho, take-charge superhero
image.[316] Some of the activities have been criticised
for being staged.[317][318]

7.2

Personal image: Superputin

21
Putins painting " " (A Pattern on a Hoarfrost-Encrusted Window), which he had
painted during the Christmas Fair on 26 December 2008,
became the top lot at the charity auction in Saint Petersburg and sold for 37 million rubles.[333] The creation of
the painting coincided with the 2009 RussiaUkraine gas
dispute, which left a number of European states without
Russian gas and amid January frosts.[246]
There are a large number of songs about Putin.[334] Some
of the more popular include:
[I Want] A Man Like Putin by Singing Together[335]

Singing Blueberry Hill for charity

Horoscope (Putin, Don't Piss!) by Uma2rman[336]

VVP by a Tajik singer Tolibjon Kurbankhanov
( )[337][338]
Our Madhouse is Voting for Putin by Working Faculty.
Putins name and image are widely used in advertisement
and product branding.[316] Among the Putin-branded
products are Putinka vodka, the PuTin brand of canned
food, the Gorbusha Putina caviar and a collection of Tshirts with his image.[339]

A scene from the Superputin comics

Notable examples of Putins macho adventures

include:[319] ying military jets,[319] demonstrating
his martial art skills,[319] riding horses, rafting, shing
and swimming in a cold Siberian river (doing all that
mostly bare-chested),[315][320] descending in a deepwater
submersible,[321] tranquilizing tigers with a tranquiliser
gun,[315][322] tranquilizing polar bears,[323] riding a
motorbike,[319][324] co-piloting a reghting plane to
dump water on a raging re,[316][319] shooting darts at
whales from a crossbow for eco-tracking,[319][325] driving
a race car,[319][326] scuba diving at an archaeological
site,[317][327] attempting to lead endangered cranes in a
motorized hang glider,[328] and catching big sh.[329][330]
On 11 December 2010, at a concert organized for a childrens charity in Saint Petersburg, Putin sang Blueberry
Hill to a piano accompaniment. The concert was attended
by various Hollywood and European stars such as Kevin
Costner, Sharon Stone, Alain Delon, and Grard Depar- Putin on a shing trip in Siberia, August 2007
dieu.[331][332] At the same event (and others) Putin played
a patriotic song from his favourite spy movie " Putin also is a subject of Russian jokes and chastushki,
", The Shield and the Sword.[332]
such as "[Before Putin] There Was No Orgasm featured

22

8 PERSONAL LIFE

in the comedy lm The Day of Elections.[340] There is a

meta-joke that, since the coming of Putin to power, all the
classic jokes about a smart yet rude boy called
(Vovochka, diminutive from Vladimir) have suddenly become political jokes.

other people in the studio, as well as from Russians

throughout the country, who either phoned in or spoke
from studios and outdoor sites across Russia. Putin is
known for his often tough and sharp language, often alluding at Russian jokes and folk sayings.[346] The exam[347]
Putin features in the colouring book for children Vova ples of putinisms include:
and Dima (presented on his 59th birthday),[341] where
To bump o in a toilet (ru). In the original it was a
he and Dmitry Medvedev are drawn as good-behaving
paraphrase of a Russian slang saying. It was used in
little boys, and in the Superputin online comics se1999, when he promised to destroy terrorists wherries, where Putin and Medvedev are portrayed rst as
ever they were found, including in toilets.[347][348]
superheroes,[316] and then as a troll and an orc in the
[342]
World of Warcraft.
She sank. Curt and self-evident answer to a question
Vladimir Putin was portrayed by internet personality
from Larry King in 2000 asking what happened to
Nice Peter in his YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of Histhe Russian submarine K-141 Kursk.[347]
tory, in Season 2s nale episode, Rasputin vs. Stalin
Ploughed like a slave on a galley. This is how Putin
(aired on 22 April 2013).[343]
described his work as President of Russia from 2000
A Russian movie called A Kiss not for Press was preto 2008 during a Q&A conference in 2008. (To
miered in 2008 on DVD. The movie is said to be based on
plough is a Russian slang for to toil hard.) [346]
biography of Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila.[344]
Ears of a dead ass (a catch phrase popularized by
The Twelve Chairs[349] ). According to Putin, that
was what Latvia would receive instead of the land
claimed by Latvia in a territorial dispute.[346]
At the very least, a state leader should have a head.
Putins response to Hillary Clinton's claim that Putin
has no soul. He recommended that international
relations be built without emotion and instead on
the basis of the fundamental interests of the states
involved.[347]
Asserting that the Russian non-systemic opposition work for foreign interests: Come to me, Bandar-logs![345]

