WHO REALLY IS VLADIMIR PUTIN?

  From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

          DAY  USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82

July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14        4142    15512         1151        189       712

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

Mar     2        1989     9490        1726       110      194

April   6         906     11787         4211       631       37

May    4         853    13667        3025      3786      59 

June   1         287    10637         2346      3205      95

 July   7          251      8440        1595         817     411

Aug    4          656    10120        1118         532     423 

Sept  22       2228      9326          839        279     124

Oct    6         2102      8255          543        315       59

Nov   3         1436      7830         186         458       23

Dec    1        1633      8475          266        477       28

Jan    7         2025      6729         148        285      140

       28          2732   10,516         779        862      133

Feb  2           2990   12,012         946        991      175

      24           1823     9,809        996        304       40

Mar     2        1778     7,756         335        173        28

           3        1258      7654         594         201       41

           9        1265      6819         652         104       31

         10        1247      6847         559         255       25 

         11        1022      6002         465           88       28

Summary:

• As long expected, a good decline in new deaths for the USA, although we remained #1 in the world.
• #2 was Russia with 674 and #3 Brazil with 465.
• South Korea had the most new cases yesterday with 282,976, but only with 290 new deaths.
• Germany was #2 with 245,342, and had 242 new deaths.
• On a new cases/million population basis:
• Iceland  7699
• Brunei  6548
• South Korea  5516
• Austria  5480
• New Zealand  4207
• Hong Kong  3852
• Finland  3806
• Germany  2914
• Singapore  2600
• Japan  498
• USA  118
• Taiwan  3.4
• China  0.4

Reportedly, 69-year old Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved his "family" to a secret luxury Siberian hi-tech underground bunker which can survive a nuclear attack.  But who is his family?

• Was born in 1952 in Leningrad of a decorated war veteran, who worked as a foreman in a metal factory, while his mother was a factory worker.  Had two brothers, both dying young.  His grandfather was a personal cook to Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.
• 
  In 1983, he married Lyudmila Shkrebneva, a former flight attendant.  They divorced in 2008.

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  They had two daughters, Maria or Mascha, who is a medical researcher and lives in Moscow with her Dutch husband, and Katerina, who is an accomplished acrobatic dancer.  In 2013 she married Russian billionaire Kirill Shamalov.  But they divorced in 2018

• 
  Has one granddaughter from Maria.
• In 2008 Putin was supposedly engaged to Alina Kabaeva, former Russian rhythmic gymnast, and might have fathered another daughter.  They divorced in 2014, but continued to have children into 2019,

• 
  Graduated as a lawyer in 1975, then worked for the KGB for 16 years.
• When Boris Yeltsin resigned, he became acting president.

• 
  Thus, he has been running Russia for 23 years since 1999, although there was a period in between when he inserted Dmitry Medvedev in that role.
• Russia is authoritarian, not democratic.

• 
  Russia signed the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse emissions in 2004.  However, because the Russian economy fell during this period, they were exempted from mandatory cuts.  Is an environmentalist in the protection of endangered animals like polar bears and white whales.
• Attends important services of the Russian Orthodox Church, but is intolerant of missionary activities, like from Jehovah's Witnesses.
• Is popular amongst the Russian Jewish community.
• There was the first Ukraine war in 2014 where he annexed Crimea and Sevastopol.  But only after they voted to join the Russian Federation.
• The Russian economy:

• 
  Won the 2018 presidential election with 76% of the vote.  This term supposedly ends in 2024, and said he would not run for another term.  But then in 2020 two amendments to the Russian Constitution allowed him to run for two additional terms.  He also signed a bill giving lifetime prosecutorial immunity to Russian ex-presidents.  Donald Trump must be jealous.
• Is actively attempting to increase territorial claims in the Arctic.

• 
  Strengthened the military and now mostly has a professional army with draft service of one year.
• At the end of last year a poll found that 50% of Russians believed the U.S. and NATO are to blame for the Russia-Ukraine crisis, 16% blamed Ukraine and 4% blamed Russia.
• Abominable human rights record.
• Controls the media.
• Is an imperialist of the old Soviet school.
• While not the vaunted Soviet Union anymore, here are the current Post-Soviet states, and Putin considers Ukraine to be among them:

Post-Soviet states in English alphabetical order: 

1. 1 Armenia. 2 
2. Azerbaijan. 3 
3. Belarus. 4 
4. Estonia. 5 
5. Georgia. 6 
6. Kazakhstan. 7 
7. Kyrgyzstan. 8 
8. Latvia. 9
9. Lithuania. 10 
10. Moldova. 11 
11. Russia. 12 
12. Tajikistan. 13 
13. Turkmenistan. 14 
14. Ukraine. 15 
15. Uzbekistan.

• 
  Is #2 to the U.S. in exporting war items.  However, the U.S. value is 3 times higher.
• What exactly was the blackmail material Putin had over Trump?  

• 
  Putin's approval rating
• 2007  81%
• dropped to 62% in the 2011-2013 period
• 2014  83%
• later in 2014  87%
• 2015  89%
• 2016  81%
• 2018  63%
• 2020  68% or 59%, depending on how the survey was taken

• 
  Putin's trustworthiness level
• 2017  59%
• 2018  39%
• 2019  32%
• 2021  53%
• Putin's support among Russians aged 18-24 was 20%.

• 
  Was Time Person of the year in 2007.
• Forbes had him as the most powerful individual from 2013-6.
• Personal worth
• Reports of an income around $270,000 annually, but wears watches six times that value.
• Purportedly possesses a multi-billion fortune through stakes in companies.
• Is said to be worth anywhere from $40 billion to $160 billion.
• Owns 20 villas and palaces.  At least one mansion is valued at $1 billion.  His rival Alexei Navalny has said that one Putin estate is 39 times the size of Monaco and cost $1.35 billion to construct.
• Watches soccer and has an interest in ice hockey.
• 
  Drinks some beer, but not much vodka.  Through his policies, Russian imbibition has dropped by 30%.  They are not in the top 10 anymore.  #1 is Czechia.
• Has been practicing judo since the age of 11, but switched to sambo, where he was awarded an eighth dan black belt in 2012.  Also practices karate.  Has written a judo book.

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