As Putin Begins 4th Term, Inauguration Highlights His Vast Power

“The symbolic Putin is omnipotent, like St. George slaying the Western dragon, but the flesh-and-bones Putin is barely capable of solving Russians’ everyday problems or preventing tragedies,” Andrei Kolesnikov, an associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote in a commentary on Mr. Putin’s continued popularity despite the economic slump. “The president answers for the symbolic renaissance of feelings of belonging to a great world power, while it is mayors, regional heads, and ministers who answer for fires and rubbish dumps.”

European election observers with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe wrote that his recent re-election, “took place in an overly controlled legal and political environment marked by continued pressure on critical voices.”

Underscoring that point, two days before the inauguration, the police arrested about 1,600 people at protest actions called “He is not our czar.” Demonstrators wore paper crowns to mock Mr. Putin’s long rule, now running longer than any Russian leader since Stalin.

The arrests added images of swinging nightsticks and shoving matches with the police to the inaugural events. “A Spoiled Party,” read a headline on Monday in Vedomosti, a business newspaper.

The violence included a seeming throwback to an era of crowd-control tactics in Russia. Men wearing Cossack uniforms and carrying a type of traditional leather whip known as a nagaika had mingled in the crowd, occasionally lashing out. The Echo of Moscow radio station reported Monday that the Cossack group had won municipal contracts to train for and help with crowd control, though it remained unclear whether they acted in an official capacity on Saturday.

Mr. Putin first became president on Dec. 31, 1999, when Boris Yeltsin, ailing from heart troubles, resigned. Mr. Putin was then elected in 2000 and served twice, the constitutional limit for successive terms. He then became prime minister for one term, before returning to the presidency in 2012. For his third and now fourth spells as president, the term was extended to six years from four.

While not short on pomp, the ceremony on Monday was less elaborate than his inauguration in 2012.

In 2012, the police cordoned off much of the city center to allow Mr. Putin’s motorcade to glide through quiet streets toward the Kremlin. Eerie images of the leader in an empty city sparked criticism that Mr. Putin had lost touch with the people.

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Warren Buffett Should Have Shared the Stage

Another Berkshire Hathaway Inc. annual meeting is in the books. The masters of ceremony, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, were as sage, humorous and optimistic about America’s future as ever.

But seeing them up there in front of shareholders, it was hard not to be reminded of the fact that the beloved investors are 87 and 94 years old, respectively. Their combined age is older than Berkshire Hathaway itself, a company that traces its roots to the Industrial Revolution.

On Saturday, Buffett and Munger held their annual question-and-answer session with stockholders, always the most anticipated part of Berkshire’s weekend-long extravaganza in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s remarkable that they’re able to host such a massive event so enthusiastically year after year. With a little help from some Coca-Cola and peanut brittle, the duo sits through hours of questions on topics spanning global trade, investing strategy and even small business details such as the pricing decisions made for See’s Candies products.


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Mentally, they’re sharper than any of us. But they aren’t immortal. 

It’s at least part of the reason Buffett stepped down last month from the board of Kraft Heinz Co., lightening his travel commitments. More important, it’s why he elevated younger Berkshire executives Greg Abel and Ajit Jain to vice chairmen in January, giving them expanded oversight of the $482 billion conglomerate. Abel, who runs the Berkshire Hathaway Energy division, now also presides over Berkshire’s non-insurance businesses, while Jain oversees everything insurance-related. Buffett is still chairman and CEO, while Munger remains vice chairman of the board.

It seems clear that Abel, Jain or both are likely to take over for Buffett when he’s gone. Why, then, didn’t they have a seat at the table Saturday? 

Looking to the Future

At the end of 2017, Berkshire Hathaway had the oldest board in the SP 500, but adding Warren Buffett’s successor candidates Greg Abel and Ajit Jain brought down its average

Source: Bloomberg

It’s because Buffett doesn’t seem ready to share the stage—literally and figuratively—with anyone but Munger. He may never be. For years he’s been trying to make investors more comfortable with the idea of someone else at the helm, but he’s always stopped short of publicly identifying that someone and really giving them the pulpit.

The first question of the day was whether the billionaire is already “semi-retired,” to which Buffett quipped that he’s been semi-retired for decades. That got laughs, but I think the question should have been phrased differently. It’s obvious that Buffett is still heavily involved in investment decisions and leads acquisition strategy (even if he’s always believed in not meddling with the operations of Berkshire’s various independently managed subsidiaries). The right question would have been: While you are still unquestionably the capital-allocator-in-chief, shouldn’t you be giving Berkshire shareholders a chance to truly get to know your eventual successor?