Shearing a pig- In 2013, Putin responded to complaints that he was harboring whistleblower Edward
Snowden, saying that he would not recommend getting involved in the issue of his extradition because
its like shearing a pig lots of squeal but little wool. ( , ).[350] In
the past, this Ukrainian saying impressed Nikita
Khrushchev when Mikhail Lavrentyev quipped in
reference to the futility of certain reforms the USSR
Academy of Sciences,[351] and later it was misattributed to Khrushchev.[352]
See more at wikiquote:Vladimir Putin.

8 Personal life
During annual Q&A conference

7.3

Putinisms

Putin has produced a large number of aphorisms and

catch-phrases, known as putinisms.[346] Many of them
were rst made during his annual Q&A conferences,
where Putin answered questions from journalists and

8.1 Family
See also: Lyudmila Putina
On 28 July 1983 Putin married Kaliningrad-born
Lyudmila Shkrebneva, at that time an undergraduate student of the Spanish branch of the philology department
of the Leningrad State University and a former Aeroot
ight attendant. They lived together in Germany from
1985 to 1990. During this time, according to BND

8.2

Personal wealth and residences

23
of the department that graduates future diplomats.[361]
According to the Daily Mail, their photographs have never
been published by the Russian media, and no family portrait has ever been issued.[356] The Sunday Times has published one picture of Mariya with her parents.[362]

First ladies Lyudmila Putina and Laura Bush in Moscow, 2003

According to an article in the newspaper De Pers,

Mariya is married to a native of the Netherlands, Jorrit Faassen.[363][364] The couple live in Voorschoten,
Netherlands.[365][366] Several sources claim that Yekaterina is also married after a Novemember 2012 wedding
[367]
at the famous La Mamounia hotel in Marrakesh,
Morocco.

Putins own comment in a televised interview is that both

his daughters live in Moscow, where they're combining
archives, a German spy befriended Putina, who said that their studies with part-time work. Im proud of them,
Putin beat her and had love aairs.[353] When the couple said Putin.[368]
left Germany in 1990 it was rumoured that Putin had left
One of Vladimir Putins relatives is Viktor Medvedchuk
behind an illegitimate child.[353]
the Ukrainian business oligarch inuential until the
Mrs. Putin was rarely seen with her husband.[354][355] 2004 Orange Revolution. Putin became the godfather of
There were rumours, according to the Daily Medvedchuks daughter Darina in 2004.[369][370] The two
Mail and other newspapers, that the couple had maintain regular relations since,[370][371] with their meetseparated.[354][355][356]
ings sometimes covered by the Russian state-controlled
Putin had been linked by newspapers with other women, TV channels.[372]
including gymnast Alina Kabayeva[354][355] and ex-spy Another relative is Roman Putin, CEO of Putin
Anna Chapman.[356][357] These rumours were denied.[358] Consulting,[373] a rm aiming to facilitate entrance into
Putin and Lyudmila announced on 6 June 2013 that their the Russian market, to minimize the transaction and admarriage was over. The Kremlin conrmed on 2 April ministrative barriers, and to ensure complex business se2014 the divorce had been nalised.[359]
curity.

