“Loyalty, cruelty and imperial ambitions”: declassified reviews of Lithuanian diplomats about V. Putin’s institution in energy

“V. Putin is handled by the Russian navy as one in all our personal”, – wrote the then ambassador Zenon Namavičius in a “restricted use” doc 100 days after V. Putin was elected president.

Writings saved within the archives of the Ministry of International Affairs of Lithuania reveal how Lithuanian diplomats noticed the interior struggles of the Kremlin between Boris Yeltsin’s “household”, “Peter’s liberals” and energy buildings within the fateful years of 1999-2000.

15min the editorial staff reviewed greater than 500 pages of paperwork. They comprise genuine assessments of the time concerning the affect of the warfare in Chechnya on the rise of V. Putin and the indifference of Western leaders to authoritarian tendencies, which might flip into the invasion of Ukraine and brutal warfare crimes a number of a long time later.

AFP/Scanpix picture/Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin December 31, 1999.

The chaos of 1999

In 1999, change was inevitably approaching, as Boris Yeltsin was weak and in poor health.

“B. Yeltsin is unable to completely carry out his capabilities and turns into a curtain for behind-the-scenes political video games,” the Lithuanian Embassy wrote concerning the ambiance in Moscow in February of that 12 months.

Lithuanian diplomats rigorously adopted the hints about who might change into his successor – Vilnius was advised that Naina Yeltsina, the president’s spouse, might assist director Nikitas Michalkova behind the scenes.