The Foreign Service Journal, April 2007

wealth (the so-called “oligarchs”) during Yeltsin’s privatization pro- gram, to use that wealth for political purposes. The majority of them thus far have been left alone; howev- er, Khodorkovsky refused to play by Putin’s rules and, as a result, now sits in a Russian jail. Whatever outsiders may think, it is clear that Putin enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of the Russian people for what he presents as a rational approach for dealing with the country’s multifaceted problems. Seen from his perspective, he has been successful; domestically, Russia is more stable than it was when he came to power. Internationally, Putin believes Russia is no longer a “beg- gar” state and deserves to have the rest of the world, including the United States, take it seriously. Speaking at an international conference in Munich on Feb. 11, he made headlines by declaring that Washington has “overstepped its national borders in every way ... in the economic, politi- cal and cultural policies it imposes on other nations.” He also ex- pressed nostalgia for the Cold War at the same forum: “We are indebt- ed to the balance of power between these two superpowers. This was certainly a fragile peace and a frightening one. But it was reli- able enough. Today it seems that the peace is not so reliable.” The speech was a direct attack on the United States for the “unilateral” role it is playing in the world. Putin has also shown he is prepared to use whatever leverage Russia has against former Soviet states such as Georgia and Azerbaijan. He and his defense minister have repeatedly attacked Washington for its advocacy of F O C U S A P R I L 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 It should not be forgotten that Putin was the first foreign leader to express condolences following the 9/11 attacks.