On May 7 of the current (2018) year, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin officially became the head of state for the fourth time. The inauguration took place at noon in the Grand Kremlin Palace. The ceremony was routine for Vladimir Vladimirovich himself and the general public, but for the media this is another reason to appreciate the pros and cons of Putin's rule.
It’s worth saying right away that it’s too early to consider the results. At least six more years of work are ahead, but there are already intermediate results. It seems that the pros and cons of Putin as president are obvious. Most Russians put the firm five on the state leader in foreign policy and rank the “top three” on the success of Vladimir Vladimirovich’s work in the field of domestic politics. But in any case, the issue should be considered in more detail.
a brief description of
Putin became the acting president of the Russian Federation on the last day of 1999 in connection with the early resignation of Yeltsin. The first president of Russia, elected by popular vote, actually simply transferred his authority to the young politician. Vladimir Putin then received even the Orthodox blessing of the Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II.
On March 26, 2000, Yeltsin's successor was elected president. The pros and cons of Putin’s rule the media began to evaluate from the first days of politics at the post. The young leader (Vladimir Vladimirovich at the time he took office was 48 years old) conducted a judicial reform, changed the procedure for forming the Federation Council, and initiated the Second Chechen campaign.
The pros and cons of Putin’s presidency are reasonable to consider immediately for the entire period during which the political leader served as head of state. This time from 2000 to 2008, and then from 2012 to this day. In the period from 2008 to 2012, Vladimir Vladimirovich served as Prime Minister (during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev). Now is the fourth presidential term of Vladimir Vladimirovich. German journalist Alan Posener on the pages of Die Welt recently shared his humorous prediction that in 2024 Putin will be elected president of the Union of Slavic States for life. Such jokes confirming the absence of political competition have lately been heard more and more often.
President rating
Eighteen years of a political career (this is only in the chair of the president and prime minister, and before that V. Putin was director of the FSB and secretary of the Russian Security Council) is a long way, so mistakes could not be avoided. But most of this time in Putin, the Russian people saw a strong leader and savior from the terrorist threat, who managed to really improve the standard of living of ordinary citizens and strengthen Russia's position in the international arena.
Here it is worth considering an assessment of the president’s performance over time. In 2000, Putin's rating was 78%. In the future, there were higher rates, but after Yeltsin, whose level of popular sympathy did not rise above 50%, this was an almost unattainable result. In 2001, the rating fell to more modest indicators and actually the lowest in the career of Vladimir Vladimirovich - 69%.
The 2004 consumer boom and the accumulation of the third largest gold and foreign exchange reserves (after China and Japan), an improvement in the standard of living and a decrease in the strength of the oligarchs raised the president’s rating to 82%, but the next year Putin crashed in the foreign policy arena (the pro-American government came to power in Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko) and lost the sympathy of citizens. In general, the president’s rating ranged from 64% (this is due to the severe economic crisis in 2012) to 86% (against the backdrop of confronting “Ukrainian fascism” and protecting the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions of Ukraine).
Next, we move on to a detailed examination of the pros and cons of Putin’s rule in general and in relation to certain separate areas of the social and political life of Russia, foreign policy, the economy and the country's position in the international arena.
Pros and Cons of the Presidency
The pros and cons of Putin’s rule are rather difficult to describe briefly - too much has been done in the entire political career of the state leader, and it’s too early to draw final results. However, it is worth highlighting the general list of achievements and failures. The table structures the pros and cons of Putin’s rule in a more understandable way than a lengthy listing.
