I'm currently enrolled in a class which is being 'shared' (video taped and played ) to two classes located in Russia. To help us get a better understanding our teacher had a different professor come to our class and talk about the history and present happenings in Russia. I not only changed this video to my Facebook status right after class, but couldn't stop talking about it. (to my friends who most likely didnt care that much)
VIDEO- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gncW1zqMFgs&feature=related
Putin is the current Prime Minister in Russia. While he was trying to win the hearts of Russians over, this video was created by some random people. It was then reported that the Kremlin endorsed this video. The thinking behind the video was to show how Putin would create this 'strong' image for Russia, where as the previous Prime Minister did not (his sobriety was questioned and the overall power of Russia was perceived as weak).
I think it's extremely interesting that they chose these lyrics in describing a future (at that time) Prime Minister. The lyrics are trying to compare the last Prime Minister with Putin and how much better Putin will be :
My boyfriend is in trouble again,
He got into a fight and got stoned on something,
I am sick of him and so I told him, 'get out of here',
And now I want a man like Putin.
A man like Putin, full of energy,
A man like Putin who doesn't drink,
A man like Putin who wouldn't hurt me,
A man like Putin who wouldn't run away from me.
This definitely brought Putin to my attention whereas normal I would've heard 'Putin is the Prime Minister of Russia' and forgot we had even talked about it within 5 minutes. Its crazy to think that just this catchy techno song has made me curious and motivated to look for more information on the Russian Prime Minister.
I also attached an article I found-- it's very brief and just describes how it is believed the Kremlin backed this techno song to help start a 'Putin Cult'-- which is a completely different topic. I've watched the video multiple times, accidently found myself singing it on my way to class, and even looked for it on Itunes becuase I wanted to have it around just in case. I think I've been sucked in to this genius campaign scheme and am now looking for a man just like Putin.
ARTICLE- http://putinwatcher.blogspot.com/2007/07/putin-cult-political-techno-fan-clubs.html
Wow. This is amazing.
The song got stuck in my head as well.
It is incredible that things like this can add up to an entire culture surrounding an single individual. There is even a wikipedia rather elaborate entry for "Putinism".
The support of the people for someone who, frequently does the opposite of the things that he says, and who's policies threaten to take Russia back to their old ways, and is so controversial in the eyes of the rest of the world is a very interesting subject.
Part of it is that Russia is currently prosperous due to the democratic reforms of Boris Yeltsin, and since these processes take time, he is still riding the wave of past decisions.
He has been criticized heavily for being involved or doing the following things: torture, abductions, unlawful detentions, building back the policies Yeltsin and Gorbchev took years to dismantle, election fraud, the tying together of Russian Intelligence, business, and organized crime, among other things.
Yet he is still unbelievably popular. Riding others economic success, and the elimination of independent media are two significant factors in blinding the people of what is actually going on. Putin is a collectivist, elitist and fascist. Appointing members of the Kremlin that are all his personal close friends has helped him gain endorsement from many products. One of the main promoters of the techno group is Nikolai Gastell, a press secretary of the Russian Supreme court. Many cite the song as Kremlin endorsed propaganda though Putin "disapproves" of his cult like status. It is key to establishing blind "Hitleresque" dominance in the eyes of the people.