How Russia Is Ruled By The Putin Doctrine

Oliver Wiseman — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 16:47:07 +0100

Author:Ben Judah

Lev Gumilev: Father of Putin’s conspiracist ideology

Few, even in Russia, can remember what they were doing on the day in 1999 that Vladimir Putin became prime minister and the anointed successor to that sick old man in the Kremlin, Boris Yeltsin. In Britain, this opaque Russian succession was not even a lead news item. Fewer, especially in Moscow, expected this twitchy, mumbling, overpromoted, poorly-rated head of Russian domestic intelligence to last long. None expected him to hold power for himself. It seemed obvious he would only guard it for those who chose him.