Challenges Faced by Vladimir Putin: Obstacles and Turning Points

Life is full of challenges, and Vladimir Putin faced many. Discover key struggles and how they were overcome.

Vladimir Putin is a Russian politician who has dominated Russian politics for over two decades. He served as President from 2000 to 2008, then as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012, and again as President from 2012 to the present. Before entering politics, Putin was an intelligence officer. His long tenure makes him the longest-serving Russian president since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Sections (6)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

1972: US Withdrawal from Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

According to the Kremlin, the build-up of Russia's nuclear capabilities was a response to U.S. president George W. Bush's unilateral decision to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

1972: Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

Following the 9/11 attacks, Putin supported the U.S. in the War on Terror, but the U.S. later withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

1987: Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Some analysts believe that Russia's nuclear strategy under Putin has brought Russia into violation of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

1989: Freedom House's historic reference point

In 2004, Freedom House warned that Russia's decline in freedom had reached a low point unseen since 1989, the year of significant changes in the Soviet Union.

1999: Systematic punishment of journalists

According to Scott Gehlbach, since 1999, Putin has systematically punished journalists who challenge his official point of view.

2003: Russia opposes the Iraq War

In 2003, Russia strongly opposed the U.S.-led Iraq War, marking a shift in Putin's relationship with the West, which steadily deteriorated afterward.

2003: UK Grants Asylum to Berezovsky

In 2003, relations between Russia and the United Kingdom deteriorated when the United Kingdom granted political asylum to Putin's former patron, oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

2003: Rose Revolution in Georgia

In 2003, the Rose Revolution in Georgia led to frictions in relations with Russia.

December 2004: Criticism of Rose and Orange revolutions

In December 2004, Putin criticized the Rose and Orange revolutions, warning against plunging the post-Soviet space into endless conflict.

2004: Freedom House Warning

In 2004, Freedom House warned that Russia's "retreat from freedom marks a low point not registered since 1989, when the country was part of the Soviet Union".

2004: Beslan school siege

In 2004, the Beslan school siege occurred, and it remained the deadliest terrorist attack on Russian soil until the Crocus City Hall attack in March 2024.

2005: Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan

In 2005, the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan led to frictions in relations with Russia.

2005: Russia listed as 'not free'

Since 2005, Freedom House has listed Russia as being "not free", highlighting concerns about democratic backsliding during Putin's tenure.

June 2007: Putin Proposes Counterproposal on Missile Shield

On 7 June 2007, Putin publicly opposed plans for the U.S. missile shield in Europe and presented President George W. Bush with a counterproposal, which was declined.

December 2007: Russia Suspends Participation in CFE Treaty

On 11 December 2007, Russia suspended its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, amidst rising tensions with the West.

August 2008: South Ossetia War

In August 2008, the Georgian military was defeated in the South Ossetia War after Russian forces entered South Ossetia and other parts of Georgia, leading to a second front in Abkhazia.

2008: Alleged declaration about Ukraine and NATO

In 2008, at a NATO-Russia summit, Putin allegedly declared that if Ukraine joined NATO, Russia could contend to annex the Ukrainian East and Crimea.

2008: Abandonment of the Socio-Economic Development Programme

In 2008, the "Programme for the Socio-Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the Period 2000–2010" was abandoned, with only 30% completion.

2011: Putin Condemns Foreign Military Intervention in Libya

In 2011, Putin condemned the foreign military intervention in Libya, calling the UN resolution "defective and flawed." Upon the death of Muammar Gaddafi, Putin called it a "planned murder" by the US, questioning the nature of democracy in light of Gaddafi's violent death.

2011: Economist Intelligence Unit rating

Since 2011, The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Russia as "authoritarian", shifting from its previous assessment as a "hybrid regime".

May 2012: Reelection and Restrictive Laws

Since May 2012, when Putin was reelected as president, Russia has enacted many restrictive laws, started inspections of non-governmental organizations, harassed, intimidated and imprisoned political activists, and started to restrict critics, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

June 2012: Putin Opposes Foreign Intervention in Syrian Civil War

In June 2012, in Paris, Putin opposed any foreign intervention in the Syrian civil war. He rejected French president François Hollande's call for Bashar al-Assad to step down, echoing Assad's argument that anti-regime militants were responsible for much of the bloodshed. He also questioned the results of previous NATO interventions in Libya and Iraq.

2012: Mass Protests Against Election Falsification

In 2012, Russia experienced mass protests against the falsification of elections, censorship, and the toughening of free assembly laws.

2012: Crackdown on liberal media

In 2012, after Putin's return to the Kremlin, Maria Lipman claims that the crackdown extended to the liberal media, which had previously operated fairly independently.

2012: "Foreign agent" legislation adopted

In 2012, the "foreign agent" legislation was adopted. This was later expanded in 2020.

