Russian President Vladimir Putin with 20 years of leading the country
(Baonghean.vn) - March 26, 2020 marks 20 years since President Vladimir Putin became the leader of Russia. Although it is a major event, Mr. Putin is not someone who likes to celebrate special personal days. The President is still busy with his work schedule, especially in the current context, the Russian leader has no time to rest.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: TASS |
Disagree with being called Tsar
According to Dmitry Peskov, the president's press secretary, on March 26 in Moscow, President Putin will have a meeting with businessmen from various cities. In particular, the president will participate in the emergency G20 Summit via online format, to discuss the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy.
With such a busy schedule, President Putin will have to exercise careful control, as this has long become his lifestyle and work style.
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| President Putin wears protective gear while visiting a medical facility on March 25 in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: RT |
In his 20 years in power (15 years as president and 5 years as prime minister), Mr. Putin has never had a "peaceful year." No two years are the same. The context of the country and the world is constantly changing, posing many new problems and challenges. International conflicts, the war on terrorism, economic crisis and climate change... are just a few of the many challenges that have been and are requiring quick "answers."
Despite the general chaos, Russia continues to develop. Under President Putin's "era", there have been changes in the political system and institutions, it has become more streamlined, and the country's defense capabilities have increased.
President Putin holds immense power. However, he disagrees with those who call him a tsar. In an interview for the project "20 Questions for Vladimir Putin", the president explained that: The tsar is the one who issues the decrees, while the president is the one who does the work every day.
"The Tsar is the one sitting on the throne, looking down from above and saying: 'Here I am the one giving orders, and everyone will have to fulfill them.' As for us, try just wearing the crown and looking in the mirror!" - President Putin said.
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| President Putin works with the Russian Government. Photo: AAP |
The stress of Putin's job, which he compared to slave work on a farm after his first two terms as president, has been so intense that over the past two decades, both his friends and enemies have repeatedly questioned how all this enormous workload can be carried out by one person.
Define your own trends
In a position that requires high responsibility and maximum publicity, President Putin keeps things simple for himself. In his biography, everyone knows about President Putin's two daughters, but he only mentions their presence in passing. Because he believes that being willing to put everything "on screen" is impossible when referring to the Russian leader.
Following modern trends is not President Putin’s style. He prefers to shape them. This is evident in the increasingly assertive position of the Russian leader on the international stage.
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| President Putin discusses with leaders of the "Normandy" group in Paris. Photo: Getty |
For example, in 2003, in order to counter the outbreak of war in Iraq, President Putin brought into his "orbit" powerful allies such as French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. In 2007, President Putin made a famous speech in Munich, Germany, boldly declaring Moscow's position on the international stage. The speech was considered by experts to be "ahead of its time".
Twenty years have passed, before many countries began to use "national position" as a typical vocabulary in solving international problems, Russia has gone ahead and regained world recognition as a leading player on the world chessboard, whether it is agreed or not.
President Putin, who has always called for a diplomatic solution to any conflict, has categorically and firmly stated that Russia itself will not confront anyone, even if some country wants to create a new armed conflict with Moscow.
"There is still a lot of important work ahead"
With his extensive experience and many important positions, President Putin has surpassed his famous counterparts in the world. A study shows that Chinese President Xi Jinping (in office since 2013), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (since 2005), or US President Donald Trump (since 2016), cannot be compared to President Vladimir Putin.
Among leaders holding the highest power, President Putin is second only to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko - who has led the republic for nearly 26 years.
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| President Putin delivers the 2020 State of the Nation Address. Photo: TASS |
President Putin once admitted that he never initially thought his rule would last for such a long time. However, when mentioning the possibility of "staying out of the race", the President showed his awareness and responsibility for "what is happening and what will happen".
On December 31, 1999, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, announced his resignation and appointed Vladimir Putin as acting President. At that time, the only thing that former President Yeltsin asked Putin was to "take care of Russia".
On March 26, 2000, an early election took place in Russia. Among the 11 candidates, Vladimir Putin was the winner with the support of voters reaching 52.94% of the votes.
The very next day, March 27, 2000, future head of state Vladimir Putin declared: "There is still a lot of important work ahead. There are many issues to explain, many things that will be controversial. But I can imagine what needs to be done next."
Since then, the world has seen many changes in Russia. For President Putin, the most important thing is not what has been done, but what needs to be done ahead. And President Putin sees this as the main driving force in his country's governance.
Vladimir Putin was first elected President of Russia in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.
According to the Russian Constitution, Mr. Putin was not allowed to run for re-election in 2008 and took over as Prime Minister of Russia. That same year, the Constitution was amended to extend the presidential term to 6 years.
In 2012, Mr. Putin once again became President of Russia and was re-elected once again in March 2018.