8.2 Personal wealth and residences

Figures released during the legislative election of 2007
put Putins wealth at approximately 3.7 million rubles
($150,000 USD) in bank accounts, a private 77.4-squaremeter (833 sq ft) apartment in Saint Petersburg, 260
shares of Bank Saint Petersburg (with a December 2007
market price $5.36 per share[374] ) and two 1960s-era
Volga M21 cars that he inherited from his father and does
not register for on-road use. In 2012 Putin reported an
income of 3.6 million rubles ($113,000). This has led
Putin with family in Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East, 2002
opponents, such as politician Boris Nemtsov, to question
how Putin can aord certain possessions, such as his 11
Putin and his ex-wife have two daughters, Mariya Putina luxury watches worth an estimated $700,000.[375]
(born 28 April 1985 in Leningrad, Soviet Union) and
totalled 2 million rubles
Yekaterina Putina (born 31 August 1986 in Dresden, East Putins purported 2006 income
[377]
(approximately
$80,000).
According
to the data Putin
[360]
Germany). The daughters grew up in East Germany
did
not
make
it
into
the
100
wealthiest
Duma
candidates
and attended the German School in Moscow until his
[378]
United
Russia
party.
of
his
own
appointment as Prime Minister. After that they studied international economics at the Finance Academy in Unconrmed claims by some Russian opposition politiMoscow, although it was not ocially reported due to se- cians and journalists allege that Putin secretly possesses
curity reasons. Ocial sources such as Pravda claim they a large fortune (as much as $70 billion[379] ) via sucstarted their studies at St Petersburg State University, with cessive ownership of stakes in a number of Russian
Mariya at the biology and geology department and Yeka- companies.[380][381] Asked at a press conference on 14
terina at the oriental studies section of the Universitys February 2008 whether he was the richest person in Euphilological department. It is the most prestigious section rope, as some newspapers claimed; and if so, to state the

24

"Putins Palace" allegedly built for him

8 PERSONAL LIFE

[376]

Barack Obama meets with Putin at his dacha outside Moscow,

July 2009

in Sochi (the latter two were left for Putin when he

source of his wealth, Putin said This is plain chatter, not
was Prime-Minister in 20082012, others were used by
worthy discussion, plain bosh. They have picked this in
Dmitry Medvedev at that period).[385] Furthermore, a
their noses and have smeared this across their pieces of
massive Italianate-style mansion costing an alleged US$1
paper. This is how I view this.[382]
billion[376] and dubbed "Putins Palace" is under construction near the Black Sea village of Praskoveevka. The
mansion, built on government land and sporting 3 helipads, a private road paid for from state funds and guarded
by ocials wearing uniforms of the ocial Kremlin
guard service, is said to have been built for Putins private
use. In 2012 Sergei Kolesnikov, a former business associate of Putins, told the BBCs Newsnight programme,
that he had been ordered by deputy prime minister, Igor
Sechin, to oversee the building of it.[386]

8.3 Languages
Putin arrived at the 14th International Biker Rally in Sevastopol,
Crimea, 24 July 2010

Not long after he returned from his KGB service in Dresden, East Germany Putin built a dacha in Solovyovka
on the eastern shore of Lake Komsomolskoye on the
Karelian Isthmus in Priozersky District of Leningrad
Oblast, near St. Petersburg. The dacha had burned down
in 1996. Putin built a new one identical to the original and
was joined by a group of seven friends who built dachas
beside his. In the fall of 1996, the group formally registered their fraternity as a co-operative society, calling it
Ozero (Lake) and turning it into a gated community.[383]
As President and then Prime-Minister, apart from the
Moscow Kremlin and the White House, Putin has used
numerous ocial residences throughout the country. In
August 2012 Nemtsov listed 20 villas and palaces, 9 of
which were built during Putins 12 years in power. This
compares to the President of the United States' 2 ocial
residences.[384]

Apart from Russian, Putin speaks uent German. His

family used to speak German at home as well.[387] After becoming President he was reported to be taking English lessons and could be seen conversing directly with
Bush and native speakers of English in informal situations, but he continues to use interpreters for formal talks.
Putin spoke English in public for the rst time during
the state dinner in Buckingham Palace in 2003 saying
but a few phrases while delivering his condolences to
Queen Elizabeth II on the death of her mother.[388] In
an interview in 2013, the Kremlin chief of sta Sergei
Ivanov revealed that he and Putin sometimes conversed
in Swedish.[389]

8.4 Religion

Putins father was a model communist, genuinely believing in its ideals while trying to put them into practice in his
own life. With this dedication he became secretary of
the Party cell in his workshop and then after taking night
Some of the residences include: Gorki-9 near Moscow, classes joined the factorys Party bureau.[25] Though his
Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, Dolgiye Borody in Novgorod father was a militant atheist",[390] Putins mother was a
Oblast, Novo-Ogaryovo in Moscow Oblast and Riviera devoted Orthodox believer. Though she kept no icons

8.6

Other sports

25
Russian sport title) in judo in 1975 and in sambo in 1973.
At a state visit to Japan, Putin was invited to the Kodokan
Institute, the judo headquarters, where he showed dierent judo techniques to the students and Japanese ocials.
Putin also holds an 8th dan black belt in Kyokushin
kaikan karate gotten in November 2014.[396] He
was presented the black belt in December 2009 by
Japanese champion Kyokushin Karate-Do master Hatsuo
Royama.[397]
In 2013, Putin re-introduced the GTO physical tness
program to Russia[398] with the support of Steven Seagal.[399][400]

Putin and wife Lyudmila in New York City at service for victims
of September 11 attacks, 16 November 2001.

