World Civilizations Post-Cold War Russia & Putin

Post-Cold War Russia & Putin ● Vladimir Putin raised in poor community ○ Putin involved in thuggish street fights ○ Taught him to “throw the first punch” ● 1975, Putin graduates with a law degree and joins the KGB ○ Served in Dresden, East Germany ● 1989, protests spark in Dresden, East Germany ○ Riots from the collapse of the Berlin Wall ○ Putin burns secret Soviet documents ○ Called for extra protection, but is refused ○ Putin confronted protesters, calmly ceasing riots ● Work in the USSR showed him the “collapse of central government authority” ○ Believed democracy to be “mob rule” ● 1991, Soviet Union dissolved into 15 new nations ● Putin elected as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg ● 1999, Putin is appointed as the Russian Prime Minister ● 1999-2009, Second Chechen War ○ Chechnya fights for independence ○ Russian propaganda against Chechnya ○ Russia victorious ● 2000, Putin inaugurated as President ● Transforms Russia’s democracy into autocratic regime ○ Reducing independence of courts ○ Controlling media coverage and propaganda ● 2008, Russia invades Georgia ○ Efforts to reclaim Soviet territory ○ Globally condemned assault ● 2014, Russia invades Ukraine ○ Diplomatic war between Russia vs the West ○ Crimea Peninsula annexed ● 2015, military campaign in Syria ○ Expands Russian sphere of influence ● Western nations respond to military advances ○ Economic sanctions, push Russia into recession ○ NATO deploys troops to Baltic nations neighboring ● Russia responds with interfering in Western nations ○ Russian hackers influence 2016 US presidential election ■ Donald Trump elected ● Trump threats pulling out of NATO, which could cause chaos for unity between western nations ○ Russia interferes in presidential campaigns in France ○ Hackers sway the Brexit referendum ■ Majority votes to leave the European Union ● Threatens the collapse of the EU and the end of its effectivity ○ Putin able to undermine the democratic process