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Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has dominated the political landscape of the Russian Federation for over two decades, serving multiple terms as President and one term as Prime Minister, a role often seen as an extension of presidential power. His ascent began following the collapse of the Soviet Union, culminating in his appointment as Prime Minister by Boris Yeltsin in August 1999, a move that surprised many observers given his relatively low profile at the time within mainstream politics. Before entering the highest echelons of government, Putin spent fifteen years as a foreign intelligence officer for the KGB, the main security agency for the Soviet Union. His service included a significant posting in Dresden, East Germany, from 1985 to 1990, a period that coincided with the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the impending reunification of Germany, experiences often cited as formative in shaping his worldview regarding geopolitical power and national security. Upon returning to Russia, he transitioned into local politics in St. Petersburg under Mayor Anatoly Sobchak, gaining valuable administrative and political experience before moving to Moscow in the mid-1990s where he rapidly ascended through various bureaucratic roles within the Kremlin administration under President Yeltsin. This period marked his move from the shadows of intelligence work into the very center of Russian state power. His first presidential term commenced in 2000 after Yeltsin’s surprise resignation on New Year’s Eve 1999. Putin quickly consolidated power, navigating the delicate transition from the turbulent 1990s by projecting an image of stability, strength, and decisive leadership, a stark contrast to his predecessor's perceived weakness and the economic chaos following privatization. Domestically, his early presidency was characterized by the assertion of "vertical power," a strategy aimed at reasserting the central government's authority over regional governors and oligarchs who had accumulated vast political influence during the Yeltsin era. This drive involved neutralizing or co-opting key figures who challenged the Kremlin's control. A defining feature of his early tenure was the Second Chechen War, which began shortly before he became president. Putin adopted an uncompromising stance against Chechen separatists, using significant military force to crush the insurgency and restore Russian federal control over the North Caucasus region, further cementing his image as a staunch defender of Russian territorial integrity. Internationally, Putin initially sought closer ties with the West, particularly following the September 11th attacks, viewing terrorism as a common enemy. However, this cooperative spirit soon soured, fueled by Russian opposition to NATO expansion eastward and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, leading to increasing friction and a perception in Moscow that the West sought to undermine Russian influence. His governance style is often described as pragmatic authoritarianism, blending elements of centralized control with market economics. While preserving many capitalist structures established in the 1990s, the state significantly increased its control over strategic economic sectors, especially energy, utilizing state-owned giants like Gazprom and Rosneft as geopolitical tools. In 2008, constitutional term limits prevented him from running for a third consecutive term, leading to Dmitry Medvedev assuming the presidency while Putin served as Prime Minister—a maneuver widely seen as a temporary sidelining rather than a true relinquishing of power, confirming his enduring command over the nation’s trajectory. He returned to the presidency in 2012 following a constitutional amendment that extended the presidential term length. This return was met with significant domestic protests, representing the largest sustained challenge to his authority since the early 2000s, prompting a corresponding tightening of domestic political regulations. A pivotal moment in his later tenure was the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, following the Maidan Revolution in Kyiv. This action, widely condemned by the West and resulting in international sanctions, dramatically escalated tensions with NATO and redefined Russia’s relationship with the international community, positioning him as a revanchist figure restoring historical Russian spheres of influence. Since the 2010s, Putin has increasingly framed Russian policy through a lens of civilizational opposition to what he terms the decadent and overly liberal West, emphasizing traditional values, Orthodox Christian identity, and national sovereignty as core tenets of his political philosophy against perceived foreign interference. His geopolitical strategy has increasingly involved projecting Russian power beyond its immediate neighborhood, evidenced by military intervention in Syria starting in 2015, designed to support Bashar al-Assad and re-establish Russia as an indispensable Middle Eastern power broker. Constitutional changes passed in 2020 effectively reset his presidential term count, allowing him the potential to remain in office until 2036, further solidifying the impression of a potentially lifelong commitment to leading the Russian state, overriding previous limitations on tenure. Vladimir Putin remains the central architect of modern Russian foreign and domestic policy, a figure whose legacy is inextricably linked to the reassertion of centralized state power, the confrontation with the post-Cold War liberal order, and the transformation of Russia into a major global geopolitical challenger.