Putin Authoritarianism

Throughout their years, countries go through many changes, whether they be peaceful transitions of power or violent regime changes. Through the 20th and 21st centuries, many countries have gone through tremendous shifts in their government, societies, and identities as a whole. One such shift that seems to take place in many different countries for many different reasons, is the shift to authoritarianism lead by a strong man, from a different type of government. So many countries seem to have the same general form of government, a strongman that uses fear, restriction of the press and subsidies to control the masses while silencing oppression and building a cult of personality. My main research question is looking at how countries become authoritarian …show more content…
Putin was appointed Prime minister in 1999 and later became president after Yeltsin stepped down, right when Russia was in the middle of the major downturn that followed the end of the USSR. Putin was their answer to an economic depression, as the Russian economy grew 7% annually from 1999 until 2008 under his guidance (Foreign Affairs) and he garnered support through winning conflicts in Chechnya. Even though Russia was and still is technically a “democracy”, Putin has emerged as a strong man who has used techniques such as violence, suppression of free speech control the people of Russia. He attempts to keep the facade of a democracy up while running elections that have no real opponents, in the most recent election, he won over 75% of the vote (Wikipedia). He suppresses the media and uses fear tactics and imprisonment to keep the Russian population in line (CNBC). Putin is also attempting to create a cult of personality around himself, he holds himself up as the savior of Russia and spends time making sure that he maintains a good image in the face of the Russian people. In addition to using religion and Russian identity to further the Putin and Russia