Putin has made a big deal out of cleaning up corruption with his own Russia party and the Oligarchs (rich people) that support him and his lying, thieving KGB way of thinking. He did not overthrow anyone. He did not win a fair election. So how did he amass so much absolute and corrupt power? His upbringing was fairly common. His mother was a factory worker and his father was part of the Soviet navy. They were able to pay for his education and for law school. Yes, he is an attorney, so some of this mystery comes to light. After law school, he went to work for the KGB (Russia’s CIA). In 1991, in St. Petersburg, he retired from the KGB, and formed “Our Home Is Russia” political party, aka the Russia Party. He moved to Moscow and was appointed chief of staff for Boris Yeltsin, the President. Later, Yeltsin appointed him Prime Minister and declared Putin his successor. Yeltsin, a jolly happy drunk of a President (while flying to the United States, he was so drunk when the plane landed, his meetings with officials, were postponed), resigned in 1999 and Putin’s absolute power began.
Putin claims to be a humble man earning $187,000 as a salary, owning a flat in Moscow, some acres outside Moscow, three Russian cars, and claims to be worth no more than $500,000. Most of his buddies in power have laid out similar lies so they look like plain humble Russians.
When the Soviet Union broke up with Putin in charge, he leveraged his power to gain sweetheart deals with companies that were privatized. Companies like the massive Gazprom gas company with annual revenue of $150 billion (Putin’s stake is 5 %), the oil company called Sugutnefegas (Putin’s share is 37%), and the Swiss oil trading company, Gunvor (Putin owns 50 %). Based on the revenue stream of these companies, Putin is worth about $70 billion. He has access to a $40 million ultra luxury yacht, with wine cellar, Jacuzzi, and helipad. There are 20 mansions around the world for him to use, his favorite, the billion dollar retreat overlooking the Black Sea. No wonder he wants to make Crimea part of Russia, at the expense of Ukraine. He frequently uses 15 luxury helicopters and 40 jet aircraft for his personnel use. Many of the aircraft have gold plated interiors. If he is worth $70 billion, he is one of the richest men in the world, behind in wealth accumulation to only Bill Gates and Carlos Slim of Mexico.
Most of Russia’s people like him because he is a strong man and does what he says. At age 61, they better like him, because he is it for a long time. Only Muammar Gaddafi, the butcher of Libya, stole more from the people, a reputed $200 billion over 40 years. This is the person that is in charge of the 3rd most powerful military in the world. I fear for Ukraine, because Putin wants it. He usually gets what he wants.
