REAL LIFE SUPER VILLAINS - Vladimir Putin

Even Super Villains need advice... and role models.

Russian President (2000 - 2008, 2012 - )

Russian Prime Minister (1999-2000, 2008 – 2012)

Is Vladimir Putin a real life super villain?  A lot of people say yes, but let's test it by applying 10 Rules to Tell if a Character is a Super-villain to him.

Code Name

Being a public figure, Putin has a number of nicknames:

 Abaddon

• His nickname with the Russian Hell's Angels.

Crabbe

• Popular nickname on the internet.
• Putin claimed, as President, works "like a slave" which is the source of this nickname "like a crab" or "Crabbe".

Other Names

• Vova & Volodya, East Slavic diminutives for Vladimir.
• Pootie-Poot & Ostrich Legs, nicknames for Putin used by George W Bush.
• Grey cardinal, a English idiom for the secret power behind the throne, a description used of Putin when he was PM to President Dmitry Medvedev.  Former Putin Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov has been called Putin's grey cardinal.

Distinctive Look

Giant Building
"Putin's Palace"

Long time Putin contributor, Sergei Kolesnikov, claims that Putin is building a house on the Black Sea, originally at $16 million, but:

''things kept getting added; An elevator to the beach, a marina, a separate high-voltage line, a separate gas pipeline, three new motorways that led directly to the palace, and three helicopter pads. The building itself was changing too: an amphitheatre was added, then a winter theatre. And then it all had to be decorated too: furniture, artwork, silverware. It's all very expensive!'' 

By spring 2009, the budget had past a billion dollars and had be become 20 buildings.[1]

Shady Past

His family has its own mysterious past, with no records of Putins before Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (Vladimir’s grandfather).

Putin remains proud of his violent childhood and youth.

KGB Past

He was in the KGB from 1975 until 1991 when he resigned during a coup against President Gorbachev and went into politics.

Criminal

Under Putin crime and corruption has been rife.  Viktor Cherkesov (Ex-KGB operative who Putin helped rise), "Putin doesn't pay much attention to theft, because he reckons everyone steals." [2]

Casual Criminal

In 2005 a Partiots Superbowl ring belonging to Robert Kraft came into Putin's possession.  Initially Kraft claimed that he gave the ring to Putin in recognition of everything that Putin had done for the Russian people. Masha Gessen in her 2012 book about Putin made the claim that when shown the ring he asked to try it on, stated "I could kill someone with this" then put it in his pocket and left the room.  Kraft confirmed that story saying that the Bush government requested his tell the false story.[3]  Putin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, says that he was there and remembers it being like Kraft's original version.  Putin himself claims not to remember the ring or Kraft but offered to make him a new ring.  Kraft has since reverted to his original story.

Gessen also tells of a time at the Guggenheim Museum in New York when Putin was shown a glass replica of a Kalashnikov automatic weapon filled with vodka.  Putin, Gessen claims, nodded to one of his security detail who grabbed the bottle and left the room.[3]

Rather than kleptomania, Gessen suggests that Putin has pleonexia, "the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others… He compensates for his compulsion by creating the identity of an honest and incorruptible civil servant." [2]

Legitimacy

Putin is President of Russia.

Working for the Greater Good

The Russian Orthodox church has given Putin an award for making the country "powerful and strong".

Under Putin, inflation is down and pensions have increased and many Russian feel he has restored Russia's sense of self worth.

In his opinion piece in the New York Times, Putin claims:

The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance. [4]

Charismatic

Putin won elections in 2000, 2004 and 2012 so he must be charismatic.  Then again there were voting irregularities in 2012.

In polls, 20% of Russian women say that they would marry him.

Genius

I can't define genius, so I'll let others do it for me:

• Russia: Reading Genius into Putin's Blunders
• The incredible story of how Putin used secret KGB chess tactics to outwit the US
• The genius of Vladi­mir Putin

Action Villain

Minions

Maria Putin

• One of Putin's two daughters about whom little is known and few photos exist.
• Believed to be a high ranking official in United Russia's Young Guard.[5]
• Brief "rebellion" in 2009 during which she made anti-west remarks accompanying a photo of her drunk and wearing a Cuban flag (some suggest this was a way to bring United Russia ideals to a young demographic.)[5]

Alina Kabaeva

• Former Olympic gymnast.
• United Russia Party MP in the State Duma.
• Rumour to be engaged (and possibly secretly married) to Putin in 2008 although it was denied.  (The paper that broke the story retracted the story and closed down soon after) [6]
• Rumoured to have had a son with Putin[7] although she denies ever having a child, claiming the boy is her nephew.[8]
• Rumoured to have had a daughter with Putin, 3 years later.

Maria Kozhevnikova

• Former member of United Russia’s Young Guard. 
• Former singer and actresss.
• Appeared in Russian Playboy.
• Rumours her family is close to a Putin ally.
• United Russia MP in the State Duma 2011 - present.
• Suggestion that there may have been a relationship with Putin.[9]

Svetlana Khorkina

• Former Olympic Gymnast.
• United Russia MP in the State Duma 2007 – 2011.
• Appeared in Russian Playboy.
• In 2005 after concealing her pregnancy for 8 months, Svetlana left urgently for the USA where she gave birth to a son. Svetlana refused to reveal the name of the father, but it rumoured to be actor Levan Uchaneishvili.[9]
• Married to former FSS General Oleg Konchev (23 years her senior).

Alexander “The Experiment” Karelin

• Only 3-time Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling champion.
• Dubbed the strongest man in the world.  
• Immediately retired when he was defeated for the first time in 2001.
• United Russia MP.
• MP in Duma, 199, 2003, 2007.
• Member of internal affairs committee.

Anna Chapman

• Former Russian Spy and potential honey-trap.
• Appointed to the council of United Russia's Young Guard.
• Rumoured relationship with Putin.[10]

Yana Lapikova

• Former model.
• Appointed as Putin's personal photographer.
• It has been suggested that she has or had a relationship with Putin.[11]

Summary

He certainly fits all ten criteria that I set out with varying degrees of success.  But why do you think?

Do the poll.

~ DUG.

[Real Life Super Villains]

The above is a work of fiction, an similarity to actual persons living or dead is quite possibly the point, but is not meant to prove that they are actually Super Villains.  We leave it up to them to do that themselves.