Elections in Russia: what’s behind the Putin system and its retention of power?

Russia holds a presidential election this weekend, and the winner is already clear. How has Vladimir Putin managed to cement such power over the years? Join the discussion on “dialogue”! Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, one man in particular has shaped the image of Russia: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. What are the factors which favour the Putin system and its retention of power? The editorial team behind “dialogue”, a project run by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, has put together a selection of articles and multimedia from across Switzerland on the topic of the upcoming elections in Russia. The selection is translated into the four Swiss national languages as well as English. Putin’s life 1952: Born in Leningrad (today St Petersburg) 1975: Graduates from Leningrad University 1975 – 1991: KGB agent (“Committee for State Security”) 1985 – 1990: spy in Dresden, GDR (German Democratic Republic) 1991 – 1996: close adviser to the mayor of ...