“If there is no God, everything is permitted.”
— Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.
Stellar evolution is fascinating to look at. Stars are born from collapsing, large clouds of cold gas and dust called nebulae. They lead extraordinarily volatile lives, and higher their mass, faster the material gets consumed. Over time, a star becomes larger and brighter while its surface temperature decreases, eventually transforming into a red giant. In many ways, some people resemble stars— born into a degenerate order, living tumultuous lives (if not for themselves, then for those around them), and ultimately forced to confront the aftermath of their own fusion. Here stands a Tsar, at 25 years and one day, who has ascended to the title of the longest serving Russian leader, only after the 30-year-long reign of Joseph Stalin.
Tsar-ting out from Leningrad: A Tsar is born
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born the youngest of three sons in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), a city ravaged by siege, into the crucible of deprivation. The housing speaks for itself, a 180 square feet single room, in the fifth floor of a communal apartment, without any conveniences. In ‘First Person’, Putin recounts the “horrid” apartment, that had no kitchen and was frequented by hordes of rats. Yet, even in privation, young Volodya never knew want of love, for his parents were overprotective and deeply caring. On September 1 1960, he enrolled in School No. 193, having avoided kindergarten because of “an over-abundance of caution.” Steven Lee Myers writes, “In school, he was an indifferent student, petulant and impulsive, probably a little bit spoiled.” Interestingly, by the time Vladimir was in third grade, he was one among the few students who were not inducted into Pioneers (the Communist Party’s Youth organisation). His father’s desire to get his son to boxing introduced him to the discipline and diligence of Sambo and Judo, something that was to have profound influence on his rise and reign. Later, he also came to his first leadership position, as the head of the school’s first Pioneer branch.
The boy meets Major Aleksandr Belov, the beloved
In 1965, Vadim Kozhevnikov’s serialised espionage thriller, ‘The Shield and the Sword’ that explores the life of Soviet spy Aleksandr Belov. The work, thanks to its immense popularity was also made into a five-hour-plus film that swayed sixteen-year-old Putin’s sailor dreams into the seas of KGB, which also prompted him to study law. Through college, Steven Lee Meyrs writes, Putin “flirted with the forbidden culture of the West” and studied rigorously also keeping the flame for Judo alive. Putin was no stranger to love and its tribulations. His first serious relationship was with Lyudmila Khamarina, that ended in a broken engagement. His marriage to Lyudmila Shkrebneva is fascinating for Putin was a chauvinist who upheld the traditional gender roles in matrimony. By Lyudmila’s own admission, he was “the provider and defender” and according to Myers, an excessively picky eater, who went by the aphorism “Don’t praise a woman, or else you’ll spoil her.”
Putin, who joined hands with KGB for the love of Belov and the fascination about the powers of a spy, had an initial stagnant phase, yet he never complained nor sought despite being passionate in what he did. However, his marriage marked a turn; he worked undercover in East Germany (where KGB had a strong presence), as a translator and later marching on to the ranks of lieutenant colonel. His time at KGB saw the fall of Berlin Wall and he played no significant role in the political undercurrents that toppled the Soviet Union. In 1991, he left his childhood dream (which he claimed was his second resignation) opposing the putsch against Gorbachev. ‘The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin’ talks about this resignation, which in the words of Colonel Leshchev, was “more pragmatic than idealistic. There were no prospects and in general it was not clear what would happen with the intelligence service.” In 1991, the Soviet Union crumbled, in Putin’s words: “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
Unknown ‘apparatchik’ to the ‘Strongman’ – The rise and rise of Putin
Putin soon returned to office, under Sobchak, as the head of city committee on foreign economic affairs. He later became the deputy chairman of Saint Petersburg’s government. The turbulence of 1993 also strengthened the trust that Sobchak had in Putin, and he later crashed in the 1996 re-elections leaving Putin “without a job, without a patron, and without a purpose.” It is this event that towed him to Boris Yeltsin’s office, culminating in the prime minister post in 1999, the tip of the twenty-five-year-old ice-berg.