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pros |
Minuses |
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Domestic policy |
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Terrorist threat reduction |
An economy that is not able to withstand crises effectively |
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Conflict Resolution in Chechnya |
Weak growth |
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Preserving the integrity of the country |
Lack of development in high technology areas |
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Strengthening the army, navy, defense of the Russian Federation |
Reducing the number of clinics, beds in hospitals, a small number of qualified doctors, general problems in the field of medicine |
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Decrease in crime and banditry in Russia |
The lack of social elevators, the actual impossibility to achieve a high position solely by talent and knowledge |
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Active development of agriculture and food industry |
The degenerative structure of the economy and its consequences: low salaries, mendicant pensioners, poor living standards |
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Significantly reduced import dependency |
Lack of guarantees of private property rights |
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Centralization of power and pacification of political groups |
Theft in public procurement, the consequence of which is a weakening economy |
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Introducing the Single Window Principle |
Greater income differentiation |
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Preservation of relative freedom of speech |
Depreciation of fixed assets, low investment |
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Record Low Inflation |
Actual lack of competition in politics |
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Deterioration of the country's investment capital |
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The monopolistic nature of the economy |
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Foreign policy |
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Decrease in external public debt |
NATO approaching Russian borders |
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Attempts to Strengthen Russia's Authority in the International Political Arena |
Failure in foreign policy in Ukraine. The country from neutral has become hostile |
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Successful operation in Syria |
Failure of integration processes in the CIS countries, result: virtual absence of strategic allies |
Healthcare
Since 2000, the number of state hospitals in Russia has almost halved, which is already a critical level for a population of 147 million. In most cases, we are not talking about consolidating the clinic with another hospital, that is, a lack of funding is visible. The number of beds in hospitals decreased by 28%. The quality of medical care for the population is lame. All due to the notorious lack of funding and the diversion of professional personnel.
Formally, medicine in the Russian Federation is free. In fact, an ordinary visit to the therapist is often paid (doctors can be thanked, if not with money, then at least with a chocolate bar) and first you need to withstand an almost endless queue. The situation in Moscow, St. Petersburg and some regional centers is slightly better than on the periphery. In most small towns and villages, medicine is generally on the verge of disaster.
Russia takes 159th place in the life expectancy of citizens. It is lower than Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moldova and even North Korea or Libya. True, there are not only minuses, but also the advantages of Putin’s rule, if we talk about medical care for the population. Additional provision of preferential categories of drugs was introduced, a law on compulsory insurance was adopted, the national project “Health” was launched, and so on.
Education system
What are the pros and cons of Putin’s era in this area? Reductions have also occurred in the education system: the number of secondary schools has decreased by 37% since 2000. The salary of teachers still leaves much to be desired. In addition, in the Russian Federation there is a catastrophic shortage of qualified personnel.
Defense expenses
The diametrically opposite situation has developed with the costs of supporting the country's defense capabilities. For eighteen years of Putin’s presidency, military spending tripled, reaching 9% of GDP. According to this indicator, modern Russia is approaching the level of military spending of the USSR, which led to the collapse of the economy and the collapse of the country. Has it become safer for ordinary people to live under Putin with such a share of the defense budget? The question is rhetorical. An increase in military spending is most likely a minus of his reign, because Russia now has no aggressive external enemies, and money is being taken from the budget, which is why education, healthcare, social security and the economy are suffering.
Number of officials
The number of public servants under Putin has almost doubled, but this is according to official figures. Unofficially, officials became 6-7 times more. It turns out that each of them has about 90 citizens. For example, we can take the same Soviet Union, where there were approximately 136 people per deputy. Solid bureaucracy. If you calculate the costs, then the maintenance of the president, prime minister and deputies requires almost 38 billion rubles.
Unemployment rate
As for the unemployment rate, this can be attributed to the pluses of the presidency of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, as the indicator fell from 10.6% to 5.2%. For comparison: in the European Union the unemployment problem is very acute, 7.4% of the population are unemployed, in France - 9.7%, in Italy - 11.1%, in Montenegro - more than 20%, in Greece - 21%.
Population income
Incomes of the population over the years of Putin’s rule have increased several times. In 2000, the average salary was 2 223 rubles (78.9 dollars), in 2004 - 6 740 rubles (242.8 dollars), in 2008 - 17 290 rubles (588.4 dollars), in 2012 - 26 909 rubles (886 dollars), in March 2018 - 41, 650 rubles (727 dollars).
Achievements in Foreign Policy
An assessment of the pros and cons of Putin’s rule (200-2008) would be incomplete without mentioning foreign policy. Some of the merits of the leader of the state are even recognized as stingy with praise by some Western politicians and the media:
- victory over terrorism, ending the Chechen conflict and preventing the collapse of the country;
- strengthening Russia's position in the international arena;
- opposition to revolutions according to the "maidan" scenario;
- the return of the Crimean peninsula to Russia;
- revival of the Russian army and navy;
- the elimination of terrorism in Syria (today, almost 90% of the country's territory has been cleared of ISIS fighters);
- victory in the sanctions confrontation with Western countries;
- the Olympic Games in Sochi, preparation for the football championship.
