Changes

The legend of Putin began the night of the [[Fall of the Wall]] in Germany. Putin was stationed in the consulate in [[Dresden]].  A mob had raided the [[East German]] [[Stasi]] headquarters and moved on to the Soviet consulate.  In the chaos, communication with [[Moscow]] was cut off. Putin, acting alone without instructions and armed only with a pistol, stared down the mob and told them if they took one more step, they would be shot. The mob retreated and returned to continue pillaging files at Stasi headquarters.

The legend of Putin began the night of the [[Fall of the Wall]] in Germany. Putin was stationed in the consulate in [[Dresden]].  A mob had raided the [[East German]] [[Stasi]] headquarters and moved on to the Soviet consulate.  In the chaos, communication with [[Moscow]] was cut off. Putin, acting alone without instructions and armed only with a pistol, stared down the mob and told them if they took one more step, they would be shot. The mob retreated and returned to continue pillaging files at Stasi headquarters.

As the 1990s progressed, Western [[capital]] and corporate raiders flooded into Russia to buy up Soviet assets at bargain basement prices. Prior to the collapse, Soviet enterprises did not operate on the profit motive and received government subsidies, keeping outmoded factories and industries alive while operating at a loss to keep workers employed. When the subsidies and transfers of wealth perished with the Soviet government, the country fell into a deep recession and people were not very enamored toward the transition to capitalism as foreign investors took control of the nation's economy. As in the Dresden incident, Putin's reputation of instinctively standing up to foreign intruders in defense of his country propelled his political rise.

As the 1990s progressed, Western [[capital]] and corporate raiders flooded into Russia to buy up Soviet assets at bargain basement prices. Prior to the collapse, Soviet enterprises did not operate on the profit motive and received government subsidies, keeping outmoded factories and industries alive while operating at a loss to keep workers employed. When the subsidies and transfers of wealth perished with the Soviet government, the country fell into a deep recession.  People were not very enamored toward the transition to capitalism as foreign investors took control of the nation's economy. As in the Dresden incident, Putin's reputation of instinctively standing up to foreign intruders in defense of his country propelled his political rise.

===Domestic policy===

===Domestic policy===