January 2013: Putin's Approval Rating Falls to 62%

In January 2013, at the time of the 2011–2013 Russian protests, Putin's rating fell to 62%, the lowest since 2000.

2013: Russia's press freedom ranking

In 2013, Reporters Without Borders ranked Russia 148 out of 179 countries in terms of freedom of the press, criticizing the crackdown on political opposition and the failure to bring to justice criminals who murdered journalists.

February 2014: Ousting of Ukrainian President Yanukovych

After the Russian annexation of Crimea, Putin declared that the February 2014 ousting of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was orchestrated by the West to weaken Russia, accusing the new Ukrainian leaders of being "nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites".

March 2014: Russian Federation annexed Crimea

Following the Revolution of Dignity in March 2014, the Russian Federation annexed Crimea, which according to Putin, "has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia".

July 2014: Speech on protecting Russian speakers outside Russia

In July 2014, during a Russian-supported armed insurgency in Eastern Ukraine, Putin stated he would use Russia's "entire arsenal of available means" to protect Russian speakers outside Russia.

2014: Gas Supply Deal with China and Financial Crisis

In 2014, Putin signed a deal to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Also, the ongoing financial crisis began in the second half of 2014 when the Russian ruble collapsed due to a decline in the price of oil and international sanctions against Russia, leading to loss of investor confidence and capital flight. Additionally, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named Putin their Person of the Year for furthering corruption and organized crime in 2014.

2014: Putin visits Australia for G20 summit

In 2014, Putin visited Australia for the G20 Brisbane summit. The Abbott government denounced Putin's use of military force in Ukraine as "bullying" and "utterly unacceptable."

2014: Annexation of Crimea

In 2014, Putin's tenure was marked by the controversial annexation of Crimea, a significant foreign policy action.

2014: Start of Russo-Ukrainian War Period

In 2014, Sergey Guriyev identified the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War period (2014-present) as the fourth period of Putin's economic policy, characterized by Russia's growing isolation from the global economy and stagnation.

2014: G20 Summit Controversy

In 2014, amid calls to ban Putin from attending the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated he would "shirtfront" the Russian leader regarding the shooting down of MH17 by Russian-backed rebels, which resulted in the death of 38 Australians. Putin denied responsibility for the killings.

2015: Diamond's Assessment

In 2015, political scientist Larry Diamond stated that "no serious scholar would consider Russia today a democracy", highlighting the challenges to democratic governance.

2016: Legislation Prohibiting Missionary Activity

In 2016, Putin oversaw the passage of legislation that prohibited missionary activity in Russia.

2016: Low Public Confidence in Russian Economy

In 2016, despite high approval for Putin, public confidence in the Russian economy was low, dropping to levels that rivaled the lows in 2009 at the height of the global economic crisis.

January 2017: US-Russian relations deteriorate

After Trump took office in January 2017, Putin stated that U.S.–Russian relations, already at the lowest level since the end of the Cold War, have continued to deteriorate.

2017: Poll Indicates Putin Personally Responsible for Corruption

Newsweek reported in 2017 that a poll indicated that 67% held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.

October 2018: Most Russians Agreed That Putin Bears Full Responsibility for Problems

In October 2018, two-thirds of Russians surveyed agreed that "Putin bears full responsibility for the problems of the country", which has been attributed to a decline in a popular belief in "good tsar and bad boyars", a traditional attitude towards justifying failures at the top of the ruling hierarchy in Russia.

December 2018: Ukrainian Orthodox Church attains autocephaly

With the attainment of autocephaly by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in December 2018 and subsequent schism of the Russian Orthodox Church from Constantinople, experts concluded that Putin's policy in post-Soviet republics backfired, leading to him "annexing Crimea, but losing Ukraine".

2018: Forbes' Dictator Accusation

Following the jailing of Alexei Navalny in 2018, Forbes wrote: "Putin's actions are those of a dictator... As a leader with failing public support, he can only remain in power by using force and repression that gets worse by the day".

January 2019: Russians Trusting Putin Hits Historic Low

In January 2019, the percentage of Russians trusting Putin hit a then-historic low—33%.

April 2019: Record Number of Russians Willing to Emigrate

In April 2019, a Gallup poll showed a record number of Russians, 20%, willing to permanently emigrate from Russia. The decline was even larger in the 17–25 age group.

May 2020: Putin's Approval Rating Amid COVID Crisis

In May 2020, amid the COVID crisis, Putin's approval rating was 68% when respondents were presented a list of names (closed question), and 27% when respondents were expected to name politicians they trust (open question).

June 2020: Political prisoners in Russia

As of June 2020, the Memorial Human Rights Center reported 380 political prisoners in Russia, including individuals prosecuted for political activities and involvement with banned Muslim organizations. A significant portion of these prisoners were residents of Crimea.

