Vladimir
Putin is one of the most prominent leaders in the world and has been in power
for the last 18 years. As the leader of the government of Russia since 2000, he
has presided over several crises as well as successes that have affected his
country. A consequence has been that he has been seen as an individual that
works well under crisis and seems to always have a solution that makes it
possible for him to achieve his objectives. This paper will make an analysis of
the Georgian, Ukrainian, and Syrian crises, as well as the Russian economic
crisis, in order to show the manner through which Putin has handled all of them
to attain his objectives.
The
Georgian crisis came about in 2008 as a result of the actions of Mikhail
Saakashvili’s, the Georgian president at the time, decision to forcefully
reintegrate the province of South Ossetia into Georgia. This incident took
place despite the fact that there were Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in
South Ossetia when the Georgian attack took place (Friedman, 2008). The action taken by President Saakashvili seems
to have been aimed at ensuring that the territorial integrity of Georgia was
secured so that it could more easily become a part of NATO. Becoming a part of
NATO would have essentially meant that this military alliance got closer to
Russian borders; a situation that Russia has been against almost since
immediately following the fall of the Soviet Union. As a response, Putin, who
was then prime minister of Russia, ordered the employment of Russian forces
into Georgia, with the aim of preventing the reintegration of South Ossetia
into Georgia. The operation was a success because not only did Russia push
Georgian forces out of South Ossetia, but they did it decisively. Not only was
Georgia prevented from joining NATO, but Russia provided its support for South
Ossetia’s declaration of independence from Georgia (Tuathail, 2008).
Another
incident that proved Putin’s leadership in times of crisis was the Ukrainian
crisis and the following civil war that came about following the overthrow of
the democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych. This situation
developed following Yanukovych’s decision to reject an EU Association Agreement
in favor of joining the Russian-led Customs Union. A consequence was that
Ukraine’s legitimate government was overthrown and while this situation came as
a surprise, Putin responded swiftly, first by protecting Russian military
interests in the Crimean Peninsula by annexing this territory, and later
through arming rebels in Eastern Ukraine, many of whom are ethnically Russian (Treisman, 2016). These moves, while condemned as being acts of
aggression by Russia as well as being an attempt to redraw the map of Europe,
were actually quite brilliant because they ensured that there was the
advancement of Russian interests especially in preventing Ukraine from
immediately joining NATO (Kunz, 2014).
Therefore, while Russia was essentially isolated following this incident and
sanctions placed on it, Putin was able to make sure that the security of his
country from an aggressive alliance was achieved.
While
the considerable isolation that Russia faced as a result of its actions in
Ukraine was significant, Putin countered it with his decision to support
Russia’s ally, President Bashar Al Assad of Syria in the Syrian Civil War. The
direct Russian intervention essentially ended the crisis that had arisen
because of its isolation and it ensured that western countries that had sought
to isolate Putin and Russia were suddenly forced to engage with him (Ibryamova and Kara, 2017). Therefore, while the
sanctions remained in place, the Russian international isolation effectively
ended and suddenly, it had become one of the big players in the Middle East.
This situation can be considered to be highly significant because it shows that
Putin is essentially able to undertake problems, and handle crises well under a
lot of pressure. The Syrian intervention was a bold stroke that not only ended
the isolation imposed by the west, but also ensured that Russia’s longtime ally
was plucked away from imminent defeat (Kaplan, 2016).
Furthermore, this act also made it possible for Russia to undertake to fight
terrorist groups in Syria to such an extent that their capabilities were
significantly eroded. Therefore, not only did Putin manage to increase Russia’s
international stature, but he also showed that his country was determined to
directly confront terrorism.
One
of the most significant results of the Ukraine crisis is that tough sanctions
were imposed on Russia by the West. These sanctions are responsible for the
current Russian economic crisis because they came at a time when the country
was just recovering from the 2008 Financial Crisis that affected many countries
across the globe. Despite the considerable pressure that came about as a
result, President Putin has been able to handle the situation in an exemplary
manner because rather than undertaking a program aimed at shoring up the local
currency by using the country’s foreign currency reserves, he has presided over
letting the currency float (Dreger et al., 2016). A consequence has been that Russia has
maintained its foreign currency reserves at more or less the same level it was
pre-crisis. This is at the same as making sure that there is a level of
stability brought about by a ban on European exports that has sparked domestic
production of those goods and services that were imported prior to the
sanctions (Tuzova and Qayum, 2016). The iron-fisted manner
through which Putin has presided over the economy since the imposition of
western sanctions can be considered the primary reason why the Russian economy,
despite being badly hit, has maintained a level of stability and has not
experienced an absolute collapse.
In
conclusion, President Putin has been able to display considerable leadership in
times of crisis, and this has ensured that he has maintained a level of
popularity that his colleagues across the world can only envy. He has not only
come up with the means to ensure that his country avoids political isolation,
but he has also helped his allies, such as President Assad in Syria, and the
leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia turn the tables over their enemies; achieving
a level of stability in their countries.
