A Leader Unmoved by War and International Action
Putin’s domestic position has remained largely unaffected by the conflict or by international legal actions against him. On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court indicted him for war crimes related to the deportation of Ukrainian children. Despite this, state-controlled polls consistently report his approval rating at above 80 percent throughout the war. The Kremlin has systematically suppressed opposition: figures have been jailed, exiled, or killed; independent media outlets have been shuttered. None of these developments appears to have dented Putin’s grip on power.
The Russian president has made multiple nuclear threats since the invasion began. On February 27, 2022, just three days after launching the assault on Ukraine, he placed Russia’s nuclear forces on alert. In September 2022, he stated publicly that he was “not bluffing” about the possible use of such weapons. The September 2024 doctrine revision formalizes a lower nuclear threshold, adding a new dimension to the strategic landscape of the war.
From KGB to Kremlin: The Making of an Enduring Ruler
Putin’s rise to power began long before he became president. He was born in Leningrad on October 7, 1952, and joined the KGB in 1975. He worked as a foreign intelligence officer for sixteen years, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel before resigning in 1991. His political career accelerated in the mid-1990s when he moved to Moscow, serving in the administration of President Boris Yeltsin. By 1999, he had become director of the Federal Security Service and then secretary of the Security Council. That August, Yeltsin appointed him prime minister, and when Yeltsin resigned at the end of the year, Putin became acting president. He won his first presidential election in March 2000 and was reelected four years later.
Putin has now held power almost continuously since 1999. He served as president from 2000 to 2008 and then stepped down, but remained in power as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev. He returned to the presidency in 2012 following a constitutional change that reset term limits, and again in 2018. In 2021, a referendum approved further amendments allowing him to run for two more terms, potentially extending his rule until 2036.
Assertive Foreign Policy and Strategic Consequences
Under his leadership, Russia has intervened militarily in Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, annexed Crimea, and faced international sanctions and economic strain. Putin is a former intelligence officer who has shaped modern Russia through forceful domestic policies and assertive foreign actions. His rule reflects a blend of Soviet-era governance, centralized control, and a determination to challenge Western influence.
The revision of the nuclear doctrine is a direct consequence of the war in Ukraine and the broader confrontation with NATO. By lowering the threshold for nuclear use, Putin has signaled that Moscow is prepared to escalate dramatically if it perceives an existential threat. The doctrine’s inclusion of non-nuclear states backed by nuclear powers further complicates the calculus for Western allies supporting Ukraine. While the international community has responded with sanctions and diplomatic isolation, Putin’s domestic standing remains entrenched, with no sign of internal pressure that could alter his course.
