The Power of Putin

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Reforms and ethnic problems helped the Soviet Union collapse in 1991. What was the next move to help Russia be a major power in the world? Boris Yeltsin led Russia through most of the decade promoting something known as democracy and better living conditions than the Soviet Union. There were some failures along with success, however once Yeltsin was too old for the job he found a successor. Hence, Yeltsin passed the presidency on to Putin; the promotion of democracy was severely limited by an authoritarian leader wanting more power.

Corruption during the 1990’s increased and expanded with the developments of the Russian Mafia. “Many Russians believed that the unbridled pursuit of individual interests during the 1990s gave rise to lawlessness, corruption, and other centrifugal forces that weakened the state (Richter 40).” An extreme amount of hyperinflation and the ruble nearly crashed overnight in the later half of the decade due to the lawlessness of investments. Boris Yeltsin had many problems especially with the development of a constitution. “About one-quarter of Russians felt satisfaction in 1996 with the course of democratization, or nearly as many as were dissatisfied (Colton and McFaul 17).” Even though a large percentage of the people were dissatisfied with the government they did not want the communist party back.

The confirmation of authoritarian rule came with Putin's eight-year term in office. The State was based on the masses' longing for "order" and a return to traditionalism. Throughout this period, Putin's regime kept a relentless attack on the pro-democracy aspirations of Yeltsin's supporters. They were determined to discredit them any way possible. “When Boris Yeltsin was elected to a second term in 1996, ...

... middle of paper ...

...rom the government. Putin is just becoming extremely greedy, and if the Russian people do not rise up against him he will eventually fall back toward communism. Finally, Russia has the ability to explore life's full potential and become prosperous; this change in the way things are done is needed. The era of communism was a distorted socialist attempt to prevent democratic development and keep people under control.

Works Cited

Colton, Timothy J and Michael McFaul. "Putin and Democratization." Herspring, Dale R. Putin's Russia Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC., 2001. 13-38.

McFaul, Michael and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss. "Th Myth of the Authoritarian Model." Foreign Affairs (2008): 68-84.

Richter, James. "Putin and the Public Chamber." Richter, James. Post-Soviet Affairs. Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2009. 39-65.

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