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100-532: In 2000 with pressure from Mikhail Lesin , Gazprom-Media acquired NTV , the only nationwide state-independent television in Russia at the time, as well as other media assets of Vladimir Gusinsky 's Media Most group including the satellite operator NTV-plus , TNT-Teleset , the radio station Echo of Moscow (Ekho Moskvy), and the Seven days (publishing house)  [ ru ] (Семь дней) publishing house, which raised

200-441: A Freedom of Information Act request. Multiple forensic pathologists and medical examiners who saw the released autopsy results raised questions about the official conclusions, and said the evidence suggested possible murder and not a drunken fall. For example, there was a broken neck bone that rarely breaks in falls, but does break commonly during strangulation. Other injuries included soft-tissue hemorrhaging on muscles running along

300-641: A plagiarist according to Western standards. One book from which he copied entire paragraphs is the Russian-language edition of King and Cleland 's Strategic Planning and Policy (1978). Balzer wrote on the Putin thesis and Russian energy policy and concludes along with Olcott that "The primacy of the Russian state in the country’s energy sector is non-negotiable", and cites the insistence on majority Russian ownership of any joint-venture, particularly since BASF signed

400-524: A 'grand bargain' with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain most of their powers, in exchange for their explicit support for—and alignment with—Putin's government. The Moscow theater hostage crisis occurred in October 2002. Many in the Russian press and in the international media warned that the deaths of 130 hostages in the special forces' rescue operation during the crisis would severely damage President Putin's popularity. However, shortly after

500-610: A 45% stake in Lider. As of November 2014, Gasfond is the largest shareholder in Gazprombank which controls Gazprom-Media. Source: Mikhail Lesin Mikhail Yuryevich Lesin ( Russian : Михаил Юрьевич Лесин; 11 July 1958 – 5 November 2015 ) was a Russian political figure, media executive and advisor to president Vladimir Putin . In 2006, he was awarded the Order "For Merit to

600-728: A Swiss university and is a producing graduate of the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles . Since 2012, Anton has been a Hollywood film producer, with credits including Rage (originally Tokarev ), Haunt , Sabotage , Fading Gigolo , Fury , Rock the Kasbah , The Family Fang , and Dirty Grandpa . With Bill Block 's 2015 departure as CEO from QED International and following Paul Hanson's 2015 departure from Megan Ellison 's Annapurna Pictures , Anton and Sasha Shapiro operate QED Holdings as its principal financiers through

700-425: A days-long alcohol bender , saying: Lesin was cremated and buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery . In July 2017, BuzzFeed reported that multiple intelligence agencies believed Lesin was assassinated. An unnamed FBI agent told BuzzFeed, "What I can tell you is that there isn't a single person inside the bureau who believes this guy got drunk, fell down, and died. Everyone thinks he was whacked and that Putin or

800-522: A former Maxim model with whom he had been close since mid-2014. Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. At 24 years, 10 months and 28 days, he

900-530: A free press that is not state owned and operated. On 6 June 1999, and largely from Lesin's background among Video International, Novosti, and VGTRK, Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin appointed Lesin to head the Ministry of Press, Broadcasting and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation . After Stepashin's brief tenure, then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin retained Lesin as minister and allowed him to be

1000-514: A furor among the German press corps. When asked about the incident in a January 2016 interview with Bild , Putin claimed he was not aware of her phobia, adding, "I wanted to make her happy. When I found out that she did not like dogs, I of course apologized." Merkel later told a group of reporters, "I understand why he has to do this – to prove he's a man. He's afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have

1100-552: A heart attack." Washington's Metropolitan Police Department opened a "death investigation". Russian officials said they would work with U.S. authorities to determine the circumstances of the death. On 7 November, the Kremlin released official condolences from president Vladimir Putin: "The president appreciates the enormous contribution made by Mikhail Lesin to the formation of modern Russian media." On 10 March 2016, Mashable stated that they had been informed by Beverly Fields, of

