The ends justify the means

The Prince, written by an Italian politician by the name of Niccolò Machiavelli, could be considered an instruction manual on how to be a successful ruler. His motto was that the ends justify the means, meaning that wrong doings can be justified by ones end goal. Machiavelli stressed that maintaining total power and control of your kingdom was important. The Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is considered to be a Machiavellian. There are many examples of Putin following Machiavelli’s rules written in the book “ The Prince.” They also share similar qualities, such as being manipulative. In many aspects, Vladimir Putin can be considered a modern day Machiavelli.

Rule 1: “ Nothing makes a prince so much esteemed as great enterprises and setting a fine example .” (Chapter 21, pg 50) the first example of Putin following Machiavelli’s rules is by publicly displaying their victories through parades and showing his personality by speaking to his country. On May 9th, 2017 Russian and Syrian troops held a Victory Day parade. This was to mark the defeat of of Germany in the was of 1941-1945. Every year between June and April, Putin hosts the Direct Kine TV program. Putin speaks for hours and over two million messages are sent into the studio, stetting a fine example of himself.

Rule 2: “ He ought never, therefore, to have out of his thoughts the subject of war, and in peace he should addict himself more to his exercise then in the war; this he can do in two ways, the one by action, the other by study.” ( ch 14, pg 33) Putin strongly believes and follows this rule. “ It’s obvious we cannot strengthen our international position, develop the economy and democratic institutions if we are not able to defend Russia” stated Putin in his Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Putin has proposed military reforms saying their military has been chronically underfunded. These reformations would cost 770 billion dollars over a period of 10 years.

Rule 3: “ A prince is also respected when he is either a true fan friend or a downright enemy, that is to say, when, without any reservation, he declares himself in favor of one party against the other; which course will always be more advantages than standing neutral…” (Ch 21, pg 50) An example of Putin following this rule is the involvement with Crimea. At a certain point in time the Ukraine entered a period of chaos. An impressive navy base of Russia known as the Black Sea Fleet was “ in danger of falling into anti-Russian hands” (prezi, Alice Mnebe). Putin took advantage of the chaos to invade Crimea to protect the Russian navy base. Putin then proceeded to annex Crimea to Russia.

Rule 4: “ therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how avail himself of the beast and the man.” (Ch 18, pg 39)One of the traits that Micheavelli and Putin share is being manipulative. An example of Putin following this is with Malaysian Airflight 17. A passenger jet was shot down near Ukraine in July of 2014. All 298 passengers on board were killed. Ukraine and the West suspected Russian surface-to-air missle was to blame. Putin actively denied Russia’s involvement. He manipulates facts without any hesitation and no one from Russia questions his answers, including his response to the air-flight 17.

In conclusion, in many aspects, Vladimir Putin can be considered a modern day Machiavelli. Both Putin and Machiavelli share goals of maintaining complete and total power over government and military forces. Both agreed that “ it is much safer to be feared than loved.” (Ch 17, pg 37) There are examples of Putin following Machiavelli’s rules from The Prince. It’s still unknown wether or not Putin has actually read “ The Prince” but he is most definitely a Machiavellian.