POL112H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Eurasian Economic Union, Hyperinflation, Conservative Revolutionary Movement
Document Summary
One of world"s most important leaders- has ruled russia from 2000-present (16 yrs) Defining characteristic is the centralization of power: has allowed for corruption, complacency, and abuse of power. Putin set out to tame russian politics, which had become too noisy, divisive, and tumultuous. Ussr had collapsed, then it was chaotic and russia had president boris yeltsin, did not do much to centralize power, lots of divisions in russia, was able to fix problems from the yeltsin era. Cracked down on oligarchs, regional governors, and the media. Imprisoned and exiled oligarchs who did not show him loyalty. Some oligarchs had become billionaires through corrupt deals in gas, minerals, and steel. When ussr collapsed it was capitalism run amuck, no regulations then putin began to crack down. In 2005, did away with direct election of regional governors. Putin said: they treated their territory as personal fiefdoms and considered kremlin edicts as suggestions.