KINGS, LEADERS AND PRESIDENTS PYRRHUS IS KS Pyrrhus = KS in 2 phases Pyrrhus => Flame-coloured; red - a symbol of revolution and then Communism that can be traced back to the French Revolution, and then the Bolshevik Revolution. KINGS OF EPIRUS The first king that steps out of those shadows and into history is Admetus, in around 500 BC. The 10 th and most famous king, is Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus reigned from 307 to 302 BC before being banished from the kingdom and Neoptolemus II took the throne. Pyrrhus returned and forced Neoptolemus II into a co-rulership, eventually killing him and becoming once again the sole king of Epirus. After Pyrrhus died in 272 BC, he was followed by 7 rulers of Epirus before it was ruled by the Epirote League an ancient Greek coalition of tribes. 1 st 10 th (co-rule) Admetus Pyrrhus Neop. Pyrrhus [] [] [] [] PYRRHUS = PUTIN Symbols of king and kingdom are interchangeable: Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. Pyrrhus is the King of the South, in this case - Russia. He can also represent a specific individual. Kings, Leaders & Presidents Notes, Tess Lambert, 2018 Page 1 of 5
LEADERS OF RUSSIA 1st 10th (co-rule) Stalin Putin Medvedev Putin [] [] [] [] Putin is the 10 th leader of Russia since Stalin. December 31 st of 1999, then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes President of Russia when Boris Yeltsin resigns. He is President for 2 terms; the limit allowed in the Russian constitution. Those terms end in 2008, and as he cannot run again, he named his preferred success as Dmitry Medvedev on the 10 th December 2007. The west had thought that Medvedev was too modern and pro-western to earn Putin s endorsement, and were expecting someone from his old ranks in the KGB. But Medvedev was successfully elected on the promise that he would make Putin his Prime Minister. The Poster for his election was a photo of Putin and Medvedev standing side by side, and it reads together we win. There was no hiding that this was a co-rulership. In 2012 Medvedev stepped aside and Putin became President again. Aeacides = Gorbachev Pyrrhus came to power when young and inexperienced. Why? The history before. Aeacides Neop. II Aeacides Alcetus II Pyrrhus [] [] ] [] [] Removed in rival briefly reinstated coup coup ungov. temper Kings, Leaders & Presidents Notes, Tess Lambert, 2018 Page 2 of 5
Pyrrhus: Father = Aeacides. Aeacides involved his people in the 2 nd Diadochi War. His army created a popular uprising he was forced to flee. Neoptolemus II, a rival family for the throne in Epirus, became king. The Epirotes later restored Aeacides to the throne, but Cassander, on hearing this, immediately sent an army and killed Aeacides. Aeacides brother and Pyrrhus uncle, Alcetus II, becomes king. Alcetus II was the older brother and should have been the rightful king before, but he is a last resort due to his ungovernable temper. The people put him to death, and Pyrrhus became king. Putin: Gorbachev Cold War. In August of 1991 he faced a coup. The Gang of 8, led by Yanayev, placed him under house arrest and took over government. Yanayev signed a decree naming himself as the Acting President of the USSR. The coup failed and Gorbachev returned to government but only temporarily as he was significantly weakened. In December of 1991 Gorbachev resigned and handed government to Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin had no self-control, particularly with alcohol, and he lost the respect of the people. He resigned and Putin became President. Gorbachev resumed his duties as Soviet president, but his position had by now been irretrievably weakened. Entering into an unavoidable alliance with Yeltsin, Gorbachev quit the Communist Party, disbanded its Central Committee, and supported measures to strip the party of its control over the KGB and the armed forces. Gorbachev also moved quickly to shift fundamental political powers to the Soviet Union s constituent republics. Events outpaced him, however, and the Russian government under Yeltsin readily assumed the functions of the collapsing Soviet government as the various republics agreed to form a new commonwealth under Yeltsin s leadership. On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned the presidency of the Soviet Union, which ceased to exist that same day. https://www.britannica.com/biography/mikhail-gorbachev PUTIN = STALIN Kings, Leaders & Presidents Notes, Tess Lambert, 2018 Page 3 of 5
Alpha and Omega Pyrrhus = Putin = Stalin Various secular commentators have drawn comparisons between Putin and Stalin, and I want to look at some of these parallels. Konstantin P. Petrov, Soviet and Russian military leader, is one of the sources. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awg6_ztqxbm Stalin 1. Raised in Poverty. Father alcoholic shoemaker. Lived in 9 rented properties over 10 years. Mother fled abusive husband and worked as a laundress. 2. Part of the ground force for beginning of USSR (1922) Became Bolshevik operative in paramilitary, organising strikes, robbing banks etc. Anything to support the Bolshevik cause. 3. Political Novice 4. Became part of Communist government in 1917. Lenin appointed Stalin to the post of General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1922. When Lenin died, Stalin consolidated power and made that post the most powerful in the Soviet Union. By 1929 he was without political rival. 5. Method: Appear modest; inconspicuous, grey, executive and disciplined. The Trotskyists thought he could be controlled. Lenin placed him in power, but once he realised his mistake it was too late. 6. They rule similarly: By maintaining a higher understanding than anyone in their team. Not following the plan, written script by advisors in meetings etc. 7. Both are bound by what is formed in the life of the society: Must follow Lenin and Marxist theology Putin 1. Raised in communal housing in the slums of Leningrad. His job was to hunt rats in the stairwells. Presidents before him were from Kulak families. (wealthy peasants) 2. Part of the ground force at the end of the USSR Became KGB agent. He was stationed in Dresden, Germany during 1989. Called the fall the greatest geo-political disaster of the 20 th Century. 3. Political Novice 4. Entered local politics in 1991. Moved to Moscow in 1996 to enter state politics. In August 1999 Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin to position of Prime Minister. When Yeltsin resigned in Dec., Putin became President. He then won election in 2000 and immediately began suppressing rivals. 5. Method: Appear modest; inconspicuous, grey, executive and disciplined. The Oligarchs and elite thought he would obey. Also would pardon Yeltsin for corruption. 6. They rule similarly: Maintains higher understanding than his advisors. Often surprises them by not following his advisors etc. 7. Bound by what is formed in the life of the society: Must make an appearance of democracy and loyalty to the church and institutions. BORIS YELTSIN = LENIN Kings, Leaders & Presidents Notes, Tess Lambert, 2018 Page 4 of 5
Lenin placed Stalin in power as General Secretary. Boris Yeltsin placed Putin in power as President. They neatly bookend the period of the Soviet Union. Pre-1922 (Lenin) and post 1991 (Yeltsin) Stalin had opposition from the Trotskyists and Putin from the Oligarchs. Both take time to suppress opposition. Lenin realised the nature of Stalin psychopath, and he tried to have him removed from power. By this stage Lenin had experienced a series of strokes and was mostly incapacitated. Lenin wrote letters to the politburo calling for his ousting as general secretary but it was too late. Lenin was too weakened, and the other communist leaders thought that Stalin could be controlled. Yeltsin spoke before his death of his regret. He recognised too late the hands that he had placed Russia in. Kings, Leaders & Presidents Notes, Tess Lambert, 2018 Page 5 of 5