8.6 Other sports

at home, she attended church regularly, despite the governments persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church
at that time. She ensured that Putin was secretly christened as a baby and she regularly took him to services.
His father knew of this but turned a blind eye.[25]
According to Putins own statements, his religious awakening followed the serious car crash of his wife in 1993,
and was deepened by a life-threatening re that burned
down their dacha in August 1996.[390] Right before an
ocial visit to Israel his mother gave him his baptismal
cross telling him to get it blessed I did as she said and
then put the cross around my neck. I have never taken it
o since.[25] When asked whether he believes in God
during his interview with Time, he responded saying:
"...There are things I believe, which should not in my position, at least, be shared with the public at large for everybodys consumption because that would look like selfadvertising or a political striptease.[391]

Putin and Medvedev on skis at Krasnaya Polyana ski resort,

March 2012

Though he is not the rst world leader to practice judo,

Putin is the rst leader to move forward into the advanced levels. Currently, Putin holds a 6th dan (red/white
belt)[395] and is best known for his Harai Goshi (sweeping hip throw). Putin earned Master of Sports (Soviet and

Shoigu. Koni is often seen at Putins side and has been

known to accompany him into sta meetings and greet
world leaders. In fact, when Putin rst met Angela
Merkel, he brought Koni along knowing that Merkel had
a fear of dogs, having been bitten by one as a child.[405] In

Putin often is seen on outdoor activities with Dmitry

Medvedev, promoting sports and healthy way of life
among Russians: they were seen alpine skiing in Krasnaya
Polyana,[401] playing badminton, cycling and shing.[402]
Putin also started to learn ice skating and playing ice
hockey after he promised to do so on a meeting with
the Russia mens national junior ice hockey team who
8.5 Martial arts
had won the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Champi[403]
One of Putins favorite sports is the martial art of judo. onships.
Putin began training in sambo (a martial art that origi- Putin also enjoys watching football and supports FC Zenit
nated in the Soviet Union) at the age of 14, before switch- Saint Petersburg, the main team of his native city.[404]
ing to judo, which he continues to practice today.[393]
Putin won competitions in his hometown of Leningrad
(now Saint Petersburg), including the senior champi- 8.7 Pets
onships of Leningrad in both sambo and judo. He is the
President of the Yawara Dojo, the same Saint Petersburg Main articles: Koni (dog) and Buy (dog)
dojo he practiced at when young. Putin co-authored a
book on his favorite sport, published in Russian as Judo Putin owns a female black Labrador Retriever named
with Vladimir Putin and in English under the title Judo: Koni, given as a gift in 2000 by General of the Army
History, Theory, Practice (2004).[394]
and Russias Minister of Emergency Situations Sergey

26

11 BIBLIOGRAPHY
to the friendship between the two countries. This
decoration is usually awarded to the heads of state
considered very close to France.[413]
In 2007, Putin was named Time magazines Person
of the Year.
On 12 February 2007 Saudi King Abdullah awarded
Putin the King Abdul Aziz Award, Saudi Arabias
top civilian decoration.[414]
On 10 September 2007 UAE President Khalifa bin
Zayed Al Nahyan awarded Putin the Order of Zayed, the UAEs top civil decoration.[415]
In December 2007 Expert, a Russian businessoriented weekly magazine, named Putin as its
Person of the Year.[416]
On 5 October 2008 the central street of Grozny,
the capital of Russias Republic of Chechnya, was
renamed from the Victory Avenue to the Vladimir
Putin Avenue, as ordered by the Chechen President
Ramzan Kadyrov.[417]
In February 2011 the parliament of Kyrgyzstan
named a peak in Tian Shan mountains Vladimir
Putin Peak.[418]

Putins Labrador Koni wearing GLONASS-enabled collar in October 2008.

