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when on 9
august 1999 yeltsin appointed the relatively unknown vladimir putin
as his fifth prime minister in seventeen months and even designated
him as his desired successor, the news was met with disbelief,
ridicule, and sarcasm both at home and abroad. yeltsin抯 suggestion
that putin was a realistic candidate to succeed him was interpreted
as yet another sign of his woeful mental decline. his exuberant
description of putin抯 qualities and potential as the man best
equipped to 搑enew the great country, russia, in the twenty-first
century?certainly stirred amusement. |
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most of
moscow抯 kremlin watchers warned that, in any case, a seal of
approval from such an unpopular president was as good as the kiss of
death for putin抯 political ambitions. back then nobody believed it
possible that this untested faceless bureaucrat, who never in his
life had been elected to any position, could ascend to become head
of state within six months, winning the presidential elections in
march 2000 with almost 53 percent of the vote.
putin抯 rise to power was important beyond the fact that this was
russia抯 first constitutional presidential succession since the collapse
of communism. his accession has brought ideas, approaches to governance,
and new faces to the kremlin that are likely to define the priorities
and character of the russian government for the next decade and even
beyond. his accession has solidified the presence of
post-communist political elites, which support a strong state but
not the restoration of the soviet regime or the undoing of the main
accomplishment of the post-communist era ?the division of soviet
state property.
the broad
support for putin among russia抯 regional bosses, the military, and
the business community demonstrates that the post-soviet elite has
found its leader. but so, too, have many ordinary russians. after
the fall of the soviet regime, russians were looking for a new
identity. they wanted a new face, a young and dynamic leader who
would end the chaos but would not reverse the reforms. putin抯 first
public words and actions made the majority of the russian people
perceive him as their man of the hour.
