THE SUN
WHEN Boris Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin as the next president in 1999, it was hoped the KGB agent would make Russia great again.
But 25 years on, with the ageing leader still at the helm for the foreseeable future, Putin’s tenure so far has been what experts describe as a “catastrophe”.
After the first eight years as president of Russia, Putin stepped down to become a prime minister – only to avoid violating the limit of two consecutive terms in the Kremlin.
Though he was back as president in 2012 following an election that was marked by alleged frauds and protests – and has held the position ever since.
He has become the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin, who led the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953.
Last year, the tyrant changed the law in Russia to allow him to remain president until 2036 in a desperate bid to cling to power for as long as he can.
Putin’s political career echoes features of a megalomaniac tyrant: total authoritarian control over Russia, a brutal crackdown on dissent, manipulation – even on his own citizens – and an ambitious thirst for power.
Under his reign, he has – through propaganda – projected a false image of Russia as a world superpower to his own people.
He has exercised absolute power, allegedly killed a long list of critics, and has waged a war against the West’s idea of democracy.
His ambition to make Russia similar to the once-mighty Soviet Union saw him attacking Georgia in what was Europe’s first war of the 21st century.
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