How Putin Became the Symbol of Russian Power

When people think of Vladimir Putin, they think of capital P Power. And that is exactly the impression he creates. Whether it's physical

power

, shooting different weapons, riding various modes of transportation James Bond style, or throwing judo at hapless opponents. Or political

power

. Ruling his own country with an iron fist, crushing his political opposition or, more recently, being accused of meddling in foreign elections for his own benefit. This is how Vladimir Putin went from a poor, tough kid in Leningrad to a KGB spy and the very

symbol

of modern Russia. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born in 1952 in Leningrad, what is now St.

Petersburg. His father was a factory foreman and his mother was a housewife. It is widely said that Putin's tough-guy public-facing persona dates back to his fights when he was younger. Which paved the way for him to dedicate himself to judo. After graduating in law from Leningrad State University, Putin joined the KGB foreign intelligence service. He spent 16 years in the KGB. When Putin returned to Russia, he began his political career. That's Leonid Berschidsky. Putin prospered in the Sobchak administration because... Bershidsky: At that time he was considered a fairly efficient municipal official. He was very loyal to Sobchak.

So loyal and efficient that... Bershidsky: Yeltsin's inner circle took notice of him. And those people soon brought Putin to Moscow to work in Yeltsin's administration, where he quickly rose up the political ladder. Trenin: Then, of course, he was promoted to Prime Minister of Russia. Around this time, Yeltsin and the people around him, the so-called “Family,” decided that Putin would become a sick successor to Yeltsin. And then this happened... (Explosion) Apartment bombings took place in three Russian cities, killing 293 people and injuring more than 1,000. Putin immediately blamed Chechen separatists for the attacks and followed up with action. And it worked.

Trenin: after that he

became

an heir apparent in the eyes of the Russian people. Three months later, Yeltsin resigned. And on his way out, a famous exchange. Trenin: Yeltsin was getting into the car at the Kremlin, and his last words to Putin before getting into the car were "take good care of Russia." Putin then assumed the presidency and three months later won his first election. But just because Putin won the presidency didn't mean he had all the power. This is Michael McFaul. McFaul: I was the United States ambassador from 2012 to 2014. And certain people... the oligarchs. McFaul: He did better than others in that liquidation, sometimes called privatization.

And those people used to be well connected to the Yeltsin regime and were not friends of Putin. Bershidsky: But they probably miscalculated thinking that they could easily find a way to influence him, but it

became

impossible almost from the beginning. Trenin: From that very moment there was a war between him and the oligarchs. That's when Putin gave the oligarchs a choice... Putin's path... McFaul: Some of those people from the 90s managed to come up with a new form of prison... McFaul: Others couldn't find a common vision and that's why they lost their assets. Khodorkovsky was once Russia's richest person, worth $15 billion, but he ran into trouble with President Putin and spent a decade in prison.

With domestic power consolidated, Putin focused on restoring Russia's global influence. Bershidsky: Putin is the guy who believes in the expansionist Russian state. Georgia and Ukraine and all the other Soviet republics that broke away when the Soviet Union fell apart, he still believes are traditional Russian satellites. And he used annexation and invasion, as well as oil, gas and trade to keep the former Soviet republics in Russia's orbit. In 2008, Putin's two terms ended and he decided to resign as president... Dmitri Medvedev was elected and Putin became Prime Minister again, but in reality... Trenin: Putin never left power. Bershidsky: he continued to run the country and Medvedev was a kind of figurehead.

In fact, there was a period of cooperation between Russia and the United States that benefited both countries during Medvedev's presidency. McFaul: Because Medvedev did not have the same negative attitude towards the West as Putin. But when Putin returned to run for a third term. In the run-up to the 2012 elections, both the presidential and parliamentary elections were widely believed to be rigged and Russians took to the streets. Putin placed blame for the protests squarely on the United States and, more specifically, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. McFaul: He believes she had sent what he called “a signal” to the protesters.

Still, Putin won by a wide margin and set out to crush the protest movement immediately upon his return to the Kremlin. Over the next few years, the Russian economy collapsed; Putin annexed Crimea, leading to sanctions; the price of oil fell drastically; the ruble reached a new low; and the United States downplayed Russia's influence, and Obama called Russia Obama: a regional power. Despite all that, Putin's approval rating remained sky-high. And then a chance for revenge. Trump: I think I would get along very well with Vladimir Putin. McFaul: In 2016 there was a candidate who called Vladimir Putin very intelligent.

Trump showed tolerance toward Putin's actions in annexing Crimea. And similar opinions on NATO and sanctions. McFaul: Secretary Clinton did not support any of those views. Although Putin denies wrongdoing Putin: elections in the United States? I don't know. The United States has accused Russia of being behind the leak of 20,000 Democratic National Committee emails, which many say helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. Which leaves us here, with the possibility of Putin having a president until 2024, positioning Russia as the world power he always imagined it should be.