Is Putin Left or Right Wing?

[BayCityProgressive]

In Russia is Putin considered on the political Left or Right? I don't know much about him other than that he has a bad habit of squashing democracy and was a former KGB official. Overall has he been good or bad for the people of Russia? I know these are pretty broad questions, I am just trying to learn more about him.

[BuddyYoung]

1. Gorbachev recently said that "Putin's a moral man & wants to do the

right thing." He said that due to historical reasons, making a more democratic Russia is going to take time.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I'd Put Him On The Right

I don't think he's a small d democrat in the western sense.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. do you know of any specific

legislation that he supports in his country that would make him left or right wing? I know the traditional left and right are much different there than in the US.

[rodeodance]

4. He is an autocrat.

[Selatius]

5. Putin is authoritarian in methodology, pragmatic in economic philosophy

He exercises control over the broadcast media over there, and his party now holds a majority in both chambers of the legislature. Dissenting views are downplayed or repressed on the airwaves, so it's natural that his party's grip on power is strong.

His economic policies are pragmatic. Russia has a flat-tax scheme, but at the same time Putin has begun renationalizing certain industries such as oil and natural gas, and he has begun attacking very rich oil oligarchs who are worth several billion per individual for back taxes and challenging his authority. Revenues are up in this industry due to incredibly high prices for crude.

He enjoys a whopping 70 percent support from Russians. They are reminded of the days of stability under the old Soviet government. They miss stability, and he is attempting to bring that back. Part of this is his attack against the billionaire oil oligarchs who held virtual fiefdoms over Russia in the 1990s.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, several dozen government enterprises worth untold billions were sold in crooked auctions for only a few hundred million in many cases. As a result, billions of dollars of the Soviet economy was simply sucked out of the country and ended up in foreign bank accounts. The economy contracted rapidly. The oil oligarchs were born in these auctions.

[BayCityProgressive]

6. hm okay

thanks for the info. I guess I just figured he would be more in line with the former ruling Communist Party since he was in the KGB at that time. If he is nationalizing industry and such, perhaps he is. I know he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was one of the worst tragedies in history...so he must have supported it.

[BayCityProgressive]

7. I have also read

that a majority of Russians would prefer to go back to the old system of Communism.

[Selatius]

8. I wouldn't say he's a dyed-in-the-wool communist

There were pragmatists, and there were ideologues in the Soviet hierarchy. Putin wasn't one of those "true believers" in Leninism. It's true he has renationalized oil and natural gas, but the consumer goods market is largely untouched up until now. BTW, I re-edited my previous post; I dunno if you caught it.