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1200-478: A key figure in the 1999 Russian parliamentary elections and the 2000 Russian presidential election . Through Lesin's support, the pro-Kremlin Unity bloc gained power and the incoming Prime Minister Putin succeeded Yeltsin as the Russian president. Continuing under President Putin from 1999 until 9 March 2004 as Ministry of Press, Broadcasting and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, Lesin essentially merged

1300-585: A lack of free and fair elections . Russia has consistently received very low scores on Transparency International 's Corruption Perceptions Index , The Economist Democracy Index , Freedom House 's Freedom in the World index, and the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index . Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia),

1400-550: A major controversy and resulted in considerable changes to its editorial policy. After Gazprom-Media took over "Media Most" in 2000, Gazprom-Media received Filipp Bobkov 's entire former KGB 5th directorate (Political police) including all its thousands of employees, its database and the Bobkov founded security service that was accused of attempting to assassinate Boris Berezovsky in 1994. The entire archive of 5th KGB Main Directorate

1500-496: A member of the Saint Petersburg city government, was one of the suspects, was dropped. On 30 December 2000, yet another case against the prosecutor general was dropped "for lack of evidence", despite thousands of documents having been forwarded by Swiss prosecutors. On 12 February 2001, Putin signed a similar federal law which replaced the decree of 1999. A case regarding Putin's alleged corruption in metal exports from 1992

1600-418: A police spokesman, Sean Hickman, as saying security had not seen anything suspicious. The spokesman said the nature of the investigation could change, depending on what was found at the scene and after an examination of the body. On Friday, 6 November, RIA Novosti reported that Lesin died of a heart attack citing a spokesman for the family as saying: "Today, Mikhail Lesin died ... His death came supposedly from

1700-616: A potential successor. Following the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings and the invasion of Dagestan by mujahideen , including the former KGB agents, based in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , Putin's law-and-order image and unrelenting approach to the Second Chechen War soon combined to raise his popularity and allowed him to overtake his rivals. While not formally associated with any party, Putin pledged his support to

1800-546: A private taxi driver to earn extra money, or considered such a job. On 28 June 1991, Putin became head of the Committee for External Relations of the Mayor's Office , with responsibility for promoting international relations and foreign investments and registering business ventures. Within a year, Putin was investigated by the city legislative council led by Marina Salye . It was concluded that he had understated prices and permitted

1900-513: A private advertising agency, Video International, which controlled 65–70% of the television advertising market, with the state owned media companies, and thus brought tremendous wealth to Video International. During Putin's first term as Russian president with Lesin as Minister of the Press, Vladimir Gusinsky 's private media holdings, "Media Most" , came under intense scrutiny resulting in numerous charges filed against Gusinsky. In an agreement for

2000-730: A year-long investigation Washington's chief medical examiner and federal authorities released a joint statement saying Lesin died of blunt-force trauma to his head, induced by falls amid acute ethanol intoxication. A leaked report by Christopher Steele for the FBI said Lesin was bludgeoned to death by men working for an oligarch close to Putin. Lesin was born in Moscow to a Jewish family involved in military construction. He spent his childhood years in Mongolia while his father, Yuri, worked on military construction projects. From 1976 to 1978, Lesin served in

2100-466: Is not based on promises." Putin was barred from a third consecutive term by the Constitution . First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was elected his successor. In a power-switching operation on 8 May 2008 , only a day after handing the presidency to Medvedev, Putin was appointed Prime Minister of Russia , maintaining his political dominance. Putin has said that overcoming the consequences of

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2200-599: Is often called Russia ) ( Russian : РТР ) and obtained a studio in Spain to upgrade its video equipment and editing techniques after the horrible presentation in Russia of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona . In the early 1990s, Lesin established Video International , which became a multibillion-dollar advertising agency with exclusive advertising rights on NTV and in 2015 was still one of Russia's largest agencies. In 1994, he left Video International. From 1993 to 1996, he

2300-585: Is the longest-serving Russian or Soviet leader since the 30-year tenure of Joseph Stalin . Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel . He resigned in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. In 1996, he moved to Moscow to join the administration of President Boris Yeltsin . He briefly served as the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and then as secretary of

