By Myint Myat
There are many world leaders who can reawaken and revitalize elevate their countries.
I regard Russia as one of the world’s top superpowers, so I felt compelled to take stock of a leader like Vladimir Putin of Russia today, a country reborn out of the fallen Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, once an outstanding superpower, disintegrated into smaller countries due to its general deterioration as well as external instigation. Republics of the Union broke away and some of them leant towards the US and some joined NATO. It was a fact that Russia, once a world power, became an economically poor and militarily inferior country.
As a KGB agent, prime minister and president
There was a man who was stricken with inconsolable grief when he saw his motherland deteriorating in every way and the brother states of the former Union became followers of the US. That man is no one but President Vladimir Putin, the Head of State of the Russian Federation. He served as a colonel of the former KGB in East Germany. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was called and assigned duties in politics. He is now 70 and he is very religious. He served as prime minister from 1999 to 2000, as president from 2000 to 2008 and again as prime minister from 2008 to 2012. He has been president for the second time since 2012. It can be easily guessed that such an incumbent president must have a wealth of experience in the military, political and administrative fields.
International relations expanding with military operations
All those who have to take the responsibilities as the leader of Russia tend to have their ups and downs throughout their political life and be faced with all types of internal and external pressures. President Putin is no exception. It can be seen that the popularity of presidents and prime ministers is always likely to wax and wane in public opinion polls. It depends on their competent handling of internal and external pressures, political stability, and ability to unite the country and boost economic growth.
As the leader of Russia and the world’s most popular political leader, Vladimir Putin has almost always had to experience and tackle the demonstrations of political opposition at home and economic sanctions from abroad. Amidst such challenges, he was able to make the country’s economy grow sevenfold by introducing appropriate economic reforms in his first tenure as president. He succeeded in thwarting Chechen’s attempt to break away from the federal Union. He won the war with Georgia. He managed to win Crimea in Ukraine over. At the request of the Syrian government, he saved Syria by eliminating insurgent rebels and jihad militants in the Syrian civil war.
On account of the special operations in some parts of eastern Ukraine, President Putin is currently faced with the worst tension of economic and political blockade between Russia and the US and between Russia and NATO. However, as a result of this limited war, it can be said that four regions in eastern Ukraine, home to Russian-speaking peoples of Russian stock, have been liberated from Ukraine and reunited with Russia.
Optimistic about their leader for their future
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was described as a country restored to democracy, but it has been said for a long time that dictatorship has reared its head under President Putin. However, the Russians think well of their leader. Since 2010, they have regarded him as the leader who has raised their standard of living and brought prosperity to the country.
The Russians strongly believe that it is Vladimir Putin who has made their country pleasant and beautiful and their future healthy and brilliant. According to Russian public opinion polls, 71 per cent of the people are in favour of the special operations staged by Russia. This is proof that the Russian people are optimistic about the act of their president.
Most of the critics are liberals of the Western Bloc who do erroneous research on the history of Russia and underestimate the Russian leaders. Suppression and imprisonment of the opposition, oppression of the media, human rights abuses and bribery are the usual pat expressions they use against their opposition. The calculation of their opposition is based on false information and, as a result, they cannot see the truth. Their miscalculation of the Russian leaders has made Ukraine pay a heavy price and spelt undesirable consequences for the whole world, including the Western Bloc and Russia.
The one who can shape the actual view without being out of touch with reality
I think that Vladimir Putin is a person who highlights the real situation of the Russian Federation. In the age of the Soviet Union, the Russians were poor and left behind in every way. The collapse of the Union made things worse. The Russians felt that their lives were insecure. The youth seemed to have lost their future. It is the duty of those who can be called leaders to solve all these problems. At that moment, Vladimir Putin rose to the occasion. A good leader must be able to think strategically for his country and shape his vision for his country clearly in the practical field. And he has been able to capitalize on his charisma to make his people contribute to his vision for his country. A remark points out that the Russian leader’s strong mentality and personal power enable him to take responsibility bravely and make the right decisions even in dangerous circumstances. In addition, the Ukraine war has shown that President Putin has perceptive power. It seems that such a remark has been made by looking at the way he makes military decisions by avoiding his opponents’ malicious attacks against him and without losing sight of his original goal.
