People You Should Know - Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

- President of Russia since December 31, 1999 (in his second, & according to the current Russian Constitution, last term)
- launched an initiative to replace the direct election of the governors and presidents of Federal subjects of Russia with a system whereby they would be proposed by the President and approved or disapproved by regional legislatures
- in the wake of 9/11 attacks the in the United States, he agreed to the establishment of coalition military bases in Central Asia before and during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan
- opposed the US led invasion of Iraq
- said during the February 2007 annual Munich Conference on Security Policy, that the United States displayed an "almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations"
- "Russians generally support Putin’s concentration of political power and strongly support the re-nationalization of Russia’s oil and gas industry" - World Public Opinion.Org
- is very accomplished at Judo