December 2020: Putin's Support Among Young Russians

In December 2020, Putin's support among Russians aged 18–24 was only 20%.

2020: Law on "foreign agents" signed

In 2020, Putin signed a law that labels individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad as "foreign agents".

2020: Abe's resignation

Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe frequently met to discuss Japan–Russia territorial disputes, but no agreement was signed before Abe's resignation in 2020.

November 2021: The Economist on Putin's shift

In November 2021, The Economist noted that Putin had "shifted from autocracy to dictatorship", characterizing his increasing control and suppression of dissent.

November 2021: Distrust of Putin Contributes to Vaccine Hesitancy

Polls conducted in November 2021, after the failure of a Russian COVID-19 vaccination campaign, indicated distrust of Putin was a major contributing factor for vaccine hesitancy, with regional polls indicating numbers as low as 20–30% in the Volga Federal District.

February 2022: Invasion of Ukraine

In February 2022, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leading to international condemnation and sanctions.

February 2022: Support for "special military operation" in Ukraine

In late February 2022, a survey conducted by the independent research group Russian Field found that 59% of respondents supported the "special military operation" in Ukraine. According to the poll, in the group of 18-to-24-year-olds, only 29% supported the "special military operation".

March 2022: Putin removed from International Judo Federation positions

In March 2022, Vladimir Putin was removed from all positions in the International Judo Federation (IJF) due to the Russian war in Ukraine.

March 2022: Ukrainians' Unfavorable View of Putin and Russia

In March 2022, a poll indicated that 97% of Ukrainians held an unfavorable view of Putin, and 98% of Ukrainians—including 82% of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine—did not believe any part of Ukraine was rightfully part of Russia. A poll published on 30 March in Russia saw Putin's approval rating jump, from 71% in February, to 83%.

March 2022: Support for "special military operation" in Ukraine

In mid-March 2022 two polls surveyed Russians' sentiments about the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The results were obtained by Radio Liberty. 71% of Russians polled said that they supported the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

September 2022: Annexation of Ukrainian Oblasts

In September 2022, Putin announced a partial mobilization and forcibly annexed four Ukrainian oblasts into Russia.

December 2022: Prosecutions for criticizing the war in Ukraine

By December 2022, over 4,000 people were prosecuted in Russia for criticizing the war in Ukraine under the country's war censorship laws.

2022: Survey Shows Putin's Unpopularity in the UK

A survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2022 found Putin to be among the least popular foreign leaders, with 8% of British respondents holding a positive opinion.

2022: Invasion of Ukraine

As of 2024, no data is available since before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine regarding the reporting of Russian military emissions, which is voluntary.

2022: Russian Media Censorship Following Invasion of Ukraine

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, state-controlled TV presented the invasion as a "special military operation" and liberation mission. Roskomnadzor ordered the country's media to employ information only from state sources, banning the use of the words "war", "invasion", or "aggression" to describe the invasion.

2022: Escalation of political repressions

In 2022, Putin increased political repressions after launching his full-scale war with Ukraine, contributing to international observers deeming the 2024 election as not free or fair.

2022: Condemnation over Ukraine invasion

In 2022, following mounting civilian casualties during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden called Putin a war criminal and "murderous dictator". The Ukrainian envoy to the United Nations likened Putin to Adolf Hitler, and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins also drew comparisons to Hitler.

2022: International condemnation of Russian invasion of Ukraine

In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison condemned the invasion as "unprovoked, unjust, and illegal" and labeled Putin a "thug". New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also denounced Putin as a "bully". Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama and the Solomon Islands UN ambassador also condemned the conflict.

2022: Revocation of honorary awards in response to Ukraine invasion

In 2022, some of the honorary doctorates and other awards given to Vladimir Putin were revoked in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

March 2023: ICC Arrest Warrant

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes related to child abductions during the war.

September 2023: Limited Active Support for War in Ukraine

In September 2023, Valery Fyodorov, head of the VTsIOM state pollster, stated that only 10–15% of Russians actively supported the war in Ukraine, and that "most Russians are not demanding the conquest of Kyiv or Odesa".

March 2024: 2024 Russian Presidential Election and Crocus City Hall Attack

In March 2024, Putin won the Russian presidential election with 88% of the vote, which was considered neither free nor fair by international observers due to increased political repressions following the 2022 war with Ukraine. Also in March 2024, the Crocus City Hall attack resulted in 145 deaths and 551 injuries, marking the deadliest terrorist attack on Russian soil since 2004.

September 2024: Nuclear Retaliation Warning

In September 2024, Putin warned the West that Russia would consider a nuclear retaliation if attacked with conventional weapons, deviating from the no first use doctrine. He also threatened nuclear powers supporting attacks on Russia, stating they would be considered participants in the aggression.