Putin’s Victory

“Even before I finished high school, I wanted to work in intelligence. Soon after, I decided I wanted to be a sailor, but then I wanted to do intelligence again. In the very beginning, I wanted to be a pilot.”

Even Vladimir Putin did not think in his early days that he would one day become the President of the Russian Federation, earlier known as the Soviet Union. But yesterday, he was confirmed as President for the fourth time for another six years with a mandate of 76 percent of the vote at the Presidential Election. This makes him the first Kremlin leader to serve two decades in power since Josef Stalin. He was President from 2000, except for four years from 2008 when he was Prime Minister. His victory was anticipated ever since the election was announced.

Russians had a choice of eight candidates, including the Communist Pavel Grudinin, whose ownership of a former state fruit farm has made him a millionaire, and Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Putin’s political mentor. Putin has emerged as a very powerful figure in world politics and some polls had ranked him as the most powerful man on the planet, ahead of the US President. The shenanigans and intrigue of international politics are not a strange phenomenon for Putin, with his KGB background.

Putin is no stranger to controversy and recently created a frenzy by declaring during his annual address that Russia possessed “invincible” nuclear weapons. He is also facing a diplomatic showdown with the US and UK after the latter directly accused the Kremlin of orchestrating the recent nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal. Putin has since stressed that Russia does not possess such military-grade chemical agents.

Putin has also defied US and EU sanctions over the 2014 Crimea issue and pressure over his support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has also been accused of meddling in the elections of the USA, Germany and several other countries. US Officials have said Russian backed hackers are carrying out rolling attacks on infrastructure facilities in the USA.

In a move that ruffled a few feathers in Western capitals, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have developed a close relationship. In fact, following President Putin’s victory, President Jinping said Sino-Russia ties at the “best level” in history. Putin has strived to improve relations with key non-Western nations in recent times.

These issues and challenges have boosted his image domestically, even though the Russian economy is stagnating after the longest recession in two decades. Interestingly, there is no indication yet that he is grooming anyone for 2024 and beyond, despite hinting that this could be his last term.

Sri Lanka and Russia have a very healthy diplomatic relationship after formal ties were established in February 1957 during Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s tenure. However, links between the two countries go back much further. Ceylon was mentioned in the memoirs of Russian merchant and traveller Afanasiy Nikitin as early as in the late 15th century. The idea of opening a Russian consulate in Sri Lanka was first raised in 1858, but the first official representative was appointed only 30 years later. Even at times when the Western bloc voted against Sri Lanka at the UN on various matters, Russia always voted in favour of Sri Lanka or used its veto power.

Last year, President Maithripala Sirisena visited Russia to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations. In a unique gesture of friendship, President Putin presented to President Sirisena a highly valuable Kandyan era Kastane (sword) acquired by Russia at a Sotheby’s auction in London in 2006. The President in turn presented it to the Colombo National Museum. President Putin had earlier accepted an invitation to Sri Lanka and this may come to fruition this year.

The two countries are close trading partners, with much room for expansion. Sri Lanka’s total trade (both imports and exports) with the Russian Federation was at US$ 435.83 Million in 2015 and from January to August 2017, it was US $ 260.78 Million. Russia has been one of the biggest buyers of Ceylon Tea - In 2015 Russia was the top buyer of Ceylon Tea at US$ 156.65 Million, and the second leading buyer was Turkey. However, in 2016, Russia became the second largest buyer of all types of Ceylon Teas (including green tea made in Sri Lanka) at US$ 143 Million while the leading buyer in 2016 was Iran. Increasing numbers of Russian tourists are also visiting Sri Lanka due to easier flight links. There is no doubt that the links between the two countries will get stronger over the next years.

All eyes will be on Russia this year as the Soccer World Cup is staged in venues across the country from June 14. This will be an opportunity to showcase Russia at its finest. Putin will no doubt use this opportunity to bring the world together in his country and project the image of a dynamic, youthful Russia to the rest of the world.