Vladimir Putin was the president of Russia who strengthened the powers of the presidency and endeavored to use the country's energy wealth to maintain Russia's global influence. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). He graduated from Leningrad State University in 1975 and joined the Soviet secret police, the KGB. He was stationed in East Germany for five years, beginning in 1985, and was exposed to the lifestyle and culture of the West through his activities. The experience undermined his faith in the Soviet government, especially during the collapse of East Germany. In 1990, Putin returned to Russia and was appointed dean for international affairs at Leningrad State University. He resigned from the KGB during the abortive Soviet coup of 1991.

In 1994, Putin was appointed first deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg. Two years later, he moved to Moscow to accept a position in the State Property Administration. Putin attracted the attention of President Boris N. Yeltsin, who made Putin his chief of staff and in 1998 appointed him to be director of the Federal Security Service (the successor organization to the KGB). In 1999, Yeltsin named Putin prime minister. In this role, Putin helped convince Yeltsin of the importance of deploying Russian troops as part of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo in order to maintain Moscow's influence in the region.

Putin subsequently emerged as Yeltsin's handpicked successor. Yeltsin resigned on 31 December 1999, and Putin became president. Putin granted the former president immunity from prosecution, leading many to suggest that Yeltsin's actions were motivated by his desire to avoid criminal charges. Putin called for elections in 2000 and won the March polling with the support of the Unity (Edinstvo) political grouping, the largest political faction in the Duma (parliament). While most of Yeltsin's inner circle remained in power under the new president, Putin increasingly demonstrated his independence from his predecessor by appointing his own people to senior positions and implementing new policies.

Putin initially concentrated on suppressing the rebellion in Chechnya. His approach was domestically popular, but a series of high-profile terrorist acts undermined the government. In 2002, Chechen separatists seized a Moscow theater and 800 hostages; at least 117 hostages died when security forces stormed the building. In 2004, rebels took control of a school and 1,500 schoolchildren in Beslan. More than 340 civilians, including 186 children, were killed during that incident.

Domestically, Putin endeavored to implement economic reforms and strengthen the authority of the president. He relied on a group of prominent economic reformers and demonstrated openness toward reform that his predecessor lacked. Putin revised the nation's inefficient tax code by creating a flat 13 percent income tax and introducing a value-added tax and excise duties. Putin also brought the three large utility monopolies back under state control. The government takeover of Gazprom, the giant gas and oil company, led to charges of corruption and claims that Putin authorized the action solely to gain access to the enormous cash reserves of the company. State ownership of the railroads and national electric utility were less controversial. Putin also introduced reforms to the judiciary and the Duma. Regional governments were granted broad new autonomy.

Putin increased Russia's security budget and strengthened the power and authority of the state security agencies. He also continued to emphasize nuclear weapons as deterrence from conventional attack. Initially perceived as more nationalistic and less pro-Western than Yeltsin, Putin's foreign policy was actually based on pragmatism. He worked to maintain Russia's role as a major power. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, Putin offered support to the United States. Russia shared intelligence with the United States about Afghanistan and transferred weapons to the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Putin further accepted the establishment of U.S. military bases in the Central Asian republics in a move that surprised many senior Russian officials. He also subsequently accepted the U.S. withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty.

Despite public opposition, Putin accepted the NATO expansion in 2004 and negotiated a closer working relationship between Russia and its Cold War nemesis. Putin opposed the 2003 Iraq War, but was less public in his criticism than the leaders of traditional American allies France and Germany. However, Putin supported the lifting of economic sanctions on Iraq after the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein. He also worked with the United States and the European Union on disarmament, including the reduction of Russia's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.

Putin sought to maintain and even bolster Russian influence in Ukraine and Belarus. In the 2004 Ukrainian elections, he openly supported the losing pro-Russian candidate during what became known as the Orange Revolution. Meanwhile, Putin used his control of the state media to great impact during Russia's own presidential elections. Higher energy prices had increased revenues for the Russian government (and confirmed the utility of the Gazprom takeover for many Russians), which allowed Putin to increase social spending. His hard-line policy toward Chechnya remained popular, as well. Nonetheless, the president was criticized for the increasing violence in Russian society. There were several high-profile murders of journalists and repression of the press. In addition, Putin failed to take strong action to combat organized crime, which had become widespread and entrenched. Yet, most Russians approved of his first-term performance. Putin won the balloting with 71 percent of the vote in generally free and open elections.

During his second term, Putin concentrated on improving relations with Europe. In 2005, he negotiated an agreement to build an oil pipeline from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. Putin also sought membership for Russia in the World Trade Organization. The most significant area of tension between Europe and Russia continued to be Putin's management of the Chechen crisis. European leaders condemned Putin's human rights record in the separatist republic and urged the president to negotiate an end to the conflict. The president was also criticized following the deaths of several prominent critics of his regime, including Alexander Litvinenko, a former military officer who died in London in 2006 from exposure to radioactive materials in his food. Meanwhile, Putin became increasingly critical of U.S. foreign policy. In February 2007, the president condemned U.S. unilateralism and NATO expansion in a major policy speech in Munich. Putin also warned of a new Cold War in response to Washington's closer security ties with the states of central and Eastern Europe.

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