Vladimir Putin


Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born October 7, 1952) is the current President
of Russia.

Putin was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). He was a KGB officer
from 1975 to 1991 and head of the FSB (the KGB's successor) from July 1998
to August 1999. He was prime minister in Boris Yeltsin's government from
August 1999. As Prime Minster he won great acclaim from the Russian people
for managing the reinvasion of Chechnya. On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin
resigned, and made Putin the second (acting) President of the Russian
Federation. Proper Presidential elections were held on March 26, 2000, which
Putin won.

Unlike his predecessor, President Putin has been less enthusiastic about
erasing Russia's Soviet past from memory. He has stated his belief that
whatever the crimes of the Communist regime, it was neverless an important
part of Russian history, and an important influence on the creation of
modern Russian society. As a result, some Soviet era symbols have been
allowed to return to Russia, such as the trademark red military flag, the
"Soviet Star" crest, and the Soviet national anthem (although with revised lyrics).

Putin was against the war in Iraq during the Iraq crisis of 2003. After the
war ended with American victory, American president George W. Bush asked the
United Nations for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq. Putin was against the
lifting of the sanctions, arguing that first weapons of mass destruction
should be destroyed.

President Putin faces a number of challenges in 2003 and 2004. The Duma
(Parliament) has elections scheduled for December 2003. In 2004, the
Presidential elections are due. It is expected that Putin should comfortably
win re-election to the Presidency for his second and final term. He is not
permitted under the Constitution to run after his second term.

It is said that there are two factions operating within Putin's Kremlin.
One, the siloviki, is associated with the more nationalist elements of the
military and security services. The other, tagged the Family, are people
linked with former President Boris Yeltsin and the oligarchs who prospered
during his term in office. These two factions often fiercely disagree, as
they did in relation to the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oil
magnate. Putin has been careful not to be seen to be with one faction or the
other, with his Chief of Staff Alexander Voloshin identified as linked to
the Family. It is believed that Voloshin threatened to resign in protest at
the arrest of Khodorkovsky. Putin accepted the resignation and replaced him
Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman of Gazprom the state owned gas company.

Another linked to the Family is Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Defying
Putin's direct instruction to avoid involvement in the matter, Kasyanov
expressed great concern about the Khodorkovsky prosecution and declared the
freezing of a controlling stake in Yukos unprecedented.