Search Results
6/7/2025, 3:41:27 AM
Moscow Without Its Shadow
February 25, 2022
Vladimir Putin is dead, dying of complications stemming from COVID-19. Born in 1952, Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, before he began his political career in 1991. Within five years, he had moved to Moscow to join Boris Yeltsin's administration in 1996. Yeltsin, an infamous drunk, eventually resigned, and Putin became acting president in 1999.
The year Putin became acting president was also the year of several scandals in Russia. In September 1999, a series of explosions hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, killing more than 300, injuring more than 1,000, and spreading a wave of fear across the country. The bombings have been linked to Putin's KGB, and strong evidence exists that he orchestrated the attack. The bombings, coupled with the invasion of Dagestan, culminated in the Second Chechen War, during which Putin authorized the use of thermobaric bombs on Chechen civilians.
Putin, who once considered joining Russia with NATO, has in recent years led the country down a path of authoritarianism and anti-globalism, anti-Westernism, and anti-democratism. From 2008 to 2012, he served as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev. During this period, the United States under President Barack Obama famously tried to "reset relations" and work with Medvedev, bypassing Putin. The tactic failed, with it becoming apparent in 2012 when Putin returned to the presidency in an election marked by fraud and protests. Over the past decade, Putin has consolidated his power and killed or jailed his rivals. The world awaits who will succeed him in power.
February 25, 2022
Vladimir Putin is dead, dying of complications stemming from COVID-19. Born in 1952, Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, before he began his political career in 1991. Within five years, he had moved to Moscow to join Boris Yeltsin's administration in 1996. Yeltsin, an infamous drunk, eventually resigned, and Putin became acting president in 1999.
The year Putin became acting president was also the year of several scandals in Russia. In September 1999, a series of explosions hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, killing more than 300, injuring more than 1,000, and spreading a wave of fear across the country. The bombings have been linked to Putin's KGB, and strong evidence exists that he orchestrated the attack. The bombings, coupled with the invasion of Dagestan, culminated in the Second Chechen War, during which Putin authorized the use of thermobaric bombs on Chechen civilians.
Putin, who once considered joining Russia with NATO, has in recent years led the country down a path of authoritarianism and anti-globalism, anti-Westernism, and anti-democratism. From 2008 to 2012, he served as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev. During this period, the United States under President Barack Obama famously tried to "reset relations" and work with Medvedev, bypassing Putin. The tactic failed, with it becoming apparent in 2012 when Putin returned to the presidency in an election marked by fraud and protests. Over the past decade, Putin has consolidated his power and killed or jailed his rivals. The world awaits who will succeed him in power.
Page 1