How Putin Put Kremlin Back on Top

Posted by Matt in January 31st, 2008

Editor’s note: This article, the first in a series about President Vladimir Putin’s legacy, examines his creation of the power vertical.

Kremlin spin doctor Gleb Pavlovsky compared the emerging “power vertical” to a phallic symbol in October 2003, saying in a speech that no one should expect it to grow too big.

President Vladimir Putin was the main motor behind this consolidation of Kremlin power, often at the expense of state and public institutions. And as he prepares to leave office this spring, the power vertical has clearly proven to be workable, especially in sensitive endeavors such as wholesale political reforms.

With the power vertical, Putin has accomplished the Herculean task of restoring the state’s ability to act, but the whole state machinery has been modeled to serve the Kremlin rather than to develop the country, politicians and political analysts said.

Map for Moscow, Russia

[Countries link to CIA Factbook. States link to Wikipedia.]

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