2003 Koni gave birth to eight pups which were later given
as presents to Russian citizens, politicians and foreign
ambassadors.[406] Koni gained additional fame in 2004
when the largest Russian publisher of childrens books
published a book entitled Connies Stories.[407] In 2008
Koni became the rst recipient of a GLONASS-enabled
pet collar to highlight the progress of the Russian global
navigation satellite system.[408]
In 2010 Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov gave
Putin a Karakachan dog who was then named Buy
according to a suggestion by a ve-year old boy from
Moscow, Dima Sokolov.[409]

8.8

On 15 November 2011 the China International

Peace Research Center awarded the Confucius
Peace Prize to Putin, citing as reason Putins opposition to NATOs Libya bombing in 2011 while
also paying tribute to his decision to go to war in
Chechnya in 1999.[419] According to the committee, Putins Iron hand and toughness revealed in
this war impressed the Russians a lot, and he was
regarded to be capable of bringing safety and stability to Russia.[420]
In 2011, the University of Belgrade awarded Putin
an honorary doctorate.[421]
In 2014, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project awarded Putin their Person of the
Year Award[422] for his innovations in furthering
corruption and organized crime.

Weight and height

As of 2011, Putin weighted 77 kg (170 pounds).[410] His

height is 170 cm (5'7) according to The Guardian,[411]
or 169 cm (5'7) according to the Moscow Times.[412]
Therefore, his body mass index is 26.6 to 27.0.

10 See also
11 Bibliography
11.1 Academic works

Recognition
In September 2006, Frances president Jacques
Chirac awarded Vladimir Putin the Grand-Croix
(Grand Cross) of the Lgion d'honneur, the highest French decoration, to celebrate his contribution

Burrett, Tina. Television and Presidential Power in

Putins Russia (Routledge; 2010) 300 pages
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13 Further reading
Arutunyan, Anna (2015) [2012; Czech ed.].
The Putin Mystique: Inside Russias Power Cult.
Northampton, Mass.: Olive Branch Press. ISBN
9781566569903. OCLC 881654740.
Asmus, Ronald (2010). A Little War that Shook the
World: Georgia, Russia, and the Future of the West.
NYU. ISBN 978-0-230-61773-5.

