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Putin government brings strange sense of calm to Russia |
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June 3, 2000 MOSCOW, JUNE 2 (AP) - Vladimir Putin has been president for just a few months, but Russia seems eerily calm after years of political and economic chaos that many Russians once feared would plunge the country into disaster.
Russia's huge problems haven't been solved, but the nation's politics no longer resemble a barroom brawl. Putin, an ex-KGB officer who never before held elected office, has created a sense of purpose in the government.
The final years of Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, seemed like a nonstop crisis as the unpredictable president fired prime ministers, battled the opposition and stood by as the economy fell apart. Ill with heart disease, Yeltsin disappeared for weeks at a time or made gaffes when he did appear.
Whether it's his calls for a stronger state, his tough handling of militant rebels in breakaway Chechnya, or simply his relative youth, the 47-year-old Putin has so much support that few of the country's politicians dare challenge him. And while Putin may be popular, his aims are still not clear.
Putin's moves "create the feeling that the gathering of all higher power in the hands of the president ... is not a means for carrying out some political plan, but is a goal in itself," said the liberal newspaper Obshchaya Gazeta.
Analysts say many Russians are just happy to have a strong president, who they hope will end the chaos, cronyism and widespread corruption that ensnared the government under Yeltsin. Even the Communists, who were Yeltsin's bitter foes and remain the main opposition party, have taken Putin's side.
"The majority of people who ache for the soul of their homeland think that this step is for the better," the Communist Party's chief of ideology, lawmaker Alexander Kravets said. "Because without strong power ... the government cannot live."
Putin says his goals are building democracy and a strong economy that will ensure prosperity for ordinary people, while restoring Russia as a great power. He wants to rebuild the crumbling military and promises to root out corruption.
Since winning election in March, Putin has focused on increasing the power of the presidency while his Cabinet tackles the ailing economy, which has been in decline for years. The government promises to continue market reforms, but has yet to outline a strategy.
There has been no major move against corruption, despite Putin's tough election talk, and many controversial figures from the Yeltsin years have been held over.
Instead, Putin's first major move was to increase federal control over Russia's 89 regions and proposals to curb the powerful regional governors. The governors gained huge, sometime autocratic power under Yeltsin.
Putin says greater control is essential to ensure the country's problems are tackled, but some liberals worry that it could undermine local democracy and is a first step in restoring Soviet-style controls.
"The question is how far our president and his partners in the administration will go," saiöpolitical analyst Igor Vagin. "The principle danger is whether those in power will stop listening to the people."
While there has been no sign of such moves, Putin's decision to retain many of Yeltsin's ministers and top aides further worried liberals and reformers.
Under Yeltsin, Kremlin aides and tycoons amassed enormous wealth and power, often through the rigged privatization of state property. To see these people retained shows that Putin is just a carry-over of the old administration, say some analysts, pointing out that he was named acting president by Yeltsin.
Others disagree, saying that Putin is a cautious politician still finding his way. His aim appears to be establishing strong control over the government, after which he will replace Yeltsin holdovers.
"Putin just needs about six months, and then he'll start getting rid of the traces of Yeltsin's presidency," said Andrei Ryabov of the Moscow Carnage Center.
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