A leader who respects cultural values and public opinion
The Russian leader seems to suppose that whatever he thinks is always right as it is always for the sake of his people. Considering that he was born of Russian people and he is of Russian blood, he always directs his attention to Russian people. He seems to believe that a definite goal based on what people want and what is required has to be set and the leader and the people have to work in harmony towards the goal.
Vladimir Putin always tends to base national policies and strategies on Russian culture, Russian values and Russian public opinion. Moreover, it is thought that Russia is inseparable from Putin and vice versa. It is because of his constant influence on Russian society and his ability and willingness to lead the nation. According to the concept of leadership, the ability to lead is the result of self-driving. Great wisdom is also essential to self-driving. In addition, physical and mental fitness and self-confidence contribute to self-driving.
A physically and mentally strong patriot
What is another attribute that should be learnt from the Russian leader? What is the spirit the leader of a nation, especially one surrounded by enemies, must have? It is the love for his country and people and loyalty to his country and people. If one has that kind of spirit, one will have bravery to confront anything that would spell trouble for one’s people and spill the blood of one’s people. A leader like Vladimir Putin is convinced that he represents the entire mass of the Russian people. We should bear in mind that having such a conviction is due to having love for and loyality to his country and people.
As a Russian leader, his appearance and bearing are a famous brand not only at home but also abroad. He has been often mentioned as the most powerful and influential person in magazines across the world. His favourite sports are judo, hockey, yachting, mountaineering, and playing with animals such as tigers and bears. His physical and mental fitness, fearlessness, self-confidence and tremendous charisma make him a role model for the Russian youth.
It is worth noting that there are well-known words that are derived from his name such as ‘Putinism’. In addition, the titles and medals conferred on him by the international community polish his image. In addition to military titles and honours, he received 14 civilian awards, 8 honorary titles and three peace and religious awards. All these reveal his outstanding ability and high performance in the civil and military fields.
Russia, a country most worth living though described as a dictatorship
Whatever the goal Russia is marching towards is and whether its political system is a dictatorship or a flawed democracy, I suppose that the current situation of Russia is in the best form thanks to the nature and characteristics of the Russian people and their leader and the country’s extraordinary geopolitical and geoeconomic conditions. Most people look on him as an autocrat and the one and only decision-maker in the affairs of the country. But, in my opinion, he is far-sighted, wise, well-versed and thorough in every way. Not only that, but he is also a person who is good at making decisions by controlling and organizing the people around him as well.
He has a dream of making Russia great and he sometimes controls and influences his colleagues by intimidating them. Therefore, his colleagues are unhappy and fear him. On the other hand, however, they have complete trust in their leader. Anyway, he is an admirable leader who has placed Russia in a position to determine (the future) of the world.
Now is the time when stability, unity, progress and prosperity are the best for Russia, the Russian leader and the Russian people. These are the sine qua non for a country. Nobody wants instability, chaos and disarray. Stability is vital to progress and development and so there must be tight control and management, to some extent, as and where necessary.
No one will be able to forget that Russia had bitter experiences after President Boris Yeltsin’s resignation and that Vladimir Putin saved the country that had fallen. In times of hardship, a good leader must be able to analyze and solve problems by learning from his experiences. At that time, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said in praise of Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader saved not only Russia but also the Chechen Republic and Chechen people. Considering what the Chechen leader said, I strongly believe that Vladimir Putin is a leader who can solve both internal and external problems successfully.
I think Vladimir Putin is a leader indispensable to Russia and the Russians and pivotal to world peace. He is a leader who can do a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis) and put it into practice. That’s one of his qualifications as well as his key to success. By studying the structure of Russia as an example, we can see how important far-sightedness, wisdom, influence and experiences of a leader are.
A leader may have succeeded in enhancing the image of his country, but the level of trust between him and his people can rise and fall. It is the law of nature. Owing to the developments taking place in the present-day world, no country is free from hardships and conflicts. Russia and its people are having to experience negative consequences, more or less. However, the Russian leader and his people have a good personality and strong spirit. Moreover, Russia can constantly turn out good leaders and have qualified human resources and sound infrastructure. Therefore, I believe that Russia and its people will be able to weather the hardships and challenges they are faced with today, looking for opportunities amidst threats and creating strengths.
Translated.