14 External links
Ocial personal website
Ocial site of the President of Russia
Vladimir Putin at DMOZ

38

15

15
15.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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TheSeer, Sandstein, Whitejay251, Deville, Phgao, Zzuuzz, Lt-wiki-bot, Chesnok, Joshmaul, Ageekgal, Silverhorse, Chase me ladies, I'm
the Cavalry, Closedmouth, Donald Albury, Rms125a@hotmail.com, Afrank, Harabanar, De Administrando Imperio, DGaw, JoanneB,
Vicarious, Shawnc, Croat Canuck, LeonardoRob0t, Fram, Ordinary Person, Tyrenius, Emc2, JLaTondre, Otebig, Ouital77, Curpsbotunicodify, Sneftel, JeBurdges, Katieh5584, TLSuda, RG2, NeilN, John Broughton, Philip Stevens, Airconswitch, Stephennarmstrong,
Patiwat, Draicone, Samuel Blanning, Elliskev, Ross UK, Vvmaks, Paul Pieniezny, WesleyDodds, Per Appelgren, Frank W, Kalsermar,
Fraureuthdk, Sardanaphalus, A13ean, SmackBot, Looper5920, YellowMonkey, Andrew walker, Saravask, Moeron, Ququ, Anarchist42,
Larvatus, KnowledgeOfSelf, Hydrogen Iodide, Ybelov, McGeddon, Goldshbutt, Aetheling1125, Ikip, Davewild, DWaterson, CmdrGuard,
Matveims, Esaborio, Chairman S., Piccadilly, Nickst, Stie, Zyxw, Rojomoke, TheKillerAngel, Arniep, Kintetsubualo, ComaDivine,
HalfShadow, Alsandro, SmartGuy Old, Monstrous m, Gilliam, Portillo, Duke Ganote, Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, Betacommand, Winterheart,
Rmosler2100, Mirokado, JRSP, Chris the speller, Marcin.sobczyk, Zinc2005, Timbouctou, EncephalonSeven, Ottawakismet, Lonelyksdem, Persian Poet Gal, MK8, Hibbleton, Jon513, Lone Guardian, MalafayaBot, SchftyThree, Hibernian, MarcMontoni, K4zem, Afasmit,
Sadads, Hmich176, IAM, David Corbett, Robth, DHN-bot, Rlevse, Xqzzy, GoodDay, MaxSem, Lenin and McCarthy, Muboshgu, Can't
sleep, clown will eat me, Cipher nemo, DHeyward, Bib, SuperDeng, Willers, OrphanBot, Onorem, Mwinog2777, MeekSaron, Intelligent
Mr Toad, Yidisheryid, Alexdowns, Rrburke, Mhym, Lapisphil, Edivorce, Tmatz, Mr.Z-man, Grover cleveland, Bolonium, AndySimpson,
Asteraki, Memming, Mitrius, Khoikhoi, Gragox, Krich, PiMaster3, Kj8744, Cybercobra, Jwy, Buyoof, MureninC, Makemi, Nakon, Savidan, Valenciano, Blake-, WaldoJ, RolandR, Evildevil, Pwjb, Yulia Romero, RandomP, Thething88, Lord Eru, KnowitallWiki, Mango2005,
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Thalia42, Mason1024, Downskated, Darz Mol, Meco, Kolokol1, Midnightblueowl, Whomp, Markjdb, Really Spooky, Ryulong, Gamahler,
Leahcimnoswerk, Andrwsc, Caiaa, Tonster, Hectorian, Xionbox, Samstayton, Paukrus, Hu12, Levineps, JMK, WGee, Benchik, ES Vic,
Saxton, Adriatikus, Joseph Solis in Australia, Ojan, Shoeofdeath, Newone, Rob Shepard, Elryacko, Twas Now, Cbrown1023, Corsair Armada, Tony Fox, AlexWelens, Richard75, Domitori, Courcelles, Illyria05, Esn, Axt, Lincmad, Seaneendubh, Eastlaw, Chnv, JForget, Danberbro, CmdrObot, WoodenBuddha, Kevin j, Jorcoga, Freakied, KyraVixen, Gritzko, Baiji, Aboer, Banedon, VanHelsing.16, Cooljeanius,
Wilanthule, inn, MarsRover, WeggeBot, Musashi1600, 7echnique, Basar, Skybon, Hemlock Martinis, Kronecker, Mattbuck, Cydebot,
Kanags, Reywas92, Treybien, ZippyKid, Gogo Dodo, Travelbird, Khatru2, BlueAg09, Colin Keigher, Denghu, ST47, Adolphus79, Crudnick, Damifb, Soetermans, Tkynerd, Carlroller, Strom, Dougweller, HitroMilanese, Christian75, DumbBOT, JCO312, Bissonb, Mrcomet,
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mOrca2, Lid, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Jobba, Biruitorul, Ivan Volodin, Mercury, MarkBuckles, Wikid77, DavidHolden, Ning-ning, Bchaln,
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Hcobb, EdJohnston, CharlotteWebb, Therequiembellishere, Michael A. White, Nick Number, Dezidor, Dzerzhinsky, Binarybits, Svalbard, OuroborosCobra, Natalie Erin, AlefZet, Escarbot, Ssr, Oreo Priest, KrakatoaKatie, AntiVandalBot, Mjbjosh, Fedayee, Seaphoto,
Edit Centric, Gegelia, Opelio, QuiteUnusual, SummerPhD, Quintote, Paste, Smith2006, I am neuron, Jayron32, Vic226, Hurtsmyears,
Mirror7, Tadas12, Superzohar, Silver seren, Nexus359, MECU, Yellowdesk, Spartaz, Camptown, Vistor, Handicapper, Hermant patel,
Canadian-Bacon, Yancyfry jr, Caper13, Woodstein52, HanzoHattori, JAnDbot, XyBot, D99gge, Leuko, Rtercero, Turgidson, Skomorokh,
Avaya1, Nicholas Tan, Smelikon, Realismadder, Be1981, Colotfox, PhilKnight, ComradeWolf, Theblackbay, Wimstead, Rothorpe, LittleOldMe, .anacondabot, Acroterion, Pseudojim, Ekanderson, Strafpeloton2, Meeples, Whelanmk, Magioladitis, Connormah, Hroulf,
Bongwarrior, VoABot II, A4, Augustgrahl, Charlyz, AuburnPilot, Anthonyramos1, JamesBWatson, ZwickauDeluxe, CTF83!, Marktwain403, Freefry, Romulus123, Twsx, Luxetlex, Ratimanish, KConWiki, Catgut, Fallschirmjger, Animum, Alexandre Tch., Alex Spade,