2400-812: Is this." In a speech in February 2007 at the Munich Security Conference , Putin complained about the feeling of insecurity engendered by the dominant position in geopolitics of the United States and observed that a former NATO official had made rhetorical promises not to expand into new countries in Eastern Europe. On 14 July 2007, Putin announced that Russia would suspend implementation of its Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe obligations, effective after 150 days, and suspend its ratification of

2500-597: The Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty , which treaty was shunned by NATO members abeyant Russian withdrawal from Transnistria and the Republic of Georgia . Moscow continued to participate in the joint consultative group, because it hoped that dialogue could lead to the creation of an effective, new conventional arms control regime in Europe. Russia did specify steps that NATO could take to end

2600-511: The Federal Security Service (FSB), the primary intelligence and security organization of the Russian Federation and the successor to the KGB. In 1999, Putin described communism as "a blind alley, far away from the mainstream of civilization". On 9 August 1999, Putin was appointed one of three first deputy prime ministers, and later on that day, was appointed acting prime minister of the Government of

2700-469: The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes related to his alleged criminal responsibility for illegal child abductions during the war . In April 2021, after a referendum , he signed into law constitutional amendments that included one allowing him to run for reelection twice more, potentially extending his presidency to 2036. In March 2024, he

2800-579: The Kremlin's efforts to censor Russia's independent television outlets, according to accusations by US Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) in 2014. Wicker called on the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Lesin and his immediate family over allegations of corruption and money laundering. In a 29 July 2014 letter to then-Attorney General Eric Holder , Wicker wrote Lesin and his immediate family had "acquired multi-million dollar assets" in Europe and

2900-433: The Mayor of Leningrad . Putin claims that he resigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 20 August 1991, on the second day of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt against Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev . Putin said: "As soon as the coup began, I immediately decided which side I was on", although he noted that the choice was hard because he had spent the best part of his life with "the organs". In May 1990, Putin

3000-663: The Permanent Arbitration Court in The Hague . On 7 October 2006, Anna Politkovskaya , a journalist who exposed corruption in the Russian army and its conduct in Chechnya , was shot in the lobby of her apartment building, on Putin's birthday. The death of Politkovskaya triggered international criticism, with accusations that Putin had failed to protect the country's new independent media. Putin himself said that her death caused

3100-623: The Presidential Staff , a post which he retained until May 1998, and chief of the Main Control Directorate of the Presidential Property Management Department (until June 1998). His predecessor in this position was Alexei Kudrin and his successor was Nikolai Patrushev , both future prominent politicians and Putin's associates. On 3 April 1997, Putin was promoted to 1st class Active State Councillor of

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3200-461: The RT (Russia Today) television news network, he said, "to establish a news channel that would counter CNN and BBC with a Moscow spin. It's been a long time since I was scared by the word propaganda. We need to promote Russia internationally. Otherwise, we'd just look like roaring bears on the prowl." From 2010 to 2011, Lesin was on the board of directors for National Telecommunications (NTC), which at

3300-533: The Security Council of Russia before being appointed prime minister in August 1999. Following Yeltsin's resignation, Putin became acting president and, in less than four months, was elected to his first term as president. He was reelected in 2004 . Due to constitutional limitations of two consecutive presidential terms, Putin served as prime minister again from 2008 to 2012 under Dmitry Medvedev . He returned to

3400-704: The Siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany 's forces in World War II . Putin's mother was a factory worker, and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy , serving in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s. During the early stage of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union , his father served in the destruction battalion of the NKVD . Later, he was transferred to the regular army and

3500-751: The Soviet Army and Soviet Naval Infantry (Marines Corps) of the USSR Armed Forces . In 1984, he graduated from the Moscow Engineering and Construction Institute in Yaroslavsky as a civil engineer. From 1982 to 1987, he worked in engineering at Minpromstroy (Industrial construction ministry) in Moscow and in Ulan Bator . From 1988 to 1989, he was deputy director for Production of television programs of