Putin was handpicked by Yeltsin and the “Family”, from the night of anonymity, when Yeltsin announced he was stepping down on December 31, 1999. If anything, Putin has displayed remarkable loyalty at all points of his exceptionally political life. His ascend to permanence and to the current position was definitely not foreshadowed. However, Yeltsin’s chaotic rule and the situation in Chechnya secured him a strong footing among people who were desperate for stability. A win that would prove too costly for democracy later. It is tempting to note that Putin has no heir apparent and his first presidential turn in 2000 marked a point of no return. In the latest elections (held in Match, 2024), the president returned to office with almost 87 per cent voting in favour.
Born in the city founded by Peter the Great, this man has had a long-run to projecting himself as the 21st century reflection of the Tsar.
Russian roulette in politics and the rat that was cornered
“There, on that stair landing, I got a quick and lasting lesson in the meaning of the word cornered.” Putin mentions how they used to chase rats and drive them to a corner, in his old housing, until it had no way to escape. However, a rat once “lashed around and threw itself” at him. He was surprised that he was the one being chased but his quick reflexes saved him (from ‘First Person : An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’) This anecdote with so many interpretations, appears quite ominous in hindsight. But which part of the chase does Putin belong to?
Twenty-five years of Putin is better dubbed 25 years of controversy and dubious decisions. In early 2014, Kremlin initiated military annexation of Crimea and over the years the conflict has only intensified culminating in the present-day situation of unprecedented gore. Putin was praised for resurrecting Russian economy, at a steady pace between 1999 and 2008. But as Michael McFaul pointed out, the “impressive” short-term growth “came simultaneously with the destruction of free media, threats to civil society, and unmitigated corruption of justice.” The liberal economic and tax reforms did wonders as it was reflected in high domestic approval ratings for the president.
This was not without a cost, as Russia fell in terms of political freedom, also fostering an environment for cronyism and authoritarianism. Putin was also accused, not without reason, of extreme conservatism and stifling of any semblance to opposition. “Putinism” and “Putinist” have been interwoven negatively into media discourses with Russia also facing the allegations of poisoning and premediated murder too many times. Steve Lee Myers writes, “Aleksandr Litvinenko was already dead when he publicly accused Vladimir Putin of having killed him…It was as if ‘a little, nuclear bomb’ had gone off inside him.”
Russia’s relationship with NATO and the European Union, fissured with an ugly ring to it. This, however, does not apply to the BRIC countries, a relationship of amicability. Russia’s diplomatic relationship with the United States is far from perfect. Arkady Ostrovsky writes in ‘The Invention of Russia’ quoting Obama’s interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, which pointed to an underlying fundamental misunderstanding on “how power worked in foreign policy” referring to Putin’s adventures in Syria and Ukraine. Ostrovsky added, “ ‘Real power means you can get what you want without having to exert violence,’ he said. But Obama’s comment betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of Putin. To bolster his domestic agenda, violence abroad is crucial. It is not just a means to an end, but a goal in itself— so long as it is seen on a screen."
Putin’s silver jubilee address betrayed no anxieties of a precarious position, stating that everything will be fine and that Russia will only move forward. In earlier news, he also apologised to Azerbaijan, evading responsibility.
This seventy-two-year-old politician is also a perceived icon in what is casually called the alpha- male culture on social media, winning them over with power dressing and his grave expression. His fan club has diverse representation, including former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Giuliani was once of the opinion that Putin “makes a decision and he executes it, quickly. That’s what you call a leader.”
At this point, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin stands like a red giant, without a disclosed successor in line and synonymous to the country itself—Russia.
Anna Akhmatova’s lament for the erased Lot’s wife says:
“It’s not too late, you can still look back
At the red towers of your native Sodom,
The square where once you sang, the spinning-shed,
at the empty windows set in the tall house
where sons and daughters blessed your marriage-bed.”
It might not be too late for the little boy from Leningrad who called himself a “hooligan and not a pioneer,” to look back and to see differently.
