From his arrival in power in Russia 26 years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been able to leave his mark on American politics by manipulating or deceiving five American presidents, from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump. Although the time has passed and the leaders have changed to the White House, Putin managed to remain still at the head of power in Moscow, developed on the limbs of the flu and manipulation, according to a relationship in “times”.
The beginning of these attempts was in 1996 during the visit of the former President of the United States Bill Clinton in St. Petersburg, where he was deliberately isolated by the local population during the meeting with the mayor of the city at that moment, Anataly Sobchak, a Putin’s political guide.
This meeting referred to Putin’s first attempts to leave a certain impression of Russia, while Clinton was removed from the residents of the city and their daily places, which made him angry for that visit.
According to the report, Putin’s motivation to isolate Clinton from the locals was not clear. However, as a former intelligence officer, it was clear that Putin had doubts about the West.
However, as many analysts pointed out, the previous experiences of Putin of the Soviet intelligence service can be KGB in Eastern Germany, which has helped to perfect his skills to understand the human psyche and the ways to influence others. For years, Putin has shown a higher ability to interact with western leaders, exploiting their weaknesses or their profound knowledge of Russian culture. He was expected to recruit contacts that would help him get information on political parties and leader in NATO countries.
“Over time and the increase in his stay in the position, the Russian president has become more experienced in this … He faced the American presidents who often have very little experience on Russia, and do not understand the country and the Russian culture,” said Angela Steint, a former councilor for intelligence on Russia, for American politicians, for American politicians, who are now a great colleague of the Brookings Foundation in Washington. It can be very magical with them in his own way. “
Despite their different positions, many American presidents expressed their admiration for Putin, like Bill Clinton, who in 2013 said that his relationship with Putin was very good and Frank, as well as George Bush Jr. who after a meeting with him in Slovenia in 2001, described him as a very faithful man for his country and his best interests. These positive relationships at the beginning of Putin’s rule may also have been affected by stories such as the history of the Orthodox cross that his mother presented him. Putin said it was the only thing that survived a fire in his home. Putin told Bush, a story in which some American officials wondered.
On the contrary, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were more explicit in criticizing Putin. While Obama’s meetings with Putin were cold, Biden Putin described the “killer”, which led to the relationships between the two countries. Despite these conflicts, Putin continued to maintain a distinct relationship with Trump, who showed trends to strengthen relations with the Russian president, observing that he believed Putin was his friend.
“Trump believes that Putin is his friend … I don’t think Putin think he is a friend of Trump,” John Bolton, councilor for National Security of Trump, at the newspaper “Kiev Independent” recently said. I think Putin believes that the President of the United States is an easy goal. “
However, as underlined by the experts, this report could change in the future. The War of Ukraine could continue to float in American politics towards Russia, especially if Trump feels that his political earnings can be in danger.
Through these dynamics, it is clear that Putin was not just an authoritarian leader; Rather, he was also an expert political actor in the arts of flu and manipulation, who made him a fundamental figure in relations between Russia and the United States over the centuries.
