The Russia state has re-emerged as a new world agitator under the leadership of Vladimir Putin who in the autumn of 1999 became Bori's Yeltsin's prime minister. When Yeltsin resigned, Putin became acting president, and thanks to his campaign against Chechen rebels he was eaily elected president in 2000. At the time he deciding not to run his politcal aspirations under any political platform. He was subsequently re-elected in 2004. Criticism of Putin revolves around his autocratic behavior and his dealings with Chechnya, the arrest of oligarchs based on political motivations rather than the rule of law, and his use of energy as a strategic tool for the purposes of foreign poilcy.
reference [Economist.com]