Russia's Image-Building 06/17/2010
A bare-chested brute who still wears a cross
During his tenure in office, Vladimir Putin has tranquilized polar bears in the Arctic, preformed on stage at a rap concert, and appeared in nearly every part of Russia’s vast wilderness without a shirt. Most Western observers find such antics either puzzling or mildly amusing. Yet adopting these various guises does serve an important purpose.
As Ben Judah points out in his article for The Prospect, the Putin regime relies on a relentless brand of ‘tele-populism’ to bridge the historic divisions in Russia’s fractured society. Unemployed workers in the provinces, for example, see Putin as the defender of the downtrodden, flying in to insist that the oligarch owner re-open the factory and give them back their jobs. Meanwhile, people in the military connect to the image of a dynamic leader sitting in the cockpit of a fighter plane or throwing his opponents to the ground in a judo competition.
President Medvedev, by contrast, appeals to the middle class with his elegant suits and refined manners. They see him as an embodiment of Russia’s European aspirations and historic culture. For those who travel abroad or own a business, his soft-spoken diplomacy and pedantic lectures on corruption offer an antidote to Putin’s brash and often crude style. Medvedev, in other words, plays the ‘Westernizer’ while Putin represents the historic ‘Slavophile.’
This attempt to unite disparate elements and constituencies has been a hallmark of Putin’s reign. In terms of history, the regime has rehabilitated the image of both Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and the Russian Orthodox Church. Symbolically, on the other hand, it melded the Soviet national anthem and red star with the Tsarist eagle and tricolor. Even the country’s new holidays balance this divide by including an event celebrating the Soviet Union’s downfall (Independence Day) and its greatest triumph (Victory Day).
Nevertheless, the reliance on image-building papers over serious problems. According to a poll by the Levada Center, only 17% of people who support Putin said that they considered his policies to be ‘successful.’ The financial downturn, in particular, has caused many Russians to question the administration’s competence. If the economy continues to stagnate or violence resurfaces in the Caucuses, the Kremlin’s image of pride, vigor, and omnipresence could crumble along with its popularity. No amount of bare-chested posturing or spin will be able to fix that.
-Joe
As Ben Judah points out in his article for The Prospect, the Putin regime relies on a relentless brand of ‘tele-populism’ to bridge the historic divisions in Russia’s fractured society. Unemployed workers in the provinces, for example, see Putin as the defender of the downtrodden, flying in to insist that the oligarch owner re-open the factory and give them back their jobs. Meanwhile, people in the military connect to the image of a dynamic leader sitting in the cockpit of a fighter plane or throwing his opponents to the ground in a judo competition.
President Medvedev, by contrast, appeals to the middle class with his elegant suits and refined manners. They see him as an embodiment of Russia’s European aspirations and historic culture. For those who travel abroad or own a business, his soft-spoken diplomacy and pedantic lectures on corruption offer an antidote to Putin’s brash and often crude style. Medvedev, in other words, plays the ‘Westernizer’ while Putin represents the historic ‘Slavophile.’
This attempt to unite disparate elements and constituencies has been a hallmark of Putin’s reign. In terms of history, the regime has rehabilitated the image of both Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and the Russian Orthodox Church. Symbolically, on the other hand, it melded the Soviet national anthem and red star with the Tsarist eagle and tricolor. Even the country’s new holidays balance this divide by including an event celebrating the Soviet Union’s downfall (Independence Day) and its greatest triumph (Victory Day).
Nevertheless, the reliance on image-building papers over serious problems. According to a poll by the Levada Center, only 17% of people who support Putin said that they considered his policies to be ‘successful.’ The financial downturn, in particular, has caused many Russians to question the administration’s competence. If the economy continues to stagnate or violence resurfaces in the Caucuses, the Kremlin’s image of pride, vigor, and omnipresence could crumble along with its popularity. No amount of bare-chested posturing or spin will be able to fix that.
-Joe
Comments
Leave a Reply
Loading
