Finance
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has suppressed domestic dissent and increased conflict with the West over nearly a quarter century in power, begins his fifth term on Tuesday.
Since becoming president on New Year’s Eve 1999, the hitherto unknown KGB agent has cemented power by bringing billionaires to heel, barring any legitimate opposition, and transforming Russia into an authoritarian state.
The Kremlin leader is set to be inaugurated for a fifth term on Tuesday, following his largest-ever election triumph in March, which the West has blasted as a fraud.
The election was overshadowed by the mysterious murder of Putin’s primary adversary, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison.
Other opponents are serving hefty jail sentences or have fled into exile.
Abroad, Putin, 71, has led attempts to undermine Western supremacy.
His grip on power grew stronger after he invaded Ukraine in February 2022, completely silencing public opposition to the war through court procedures and jail.
His administration risks being characterized by the war in Ukraine, which has claimed thousands of lives and triggered unprecedented Western sanctions, causing enormous difficulties in the Russian economy.
Large anti-war protests erupted in the days following his order to send troops into Ukraine early on February 24, 2022. They were immediately quashed.
However, there were more rallies months later when the government was obliged to announce a partial mobilization, after Russia failed to topple Ukraine’s government in the opening offensive of the war.
The most serious challenge to Putin’s long rule occurred in June 2023, when Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally and chief of the Wagner mercenary group, declared a mutiny to depose Russia’s military leadership.
The brutal rebellion threatened to ruin Putin’s self-created reputation as a strategic genius, which is unsettling for a ruler who likes to compare himself to Peter the Great, the reform-minded emperor who extended Russia’s boundaries.
But in recent months, Putin has proved his enduring authority.
Domestic opposition has been muted, the economy is recovering, the Russian military has gained ground in eastern Ukraine, and he has resumed international travel.
Putin began his career as an intelligence officer before entering politics in 1991, when the Soviet Union was collapsing, as mayor of Saint Petersburg.
Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president, appointed him head of the FSB security service in 1998, and then prime minister the following year.
It was a meticulously planned campaign that culminated in his nomination as acting president after Yeltsin resigned.
Putin won his first presidential election in March 2000, followed by a second term in 2004.
His ascension initially raised hopes that Russia would change and become a predictable, democratic partner of the West on the international scene.
Putin gained popularity by promising stability to a country still reeling from a decade of humiliation and economic chaos following the Soviet collapse.
After two stints as president, he switched back to being prime minister in 2008 to circumvent a constitutional ban on holding more than two consecutive terms as head of state.
But he kept the reins of power firmly in hand and returned to the presidency in 2012 despite pro-democracy protests in Moscow, winning a fourth term in 2018.
He jailed his loudest rival, Navalny, in 2021.
The clampdown on opposition movements ramped up after the launch of hostilities in Ukraine.
Thousands of Russians were handed long prison sentences using newly reinforced censorship laws.
The West imposed sanctions that effectively cut off Russia from the global banking system, adding to the Russian leadership’s siege mentality.
In October 2023, Putin accused Europe of erecting a “new Iron Curtain” and stated that Russia was establishing “a new world” order that would not be based on Western hegemony.
He has also been promoting a domestic agenda of nationalism and social conservatism, most recently measures targeting Russia’s LGBTQ minority.
Following the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian strongman tried to turn east, enticing India and China with expanded energy exports.
At the same time, Putin has significantly increased defense spending, resulting in a new war economy in an attempt to succeed in Ukraine.
The war failed in its early intentions to destroy Ukraine’s government, and Russia was forced to a series of humiliating reverses by the tenacious defense of the much smaller Ukrainian army.
However, with the conflict now in its third year, Putin has spoken more confidently about Russia’s chances on the battlefield, a topic he avoided for many months.
Russian forces successfully repelled a much-hyped Ukrainian counter-offensive last year and have made substantial advances in 2024, despite delays in much-needed Western military supplies.
Wrangling in Washington stalled $61 billion in military funding for Ukraine, which was eventually approved last month.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian troops have repeatedly been outnumbered and outgunned, and Russia is stepping up its onslaught in anticipation of a new Western military reinforcement for Ukraine.
