Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin ( ) (born October 7 1952, in Leningrad, U.S.S.R., now Saint Petersburg, Russia) is a Russian politician who was the 2nd President of the Russian Federation from 2000 to 2008 and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as the chairman of United Russia. He became acting President on December 31, 1999, succeeding Boris Yeltsin, and then won the 2000 presidential election. In 2004, he was re-elected for a second term lasting until May 7, 2008. During his Presidential terms, and coming into his second term as Prime Minister, Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings amongst the Russian public for rescuing Russia from the chaos of its return to a market economy under Boris Yeltsin. At the same time, his conduct in office has been questioned by domestic dissenters, as well as foreign governments and human rights organizations, for his handling of internal conflicts in Chechnya and Dagestan, his record on internal human rights and freedoms, his relations... full article at wikipedia