So many Russian persons have become legends . Most people in the world should know most of these extraordinary persons from this country, beside from its rich of history.
Here are 5 Most Influential Person In Russia You must Know :
1. Vladimir Putin
A charismatic person that love nature, pet lover, judo master, hockey player. Became an officer in the KGB where he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, after graduating from Leningrad State University with a Bachelor of Laws degree. In 1991 Putin first entered politics and later acted as Acting President under Boris Yeltsin’s government and later became Prime Minister in 2008. Putin is credited with bringing political stability to Russia since the Russian economy grew after he was appointed president.
Putin’s career as president began at the turn of the year from 1999 to 2000. At that time, Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation and submitted Vladimir Putin as his successor. Yeltsin was the first president after Russia was divided by the Glasnost and Perestroika movements. Before Yeltsin was appointed to be replaced by him, Putin had only been sitting as Russian prime minister for a few months. War was still raging in Chechnya and the economy was still staggered due to the failure of Russia to pay debts a year earlier.
Vladimir Putin’s government made it difficult for Western countries to expand their influence, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Even the Kremlin, in fact, dared to fight Western systematic steps that were considered detrimental to Russian interests. Now when Putin was re-elected as president of Russia for the 2012-2018 term, there is not much that Western countries can do, unless they can only bite their fingers and hope that Putin’s regime will end as soon as possible.
2. Mikhail Gorbachev
Unfortunately, many of Gorbachev’s reform programs were considered too radical by the old order people. So, those who feel harmed by his Glasnost and Perestroika condemn him. In the international arena, Gorbachev improved relations with the West. In fact, he was friends with several leaders in the West such as Margaret Thatcher (British Prime Minister), Helmut Kohl (Chancellor of West Germany), and US President Ronald Reagan.
He withdrew the Soviet Union troops from Afghanistan in February 1988, . That year he also allowed the Eastern bloc countries to decide on their own affairs. This policy caused a series of revolutions in Eastern Europe throughout 1989 with result of the collapse of communism. The weakening of the Soviet Union’s power over Eastern Europe resulted in ending the Cold War between the Eastern and Western Blocs. For this reason Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. However, his economic policy brought the Soviet Union to destruction.
Democratization also reduced the power of the Communist Party and Gorbachev himself. Unfortunately, this has also led to an anti-Soviet attitude which has been closed tightly. Movements emerged to separate themselves from the Soviet Union in small countries that were part of the Soviet Union.
There was a crisis of power, a split between radical reformers under Boris Yeltsin, and orthodox groups . On December 25, 1991 Gorbachev resigned and the Soviet Union officially disbanded.
Stalin was born in the city of Gori, Georgia on December 18, 1878 with the name Iosif Vissarionovich Jugashvili. The city of Gori was a remote area that was far from the center of the Russian empire in Moscow (at that time not yet the Soviet Union, still the Russian empire).
3. Joseph Stalin
The young Stalin fell in love with the idea of communism which often strongly criticized that the upper (rich) social class always extorted the poor (the poor), very much in line with the young Iosif’s hatred of the authorities who had curbed and regulated their lives.
Increasingly, Stalin’s love for the idea of communism was not limited to reading books, but he also actively involved in the communist revolutionary movement in Russia. As he became increasingly active with the communists, Stalin was expelled from the Theology school in May 1899 (21 years). Since then, Communism has become a “new religion” for Stalin.
Drugged by the charisma of a Lenin, Stalin finally became one of Lenin’s followers who was the most loyal in fighting for the revolution. The young Stalin who was now a loyal follower of Lenin had a clear focus of purpose: Unity of the workers and revolution (rebellion) against the Kingdom of Russia, to later establish a state based on Marx’s socialism with the name of the Soviet Union.
In this revolutionary movement, young Stalin played more roles in the field, especially in raising sympathizers. While Lenin, Trotsky, and friends with academic backgrounds fought more behind the table. For young Stalin who is good at field affairs, everything needs to be done to realize the revolution, including robbing banks and post offices in the Caucasus area to raise funds
Finally after a long struggle, the dream of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, and friends was realized! Practically Lenin became the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, then Trotsky as the right hand of Lenin was assigned as minister of defense and Stalin as secretary general of the communist party (chairman of the party management).
After Lenin died, Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev were eliminated, Stalin became closer to becoming the sole ruler of the Soviet Union, a Tsar (Emperor). Furthermore, Stalin wanted to realize his ambition to make the Soviet Union a strong country. In a paranoid way of thinking, realizing a strong state means creating a country that can withstand the threat of other countries, especially anti-communist countries such as Britain, France and the United States. Therefore, Stalin created a “Five-Year Development Plan”
4. Grigori Rasputin
Rasputin’s name reminded the world of how Russia had gone through terrible times when its rulers had believed blindly to someone they believed had mystical powers. Rasputin means “depraved person”. It sounds rough, but that is what it means. Even though his real name is Grigory Yefimovich Novikh. Somehow, even though Grigory had attended school, the farmer was still illiterate. At the age of 18, he entered the convent at Verkhoture and became acquainted with the Khlysty sect.