Adrian J. Hunter, Mike Searson, Elinruby, Aabb, Allstarecho, Tins128, Beagel, Spellmaster, Dharmadhyaksha, Wadim, PassionoftheDamon, E104421, JaGa, Shadiac, Cillas001, JdeJ, Lenin1991, Garik 11, Ajayvius, Patstuart, Kitler005, Markco1, Kayau, Hellerick, Almansolilli, Szerminski, Billythekidd, Edton, LockItUp, Lost tourist, Dirtybutclean, Tracer9999, Greenguy1090, Stephenchou0722, Scottalter, FisherQueen, Pauly04, MartinBot, Flandrensis, Analytikone, Robert25, N734LQ, Wowaconia, Jergarmar, MNAdam, Puddles26,
Clod2105, Zouavman Le Zouave, Kateshortforbob, CommonsDelinker, ASDFGH, Subman758, Lost Number, Goatboy95, PrestonH,
Jihadjihad, Johnny Browntown, Manticore, Exarion, Peterheis, J.delanoy, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Brastein, Trusilver, Svetko, Cranberryzero, Altes, Derrty2033, Bogey97, Numbo3, EATC, Aleksandr Grigoryev, Howa0082, Hans Dunkelberg, Bo Basil, Uncle Dick,
Maurice Carbonaro, Dbiel, Ginsengbomb, Extransit, CRRaysHead90, AndrzejCC, Tazzaler, Moscvitch, DD2K, EKM, Hodja Nasreddin,
Testrundelta, Darth Mike, Alexandril, Ijustam, Paris1127, St.daniel, Asteroid project, Katalaveno, Trojanhorse123, SpigotMap, Greenwiki,
Cfeet77, Novis-M, Gio11211, Trumpet marietta 45750, Keizers, BigBoss21, Garret Beaumain, Ash sul, Snake bgd, Plasticup, Colchicum,
NewEnglandYankee, Kandy Talbot, Skullers, DadaNeem, Wikigi, Afg96, Johan91, Flatterworld, FJPB, Doomsday28, Brendan19, Olegwiki, Carmela Soprano, Ghoort, Zuracech lordum, Juliancolton, Cometstyles, Tiggerjay, Jude Raus, Tnapoleao, HenryLarsen, Jevansen,
DorganBot, Trees22, BeVeryWary, GreatManTheory, Kvdveer, Natl1, King Calamari, Pglukhov, Wikimandia, ZoguShqiptar700, Andy
Marchbanks, Inwind, Skenderaj, Dobbie the House Hmong, FedayiDashnagsti, Halmstad, Halek54, Tweetsabird, Specter01010, Kiannnn,
CardinalDan, Idioma-bot, FeralDruid, Dirak, James1234321, Wikieditor06, Ashcroftgm, Raussie, Vranak, Bakanow, G2bambino, Ezihki,
Meiskam, Malik Shabazz, King Lopez, RabbitKing, VolkovBot, IWhisky, CWii, Johnfos, Otovaker, The Duke of Waltham, Zkbt, Nug,
Aletucker, Firstorm, AlnoktaBOT, Alexander Sokolov, Ilya1166, Ai4ijoel, Jbl1970, Akld guy, Toddy1, Aesopos, WOSlinker, ViktorSH,
Szesetszedziesitsze, Philip Trueman, Teambriangb, JuneGloom07, TXiKiBoT, Rollo44, Rizalninoynapoleon, Dojarca, Perohanych,
Ngresonance, Bagande, Bobertus69, Dormskirk, Lvivske, Qxz, Collegelife101, Tomz0rian, Alex Smotrov, Anna Lincoln, CaptinJohn,
Sintaku, Clarince63, Melsaran, Victoria2007, Pennstatephil, Abdullais4u, Bodybagger, Inventis, Domitius, Nicolasdupond, MihaHovnik,
Josephabradshaw, Bearian, Maxim, VZakharov, Mimich, Commander Sergei Bjarkhov, RandomXYZb, Demigod Ron, Davidj751990,
Malick78, Kesshaka, Y, Nw adelman, Wassamatta, Hookemdown, QZXA2, Falcon8765, JukoFF, Vector Potential, AjitPD, Burntsauce,
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EmxBot, Minael2007, Gherkin30, , GirasoleDE, Volchara, Ponyo, Ay wikiwiki, Chergles, HonestMan67, SieBot, Spike1385,
Ivan tambuk, Tresiden, Idk339, Restre419, Dreamafter, BotMultichill, PeterPredator, Hertz1888, Lemonash, Gerakibot, Dawn Bard,
Erik Jesse, The Parsnip!, Nathan, RJaguar3, Yintan, Lehaneb, Pjn195, Grundle2600, Spectre9, Cincydude55, Nite-Sirk, Digwuren, Hosim,
Hunhohunho, Radon210, Neutralhomer, The Evil Spartan, Oda Mari, Throquat, Arbor to SJ, Ventur, JehoshaphatJIJ, Ms2150, Emberstone666, Darth Kalwejt, Wombatcat, Blueorpheus, Hushberlin, Oxymoron83, Ktoto89, KPH2293, AnonGuy, Lightmouse, Chris Archer,
Lucas.tej, Ahangar-e-Gaz, Mkeranat, BenoniBot, Eugen Simion 14, OKBot, Spitre19, Maelgwnbot, BolinhasFofas, Sovxx, Juvarra,
Varig203, LordAntagonist, The Stickler, Janggeom, Gorrrillla5, Lepsik, Sturm31, The Four Deuces, Conman666, Realm of Shadows,
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, Neurolysis, ArthurBot, B. Fairbairn, Quebec99, LilHelpa, Tatarian, Obersachsebot, Xqbot, Asks questions, Timir2, The Banner, JimVC3, Estlandia, Universalsurage, Wstenfuchs, 4twenty42o, XZeroBot, Nerdy Kid
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b6/Barack_Obama_and_Prime_Minister_Vladimir_Putin.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
whitehouse/3713509417/in/photostream/ Original artist: Pete Souza of the Ocial White House Photostream
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domain Contributors: whitehouse.gov, President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin of Russia Original artist: White House photo
by Eric Draper
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Coat_of_Arms_of_
Russian_Empire.svg License: Public domain Contributors: http://vector-images.com/image.php?epsid=604 Original artist:

