Honoring decisiveness

(Baonghean) - On November 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin was rated by the prestigious Forbes magazine as the most powerful man in the world. The reasons for his honor include Crimea or the $400 billion gas deal with China reached in May... Although this is just a symbolic title, the effects of his decisions on the whole world and causing headaches for other politicians are undeniable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP

After graduating from the International Department of the Law Faculty of St. Petersburg State University in 1975, Vladimir Putin was recruited into the KGB. He later went to East Germany to work, and after the collapse of the GDR, Vladimir Putin returned to Russia to work in the KGB in various capacities until August 1991. Under President Boris Yeltsin, he was the civilian head of the FSB (the successor to the KGB) from July 1998 to August 1999, and served as Secretary of the Security Committee from March to August 1999. It was also under Boris Yeltsin that Vladimir Putin first became known to the world when he was appointed by the President as the 5th Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation. At that time, many people were skeptical about the ability of a former KGB officer with little experience in politics.

Furthermore, the post-Soviet political scene was still unstable, if not chaotic, after Boris Yeltsin's unclear domestic and foreign policies. On December 31, 1999, under terrible pressure and the possibility of losing control of the political scene, Boris Yeltsin's government resigned, according to the law, with Vladimir Putin as the head of the government standing up to take on the responsibility of acting President. Taking office in a difficult and complicated context, but with his correct and decisive decisions, along with a team of competent and trustworthy assistants, he soon established stability in both economy and politics and won the trust of the majority of people in this largest country in Europe.

The important reason why he won the people's trust was that, unlike his predecessor who always tried to deal with the communists, Putin believed that, no matter what mistakes the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had made in the past, it was still an important part of Russian history and had a great influence on the formation of modern Russian society. Therefore, the values ​​and symbols that were abolished under the former Soviet Union were restored by him, such as the red flag of the Red Army, the slogan "Star of the Soviet Union", and the Soviet National Anthem (with revised lyrics)...

During his presidential term, as the head of a large country, with calmness, caution, but full of determination and boldness in action, Vladimir Putin steered the Russian ship from a weak and disintegrated Russia at that time to become a unified, powerful Russia and Russia's voice and viewpoint now have great influence in the international arena. Remember, in 2013, when the issue related to former employee of the US National Security Agency Edward Snowden - who revealed to the world about the controversial US wiretapping program. Although under great pressure from powerful partners about extradition, because according to US politicians, Snowden is not only a person who revealed state secrets, but an employee who committed a serious crime, threatened the national security of the US, and must be extradited.

However, Vladimir Putin not only did not agree to extradite or allow transit at the airport, but he also granted asylum to the "whistleblower". This pushed the tension in the Russia-US relationship to an unprecedented high at that time. While the story of Edward Snowden was still hot, the world once again had to "take off its hat" to Putin's cleverness in "rescuing" Syria - Russia's close ally in the Middle East from the impending war related to a series of chemical weapons programs. That was Putin's proposal to exchange chemical weapons for peace, this proposal made Western countries and the US reluctantly agree, because the arguments were so valid and popular with the public. Because of his influence on the political situation as well as world security, he was voted by Forbes magazine as the most powerful man in the world in 2013.

Returning to the issues of 2014, the annexation of Crimea - the home of the powerful Black Sea Fleet - was a breakthrough decision in Putin's strategy. Although he knew in advance that this would bring about extreme tension like during the Cold War between Russia and the US - the West. But according to the calculation of the head of the Kremlin, if there were no decisive moves soon, it was likely that Russia would lose this most important geostrategic position, not to mention having to find another place to build a new military base, which would be both costly and difficult to control as NATO tightened its siege around it.

Also on the Ukraine issue, recently, the European Union and the United States have tried to deny the legitimacy of the elections in the Donbass region, which includes two self-proclaimed republics, Donetsk and Lugansk. But the message from the Kremlin is very clear and decisive, which is to recognize the legitimacy and will of the people of these two autonomous republics. This decision is despite the fierce opposition from the West and the United States, and it is likely that the "opponent" will increase both economic and political sanctions - which have caused significant damage to the economies of all sides.

It can be said that, among the politicians of the world today, there are few people as decisive and "incomprehensible" as Vladimir Putin. His strategic decisions, if not admired by the whole world, also give his opponents a "headache". For the second consecutive time, surpassing many other famous figures to top the "ranking" of the most powerful people in the world, has proven his dominance in wise decisions to influence the behavior or interests of other political components.

South Scene