On May 7 of the current (2018) year, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin officially became head of state for the fourth time. The inauguration took place at noon in the Grand Kremlin Palace. The ceremony was routine for Vladimir Vladimirovich himself and the general public, but for the media this is another reason to evaluate the pros and cons of Putin's rule.
It's worth saying right away that it's too early to consider the results. There are at least six more years of work ahead, but there are already intermediate results. It seems that the pros and cons of Putin as president are obvious. Most Russians put a solid five on the state leader in foreign policy and rate the success of Vladimir Vladimirovich's work in the field of domestic policy with a "troika". But in any case, the issue is worth considering in more detail.
Short description
Putin became acting president of the Russian Federation on the last day of 1999 in connection with the early resignation of Yeltsin. The first President of Russia, elected by popular vote,in fact, he simply transferred his powers to a young politician. Vladimir Putin then even received an Orthodox blessing from the Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II.
On March 26, 2000, Yeltsin's successor was elected president. The media began to evaluate the pros and cons of Putin's rule from the very first days of the politician in office. The young leader (Vladimir Vladimirovich was 48 years old at the time of taking office) carried out judicial reform, changed the procedure for the formation of the Federation Council, and initiated the Second Chechen campaign.
It is reasonable to consider the pros and cons of Putin's presidency immediately for the entire period during which the political leader served as head of state. This time is from 2000 to 2008, and then from 2012 to the present day. In the period from 2008 to 2012, Vladimir Vladimirovich served as Prime Minister (during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev). Vladimir Vladimirovich is currently in his fourth presidential term. German journalist Alan Posener recently shared his joking prediction in Die Welt that in 2024 Putin will be elected president for life of the Union of Slavic States. Such jokes, confirming the absence of political competition, have been heard more and more often lately.
President's rating
Eighteen years of a political career (this is only in the chair of the president and prime minister, and before that V. Putin was the director of the FSB and the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation) is a long way, so mistakes could not be avoided. But bigpart of this time, the Russian people saw Putin as a strong leader and savior from the terrorist threat, who managed to really improve the standard of living of ordinary citizens and strengthen Russia's position in the international arena.
Here it is worth considering the assessment of the president's performance in dynamics. In 2000, Putin's rating was 78%. In the future, there were higher figures, but after Yeltsin, the level of popular sympathy for which did not rise above 50%, this was a practically unattainable result. In 2001, the rating fell to more modest indicators and, in fact, the lowest in Vladimir Vladimirovich's career - 69%.
The consumer boom of 2004 and the accumulation of the third largest gold reserve (after China and Japan), the improvement in living standards and the decrease in the power of the oligarchs raised the president's rating to 82%, but the very next year Putin collapsed in the foreign policy arena (in Ukraine came to power pro-American Viktor Yushchenko) and lost the sympathy of citizens. In general, the president's rating ranged from 64% (this is due to the severe economic crisis in 2012) to 86% (against the background of opposition to "Ukrainian fascism" and protection of the Russian-speaking population of the eastern regions of Ukraine).
Next, let's move on to a detailed examination of the pros and cons of Putin's rule in general and regarding some specific areas of Russia's social and political life, foreign policy, economy and the country's position in the international arena.
Pros and Cons of the Presidency
The pros and cons of Putin's rule are rather difficult to briefly describe - too much has been done throughout the entire political career of the state leader, and it's too early to sum up the final results. However, it is worth highlighting the general list of achievements and failures. The pros and cons of Putin's rule are structured in a more understandable way than a lengthy enumeration.
| Pros | Cons |
| Domestic policy | |
| Terror threat reduction | An economy that is not able to effectively withstand crises |
| Resolution of the conflict in Chechnya | Weak growth |
| Preserving the integrity of the country | Lack of development in knowledge-intensive areas |
| Strengthening the army, navy, defense capability of the Russian Federation | Reducing the number of clinics, hospital beds, a small number of qualified doctors, general problems in the field of medicine |
| Decrease in crime and banditry in Russia | Lack of social elevators, the actual impossibility of achieving a high position solely by talent and knowledge |
| Active development of agriculture and food industry | The degenerative structure of the economy and its consequences: low wages, impoverished pensioners, unsatisfactorystandard of living |
|
Significantly reduced dependence on imports |
No guarantee of private property rights |
| Centralization of power and pacification of political factions | Theft in public procurement, the consequence of which is a weakening of the economy |
| Introduction of the Single Window Principle | Great income differentiation |
| Maintaining relative freedom of speech | Depreciation of fixed assets, low share of investment |
| Record low inflation | No real competition in politics |
| Deterioration of the country's investment capital | |
| Monopolistic nature of the economy | |
| Foreign policy | |
| Decrease in external public debt | NATO Approaching Russia's Borders |
| Attempts to strengthen the authority of Russia in the international political arena | Failure in Ukraine's foreign policy. Country turned from neutral to hostile |
| Successful operation in Syria | Failure of integration processes in the CIS countries, consequence: virtual absence of strategic allies |
He althcare
Since 2000 inRussia has almost halved the number of public hospitals, which is already a critical level for a population of 147 million people. In most cases, we are not talking about the consolidation of the polyclinic with another hospital, that is, there is a visible lack of funding. The number of beds in hospitals decreased by 28%. The quality of medical care for the population is lame. All because of the notorious lack of funding and the drain of professional staff.