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Coat_of_Arms_

of_the_Russian_Federation.svg License: Public domain Contributors: The ocial source of the image is http://document.kremlin.ru/
doc.asp?ID=5171&PSC=1&PT=3&Page=8. The big image of coat of arms: [1]. Original artist: <a href='http://validator.w3.org/'
data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='W3C' src='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.

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svg/88px-Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg.png' width='88' height='30' style='vertical-align: top' srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/

wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg/132px-Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg/176px-Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg.png
2x' data-le-width='91' data-le-height='31' /></a>iThe source code of this SVG is <a data-x-rel='nofollow' class='external text'
href='http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3AFilepath%2FCoat_of_
Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg,<span>,&,</span>,ss=1#source,<span>,&,</span>,ss=1#source'>valid</a>.
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Soviet_Union.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work from Image:Soviet Hammer and Sickle and Earth.svg and Image:Soviet
coat of arms.svg. It was then corrected and is believed to be close to ocial version, for example, one from the 3rd ed. of the Great Soviet
Encyclopedia, available online here Original artist: Madden, reworked by F l a n k e r
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artist: ?
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wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Customs_Union_of_Russia%2C_Belarus_and_Kazakhstan_Globe_No_Borders.PNG License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: wikipedia Original artist: Foption
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1/1a/Endorsement_Index_of_Putin_and_Medvedev_%281999-present%29.png License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.levada.
ru/indeksy, http://www.levada.ru/eng/indexes Original artist: Levada Center
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Susan Sterner,
Executive Oce of the President of the United States
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domain Contributors: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Original
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User:Jeltz, User:Dbenbenn, User:Zscout370
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domain Contributors: http://www.protocol.gov.hk/flags/chi/r_flag/index.html Original artist: Tao Ho
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lamanbahasa/sites/default/files/UU_2009_24.pdf) Original artist: Drawn by User:SKopp, rewritten by User:Gabbe
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svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, FOTW Original artist: User:Nightstallion
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