3600-527: The Syrian civil war , ultimately securing permanent naval bases in the Eastern Mediterranean . In February 2022, during his fourth presidential term, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine , which prompted international condemnation and led to expanded sanctions . In September 2022, he announced a partial mobilization and forcibly annexed four Ukrainian oblasts into Russia . In March 2023,

3700-486: The 15th anniversary party of Gazprom , its employees threatened Ukraine with a stoppage of flow. On 4 April 2008 at the NATO Bucharest summit , invitee Putin told George W. Bush and other conference delegates: "We view the appearance of a powerful military bloc on our border as a direct threat to the security of our nation. The claim that this process is not directed against Russia will not suffice. National security

3800-600: The 2002 Telegrand ( Russian : Телегранд ), the Expert Council of the National Research Center of Television and Radio named Lesin as "the most influential person of Russian television and radio". Under Putin from 6 April 2004 until 18 November 2009, he became adviser to the President of the Russian Federation for mass media relations . During his tenure and beginning in 2005, Lesin helped conceive and create

3900-575: The Creative Production Association "Game Appliances". From 1990 to 1993, he was Director of Youth creative production of the TV company RTV . In the late 1980s, he directed the television show Funny Guys (Весёлые ребята) . In the late 1980s, the New York firm National Video Industry attempted to establish its Moscow subsidiary Video Industry but could not obtain a proper registration although

4000-472: The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, that Lesin's cause of death was "blunt force injuries to the head", and that Lesin's body showed signs of "blunt force injuries of the neck, torso, upper extremities and lower extremities". During a 10 March press conference, LaShon Beamon, spokesperson for the department of forensic sciences in the medical examiner's office, and Hugh Carew, a spokesman for

4100-597: The East German communist regime commended Putin with a bronze medal for "faithful service to the National People's Army ". Putin has publicly conveyed delight over his activities in Dresden, once recounting his confrontations with anti-communist protestors of 1989 who attempted the occupation of Stasi buildings in the city. "Putin and his colleagues were reduced mainly to collecting press clippings , thus contributing to

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4200-525: The Fatherland" , one of Russia's highest state decorations for civilians. Lesin was nicknamed the Bulldozer ( Russian : Бульдозер ) because of his ability to get virtually all Russian media outlets under the Kremlin 's control, and for being combative in person. Lesin died in a Washington, D.C. , hotel room under unusual circumstances. His family initially said the cause of death was a heart attack, but after

4300-780: The Gazprom Nord Stream - Yuzhno-Russkoye deal in 2004 with a 49–51 structure, as opposed to the older 50–50 split of British Petroleum 's TNK-BP project. In 1975, Putin joined the KGB and trained at the 401st KGB School in Okhta, Leningrad . After training, he worked in the Second Chief Directorate ( counterintelligence ), before he was transferred to the First Chief Directorate , where he monitored foreigners and consular officials in Leningrad. In September 1984, Putin

4400-584: The German Democratic Republic or of the USSR. He explained that many documents were left to Germany only because the furnace burst but many documents of the KGB villa were sent to Moscow. After the collapse of the Communist East German government , Putin was to resign from active KGB service because of suspicions aroused regarding his loyalty during demonstrations in Dresden and earlier, although

4500-556: The KGB and the Soviet Army still operated in eastern Germany. He returned to Leningrad in early 1990 as a member of the "active reserves", where he worked for about three months with the International Affairs section of Leningrad State University , reporting to Vice-Rector Yuriy Molchanov , while working on his doctoral dissertation. There, he looked for new KGB recruits, watched the student body, and renewed his friendship with his former professor, Anatoly Sobchak , soon to be

4600-523: The KGB villa in Dresden for the official authorities of the would-be united Germany to prevent demonstrators, including KGB and Stasi agents, from obtaining and destroying them. He then supposedly burnt only the KGB files, in a few hours, but saved the archives of the Soviet Cultural Center for the German authorities. Nothing is told about the selection criteria during this burning; for example, concerning Stasi files or about files of other agencies of

