Putin: a Russian housewife’s dream. . . or a preening, power-obsessed tyrant?

The Independent

As US President Barack Obama’s ineffectual presidency limps on in hope more than glory, Vladimir Putin’s political power seems unstoppable.

The Russian prime minister is to seek a record third presidential term in “elections” next March, which would see him surge past Stalin’s reign at the helm of the Soviet Union.

Unsurprisingly, the current president, Dmitry Medvedev, described in leaked US cables as playing “Robin to Putin’s Batman”, welcomed his master’s announcement.

But while victory is virtually guaranteed, there has been some dissent at the cosy arrangement with a number of government ministers refusing to go along with the script.

On Monday, finance minister Alexei Kudrin, one of Putin’s oldest friends and who had served in the position for 12 years, was sacked. He is unlikely to be the last high-profile casualty of this spat as pressure mounts on the political elite to conform to their prime minister’s wishes.

To silence opposition, Putin, famous for his shameless publicity stunts, will no doubt be looking for more bare-chested moments as his publicity machine kicks into gear.

“His control on state television means it is filled with zombie propaganda all about one man,” says Luke Harding, whose new book Mafia State lifts the curtain on Putin’s Russia. “In fact, the state television is so bad, thinking people just don’t watch it any more.”

But while such propaganda and macho publicity poses may seem ludicrous, Russian men idolise him as a nastoyashi muzhik, a “real man”, while his sobriety, fortune and fame makes him the fantasy husband of Russia’s beleaguered wives.

One woman even confessed to a newspaper that she regularly has erotic dreams about Putin, who is believed to be aged 58. This is an image he has carefully crafted.

When a blaze ravaged the Ryazan region of Russia last year, Putin was to be found in a Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft beating the wildfire into submission. In 2008, after a tiger escaped while he was visiting Ussuri national park, he scooped up a tranquilliser pistol and downed the man-eater with one shot.

But when it comes to staged events, Putin loves nothing more than putting American presidents in their place.

At the beginning of Mr Obama’s 2009 visit to Moscow, Putin cruised into town on a Harley Davidson with a bunch of bikers, known as the Night Wolves.

When George Bush arrived, Putin noted how his black Labrador was “bigger, stronger and faster” than the US president’s tiny Scottish terrier Barney.

When Bush relayed the story of Putin’s massive dog to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he reportedly responded: “You’re lucky he only showed you his dog.”

Speculation is now rife that the Russian prime minister has gone under the knife to preserve his macho-man looks and had extensive cosmetic surgery.

However, aside from rumoured facelifts and macho publicity stunts, little is known about Putin’s private life even though he has ruled Russia for more than a decade.

In 2008, when the Russian daily Moskovsky Korrespondent claimed he had left his wife Lyudmila to marry 24-year-old Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, the newspaper was quickly deemed “loss-making” by its owner and shut down.

Putin was quoted as saying: “I always thought badly of those who go around with their erotic fantasies sticking their snot-ridden noses into another person’s life.”

His long political reign has been marked by a return to KGB-style ruthlessness. Anti-corruption activist Sergei Magnitsky died in police custody, the uncooperative billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky was imprisoned on what are widely deemed to be trumped-up charges, while journalists who dare shine a light on the dark affairs of the Russian state, such as Anna Politkovskaya, are eliminated in cold blood.

“Things really are that bad,” says Harding, who was expelled from Russia after reporting on corruption for The Guardian.

“And things have gotten worse. What you see is a morphing between political hierarchy, the security forces and organised crime into what is now a kleptocracy. You have people at the top like Putin, who are worth billions, and the people at the bottom who have nothing. The gap between rich and poor is shocking.”

WikiLeaks cables have linked Putin’s wealth to a “secretive Swiss-based oil trading firm” called Gunvor. His critics claim he is the richest man in Europe, with one estimate putting his fortune at almost €30bn. However, Putin describes such reports as “just rubbish, picked out of someone’s nose and smeared on bits of paper”.

“All he ever dreamed of as a child was joining the KGB,” says Harding, who was subjected to threats before he left Moscow with his family. “He is a deeply suspicious man who believes in conspiracy. His vision is of a return to a big Russia that is feared and respected.”

With Putin’s stranglehold on power likely to be extended for another presidential term, it seems he will continue to pursue this vision unchecked. Because, as his opponents, the media and Mr Bush found out, when it comes to running Russia, it is Putin and his big black labrador that is the tail that wags the dog. payday loan unshaven girls zp-pdl.com www.zp-pdl.com hairy women