Changes

===Political career===

===Political career===

 

In the Yeltsin years during the transition to capitalism, corrupt foreign and domestic [[oligarch]]s took control of the country.  Putin's rise to power as a [[populist]] was by taxing and driving out corrupt foreign oligarchs whom the public viewed as looting the country, and throwing in jail corrupt domestic oligarchs as tax cheats.  The oligarchs were his political enemies. Putin's success as a leader in Russia came about by reigning in the power of oligarchs.  He allowed them to run the Russian economy provided that they stay out of politics, unlike Western so-called "democracies".  Contrary to [[Western]] and [[CIA]] propaganda, Putin is not a friend of or controlled by oligarchs; rather, the oligarchs bow to his instructions and demands.

In the Yeltsin years during the transition to capitalism, corrupt foreign and domestic [[oligarch]]s took control of the country.  Putin's rise to power as a [[populist]] was by taxing and driving out corrupt foreign oligarchs whom the public viewed as looting the country, and throwing in jail corrupt domestic oligarchs as tax cheats.  The oligarchs were his political enemies. Putin's success as a leader in Russia came about by reigning in the power of oligarchs.  He allowed them to run the Russian economy provided that they stay out of politics, unlike Western so-called "democracies".  Contrary to [[Western]] and [[CIA]] propaganda, Putin is not a friend of or controlled by oligarchs; rather, the oligarchs bow to his instructions and demands.

Putin has many controversial statements on [[Communism]] and has a good attitude toward the [[Muslim]] minorities living in the Russian Federation. [[Alexander Dugin]] argues:<ref>http://www.aspeninstitute.it/aspenia-online/article/russian-conservative-view-putin-interview-alexander-dugin</ref>

Putin has many controversial statements on [[Communism]] and has a good attitude toward the [[Muslim]] minorities living in the Russian Federation. [[Alexander Dugin]] argues:<ref>http://www.aspeninstitute.it/aspenia-online/article/russian-conservative-view-putin-interview-alexander-dugin</ref>

{{Cquote|If we consider the situation in Russia more closely, we will discover that almost all that is said in the West about Putin is wrong. It is a complete caricature. The most important criticism of Putin inside Russia is not from the liberals. Liberals represent the smallest part of the critics. They are absolutely marginal… So the West is absolutely wrong in thinking that there is this big liberal opposition to Putin that is artificially kept down. The real opposition to Putin is growing completely on the other side of Russian society. It is growing discontent with "lunar" Putin, against the Putin who is surrounded by liberals. All the government is completely not only corrupt, it consists of pro-Western liberals. Nothing has changed after the last election.}}

{{Cquote|If we consider the situation in Russia more closely, we will discover that almost all that is said in the West about Putin is wrong. It is a complete caricature. The most important criticism of Putin inside Russia is not from the liberals. Liberals represent the smallest part of the critics. They are absolutely marginal… So the West is absolutely wrong in thinking that there is this big liberal opposition to Putin that is artificially kept down. The real opposition to Putin is growing completely on the other side of Russian society. It is growing discontent with "lunar" Putin, against the Putin who is surrounded by liberals. All the government is completely not only corrupt, it consists of pro-Western liberals. Nothing has changed after the last election.}}

 

Putin is mainly backed by the [[United Russia]] (''Единая Россия'') party, which currently holds a majority in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, known as the ''Duma''. As a centrist party, it usually reflects the political views of Putin, which are that of authoritarian statism and [[nationalism]]. On March 14, 2004, he was elected to a second term as president with 71% of the vote. Barred from a third consecutive term by the Russian constitution, Putin ceded the presidency to [[Dmitry Medvedev]] on May 7, 2008, and became Prime Minister, at the time-sharing power with the more moderate Medvedev. Medvedev did not run for a second term, and, as a result, Putin was re-elected in 2012. Putin was again re-elected in 2018, facing little real opposition.

Putin is mainly backed by the [[United Russia]] (''Единая Россия'') party, which currently holds a majority in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, known as the ''Duma''. As a centrist party, it usually reflects the political views of Putin, which are that of authoritarian statism and [[nationalism]]. On March 14, 2004, he was elected to a second term as president with 71% of the vote. Barred from a third consecutive term by the Russian constitution, Putin ceded the presidency to [[Dmitry Medvedev]] on May 7, 2008, and became Prime Minister, at the time-sharing power with the more moderate Medvedev. Medvedev did not run for a second term, and, as a result, Putin was re-elected in 2012. Putin was again re-elected in 2018, facing little real opposition.