4700-400: The Kremlin were behind it." The weapon was said to be a baseball bat . In 2018, BuzzFeed published details of a leaked report written for the FBI by Christopher Steele . The secret report, unconfirmed by the FBI, alleges that Lesin was bludgeoned to death by men working for an oligarch close to Putin. The report says the men were ordered to scare but not kill Lesin, but went too far. It says

4800-456: The Kremlin. Khodorkovsky was arrested, Yukos was bankrupted, and the company's assets were auctioned at below-market value, with the largest share acquired by the state company Rosneft . The fate of Yukos was seen as a sign of a broader shift of Russia towards a system of state capitalism . This was underscored in July 2014, when shareholders of Yukos were awarded $ 50 billion in compensation by

4900-441: The RAF in West Germany. Klaus Zuchold, who claimed to be recruited by Putin, said that Putin handled a neo-Nazi , Rainer Sonntag, and attempted to recruit an author of a study on poisons. Putin reportedly met Germans to be recruited for wireless communications affairs together with an interpreter. He was involved in wireless communications technologies in South-East Asia due to trips of German engineers, recruited by him, there and to

5000-492: The Russian Federation by President Yeltsin . Yeltsin also announced that he wanted to see Putin as his successor. Later on that same day, Putin agreed to run for the presidency. On 16 August, the State Duma approved his appointment as prime minister with 233 votes in favor (vs. 84 against, 17 abstained), while a simple majority of 226 was required, making him Russia's fifth prime minister in fewer than eighteen months. On his appointment, few expected Putin, virtually unknown to

5100-409: The Russian Federation —the highest federal state civilian service rank . On 27 June 1997, at the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute , guided by rector Vladimir Litvinenko , Putin defended his Candidate of Science dissertation in economics, titled Strategic Planning of the Reproduction of the Mineral Resource Base of a Region under Conditions of the Formation of Market Relations . This exemplified

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5200-472: The Saint Petersburg branch of the pro-government Our Home – Russia political party, the liberal party of power founded by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin . In 1995, he managed the legislative election campaign for that party, and from 1995 through June 1997, he was the leader of its Saint Petersburg branch. In June 1996, Sobchak lost his bid for re-election in Saint Petersburg, and Putin, who had led his election campaign, resigned from his positions in

5300-465: The US, for the first time since the downfall of the USSR. In December 2007, United Russia —the governing party that supports the policies of Putin—won 64.24% of the popular vote in their run for State Duma according to election preliminary results. United Russia's victory in the December 2007 elections was seen by many as an indication of strong popular support of the then Russian leadership and its policies. On 11 February 2008, while Putin addressed

5400-485: The United States "during his tenure as a civil servant", including multiple residences in Los Angeles worth $ 28 million. "Navalny Letter 2014-07-31" /> On 3 December 2014, Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik replied to Senator Wicker's letter by stating the Justice Department's Criminal Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been referred for appropriate disposition of Lesin and "similarly situated Russian individuals and companies with assets in

5500-455: The United States that may be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Statutes". The properties are: It's unclear if the FBI ever initiated a probe. Lesin was found dead before noon on Thursday, 5 November 2015, in The Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, D.C. He was found without any identification in a hotel room that was in his name. The original police report indicated an unknown victim in

5600-430: The West. However, a 2023 investigation by Der Spiegel reported that the anonymous source had never been an RAF member and is "considered a notorious fabulist" with "several previous convictions, including for making false statements". According to Putin's official biography, during the fall of the Berlin Wall that began on 9 November 1989, he saved the files of the Soviet Cultural Center (House of Friendship) and of

5700-492: The age of 12, he began to practice sambo and judo. In his free time, he enjoyed reading the works of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Lenin. Putin attended Saint Petersburg High School 281 with a German language immersion program. He is fluent in German and often gives speeches and interviews in that language. Putin studied law at the Leningrad State University named after Andrei Zhdanov (now Saint Petersburg State University ) in 1970 and graduated in 1975. His thesis

