Putin caught off guard

Former Russian President Vladimir Putin, a modern-day tsar, evokes the image of a macho man. At the end of 1999, Russia was like an old sick bear in Siberia when Putin took the helm. Unlike his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, who was chronically ill over his term, Putin took off his shirt to show off his muscles and exuded masculinity by hunting tigers, polar bears and whales. Russian women in their 40s or older showed strong support for him. Chechen rebels who demanded independence were cruelly suppressed by red tanks that Putin ordered deployed. Russians dreamed that he would revive the Russian empire.

After finishing his second term, Putin handed over power to his protege Dmitry Medvedev in May 2008. In September this year, Putin announced that he will run in the presidential election in March next year. It is a jaw-dropping idea that he has served as prime minister for four years to avoid the constitutional ban on three consecutive presidential terms and run for president again. Officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the United Russia Party, he was booed by the audience when he stepped in the ring give a congratulatory speech after Russian mixed martial arts fighter Fedor Emilianenko beat an American challenger. This was the first time that Russians publicly turned against Putin, and perhaps a sign of fatigue from decades of one-man rule and refusal of strength reminiscent of dictatorship.

The United Russia Party lost 77 seats in the elections for the State Duma, the lower house of Russia`s parliament, possibly serving as a harbinger of next year`s presidential election. The party took the majority 238 out of 450 seats, but Russians are gradually turning their backs on Putin and his party. No alternative exists, however, showing the limits of Russian democracy. Many Russians predict that Putin will be reelected because he has no competitor.

Certain analysts say Putin was caught off guard by social networking services popular among the younger generation. News of corruption in elections spread fast through such services, and Internet users posted video clips and messages making fun of Putin and Medvedev. Social networking services, which fueled the Jasmine Revolution in North Africa and the Middle East and attracted 300 million users in China, a closed society, are showing the silver lining of hope for change in Russian politics.

Editorial Writer Ha Tae-won (triplets@donga.com)