In 1903 Rasputin, with a dirty and dirty appearance, arrived at St. Petersburg in Russia. His presence caught the attention of Theophan, the inspector of the Religious Academy in the city. Originally Tsar Nicholas II and his empress only had four daughters. Then in 1904 the long-awaited crown prince was born, Alexei Nicolayevich.
Unfortunately the Crown Prince inherited his mother’s haemophilic offspring, Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna, who was none other than Queen Victoria’s grandson from England. Maybe with medicine or hypnotism or both, Rasputin managed to ease Alexei’s suffering.
That was initially during the next 10 years Rasputin had great power, not only against the Tsar’s family but also with regard to state matters.
In the presence of the Tsar and his family members, Rasputin could behave as if he were a simple, holy farmer. But beyond that, apparently he was unable to continue to hold back. He then taught that having intercourse with him had the effect of purifying and healing. Not surprisingly he could have many lovers and continue to try to plunge many women into sexual immorality.
5. Ivan Vasilyevich ‘the Terrible’
In Russian, the word ‘terrible’ does not have the same negative relationship with the English word. The Russian word, “grozny,” can be better defined as “dangerous” or “tough” in the true sense. So, calling him “the Terrible” does not mean negative to Ivan – it does not mean we want to call him like that on his face.
Ivan was the first son of Vasili III, the Great Prince of Russia, and his second wife, Elena Glinskaya. Interestingly, his mother’s family came from the Mongolian warlord Mamai, who was famous for leading the Golden Horde. Ivan became the Great Prince of Russia at the age of three years old. This is because his father, Vasili, had blood poisoning from an abscess and inflamed leg.
In 1547, at the age of 16, Ivan IV was crowned at the Dormitory Cathedral. However, he was not crowned Prince, like the previous Russian rulers. Instead, Ivan was named the “Tsar of all Russias.” This made Ivan the Terrible the first Tsar in Russian history Because Ivan wanted to impress his people that he was the absolute ruler of Russia, he wisely chose his new title. “Tsar” is a Russian translation of the Latin word “Caesar”. The 1560s brought serious changes in Ivan’s behavior after all the tragedies he experienced, coupled with the paranoia he felt towards his own aristocracy.
In December 1564, he shocked Russia by leaving Moscow and announcing his resignation, due to a life-threatening conspiracy. This puts the boyars in a frightening position because they fear the peasant rebellion (don’t know why Russian nobles will be afraid of such things). They finally asked Ivan to return and become their Tsar. Ivan agreed, provided that he became an absolute king with the power to do whatever he wanted. Things must be pretty gloomy because the requirements are accepted. Strangely, in all of his history, Ivan the Terrible was very popular among ordinary people in Russia. Because he held back the power of aristocracy and aristocracy, he was praised as a person who defended lower class rights.
With his new absolute power, Ivan arranged a policy known as Oprichnina. What was demanded basically as much as Ivan took the territory held by Russian nobility, returned to his political power known as oprichniki, and gave the Tsar direct control over the plots of Russian land. Oprichniki, meanwhile, exploited their position when they left or killed the nobles. Ivan was busy with military campaigns. In early 1552, Ivan led an army of 150,000 to the great city of Kazan, occupied by the descendants of the Golden Horde.
Ivan’s army surrounded the city for more than a month before the city fell. Up to 100,000 Russian slaves were released, while residents of Tartars were slaughtered. Ivan led his army to take control of the Astrakhan Khanate, which also destroyed the largest slave market on the Volga River. One of the most successful military campaigns of Ivan the Terrible was the conquest of Siberia. Commanding campaign to Yermak Timofeyevich, Cossacks invaded Siberia. Timofeyevich wins allies to his side against Khian Siberia. The campaign allowed Ivan to spend his last few years calling himself Tsar of Siberia.
In March 1584, Ivan the Terrible quietly played chess with a statesman at his house when he suddenly fainted and lay in bed. Even today, it is not fully known what caused it to die. An old theory is that he was poisoned, while many modern historians claim that it was a stroke. After Ivan’s death, his empire almost collapsed because of the decision Ivan made when he was still alive. The lack of economic skills, coupled with the many wars carried out by Russia under his administration, meant the economy was in very bad condition. This caused his own dynasty, the Ruriks, to lose power after the death of Ivan’s son Feodor in 1598.
Those are 5 Most Influential Person In Russia You must Know. So Many person that were born in Russia and become legends . You may also read 7 successful russian movies of 2017