Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin turns 70 today and becomes Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin turns 70 today and accepts the wishes of his followers, who hail him as the savior of modern Russia.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, urges the flock and clergy to dedicate two days of prayer for the health and longevity of Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin.
“God has placed you in power,” the patriarch states in his message, praising the Russian president for “transforming Russia’s image, strengthening its sovereignty and defense capabilities, defending national interests.”
On his birthday, Putin will attend an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg, the once-imperial capital founded by Peter the Great that happens to be his birthplace and the city from which he began the path that eventually brought him to the top of the Kremlin.
Faced with the biggest crisis of his tenure, the “Tsar”
Putin, who took office on the last day of 1999, faces the biggest challenge to his power since the invasion of Ukraine sparked the sharpest East-West standoff since 1962 and the Cuban missile crisis.
His supporters say Putin saved Russia from destruction by an arrogant and aggressive West. They also say he took Russia’s blood back, after the humiliation suffered by Russian elites at the end of the Cold War.
Political opponents such as jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny say Putin has led Russia to gridlock and destruction, building a flimsy power system of incompetent sycophants destined to collapse by plunging Russia into chaos.
But after seven months of war, Russia has suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment, has been forced into retreat on many fronts, and is suffering one humiliation after another.
Putin was forced to resort to conscription, to admit “mistakes” when it turned into chaotic conditions and caused a mass exodus of Russian citizens from the country, to proceed with the annexation of four Ukrainian regions and to launch threats to defend them with nuclear weapons.
Even staunch Kremlin allies have decried the military’s failings — avoiding, for now, criticizing Putin himself.
On the occasion of today’s birthday, former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Galyamov said: “On birthdays it is customary to take stock, but if the results are so bitter, it would be good not to commemorate the birthday so much.”
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