Formally, medicine in the Russian Federation is free. In fact, a regular visit to a therapist is often paid (the doctor can be thanked, if not with money, then at least with a chocolate bar) and first you need to stand in an almost endless queue. The situation in Moscow, St. Petersburg and some regional centers is slightly better than in the periphery. In most small towns and villages, medicine is generally on the verge of disaster.
Russia ranks 159th in terms of life expectancy of citizens. This is lower than Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moldova and even North Korea or Libya. True, there are not only disadvantages, but also advantages of Putin's rule, if we talk about medical care for the population. Additional provision of preferential categories with medicines was introduced, a law on compulsory insurance was adopted, the national project "He alth" was launched, and so on.
Education system
What are the pros and cons of the Putin era in this area? There have also been cuts in the education system: the number of general education schools has decreased by 37% since 2000. SalaryTeachers' pay still leaves much to be desired. In addition, there is a catastrophic shortage of qualified personnel in the Russian Federation.
Defence spending
A diametrically opposite situation has developed with the cost of supporting the country's defense capability. Military spending has tripled over the eighteen years of Putin's presidency, reaching 9% of GDP. According to this indicator, modern Russia is approaching the level of military spending of the USSR, which led to the collapse of the economy and the collapse of the country. Has it become safer for ordinary people to live under Putin with such and such a share of the defense budget? The question is rhetorical. The increase in military spending is most likely a minus of his rule, because Russia now has no aggressive external enemies, and money is being taken from the budget, which affects education, he althcare, social security and the economy.
Number of officials
The number of civil servants under Putin has almost doubled, but this is according to official data. Unofficially, there are 6-7 times more officials. It turns out that each of them accounts for approximately 90 citizens. For example, we can take the same Soviet Union, where there were approximately 136 people per deputy. Solid bureaucracy. If we calculate the costs, then almost 38 billion rubles are needed to maintain the president, prime minister and deputies.
Unemployment rate
As for the unemployment rate, this can be attributed to the pluses of the presidency of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, as the rate fell from 10.6% to 5,2%. For comparison: in the European Union, the problem of unemployment is very acute, 7.4% of the population are unemployed, in France - 9.7%, in Italy - 11.1%, in Montenegro - more than 20%, in Greece - 21%.
People's income
Incomes of the population during the years of Putin's rule have increased several times. In 2000, the average salary was 2,223 rubles (78.9 dollars), in 2004 - 6,740 rubles (242.8 dollars), in 2008 - 17,290 rubles (588.4 dollars), in 2012 - 26,909 rubles (886 dollars), in March 2018 - 41,650 rubles (727 dollars).
Foreign policy achievements
Evaluation of the pros and cons of Putin's rule (200-2008) would be incomplete without a mention of foreign policy. Some of the merits of the leader of the state are even recognized as stingy with praise by some Western politicians and the media:
- victory over terrorism, ending the Chechen conflict and preventing the collapse of the country;
- strengthening Russia's position in the international arena;
- opposition to revolutions according to the "Maidan" scenario;
- return of the Crimean peninsula to Russia;
- revival of the Russian army and navy;
- elimination of terrorism in Syria (today, almost 90% of the country's territory has been cleared of ISIS militants);
- victory in the sanctions confrontation with Western countries;
- holding the Olympics in Sochi, preparing for the football championship.
In conclusion
V. Putin himself called the pros andcons of his reign after the end of his second presidential term in 2008. The political leader said he was satisfied with the results of his work. He saw the greatest achievement at that time in restoring the fundamental foundations of the Russian economy, increasing the incomes of citizens and recreating a single state.
It is too early to assess the final results of Putin's rule (the pros and cons of his actions). Vladimir Vladimirovich will serve as president until 2024, and during this time the country can either be raised to a high level or completely destroyed.