5800-401: The charges to be dropped, Gusinsky's immense private media holdings, "Media Most", were to be transferred to Gazprom-Media , which, at the time, had recently acquired NTV , the only nationwide state-independent television in Russia and a highly critical opponent of the War in Chechnya , the Kremlin's handling of the Kursk incident , Vladimir Putin, and the Unity bloc. Gusinsky subsequently

5900-443: The city administration. He moved to Moscow and was appointed as deputy chief of the Presidential Property Management Department headed by Pavel Borodin . He occupied this position until March 1997. He was responsible for the foreign property of the state and organized the transfer of the former assets of the Soviet Union and the CPSU to the Russian Federation. On 26 March 1997, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin deputy chief of

6000-478: The commission for the preparation of agreements on the delimitation of the power of the regions and head of the federal center attached to the president, replacing Sergey Shakhray . After Putin's appointment, the commission completed no such agreements, although during Shakhray's term as the head of the Commission 46 such agreements had been signed. Later, after becoming president, Putin cancelled all 46 agreements. On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Putin director of

6100-408: The custom in Russia whereby a young rising official would write a scholarly work in mid-career. Putin's thesis was plagiarized . Fellows at the Brookings Institution found that 15 pages were copied from an American textbook. On 25 May 1998, Putin was appointed First Deputy Chief of the Presidential Staff for the regions, in succession to Viktoriya Mitina . On 15 July, he was appointed head of

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6200-518: The establishment of the Parliamentary elections and a Regional Government. Throughout the Second Chechen War , Russia severely disabled the Chechen rebel movement; however, sporadic attacks by rebels continued to occur throughout the northern Caucasus. On 14 March 2004, Putin was elected to the presidency for a second term, receiving 71% of the vote. The Beslan school hostage crisis took place on 1–3 September 2004; more than 330 people died, including 186 children. The near 10-year period prior to

6300-462: The export of metals valued at $ 93 million in exchange for foreign food aid that never arrived. Despite the investigators' recommendation that Putin be fired, Putin remained head of the Committee for External Relations until 1996. From 1994 to 1996, he held several other political and governmental positions in Saint Petersburg. In March 1994, Putin was appointed as first deputy chairman of the Government of Saint Petersburg . In May 1995, he organized

6400-509: The firm had printed stationery and stored them in Moscow warehouses. In 1988, as head of the Alexander Zavenovich Akopov ( Russian : Александр Завенович Акопов ) founded 1988 cooperative "Igrotekhnika" ( Russian : "Игротехника" ) which produced television shows, Lesin became aware of the items, obtained them, and with support from Yuri Zapol ( Russian : Юрий Михайлович Заполь ), Akopov, and others he established Video International through Ingrotekhnika and RTR (Russia Television and Radio which

6500-429: The four alliance members outside the original treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia, join it." In early 2007, " Dissenters' Marches " were organized by the opposition group The Other Russia , led by former chess champion Garry Kasparov and national-Bolshevist leader Eduard Limonov . Following prior warnings, demonstrations in several Russian cities were met by police action, which included interfering with

6600-423: The general public, to last any longer than his predecessors. He was initially regarded as a Yeltsin loyalist; like other prime ministers of Boris Yeltsin , Putin did not choose ministers himself, his cabinet was determined by the presidential administration. Yeltsin's main opponents and would-be successors were already campaigning to replace the ailing president, and they fought hard to prevent Putin's emergence as

6700-431: The global media fund, Media Content Capital (MCC), and formed Covert Media in 2014, adding Paul Hanson as CEO in 2015, to make three to four $ 10 million to $ 50 million films a year. He is often credited as "Anton Lessine". Anton and Swiss wife, Carole, have two children. "Westside Today Nanny 2014-10-20" /> In 2015, Mikhail had a daughter with Victoria Rakhimbayeva ( Russian : Виктория Рахимбаева; born 1986 ),

6800-416: The government more problems than her writings. In January 2007, Putin met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his Black Sea residence in Sochi , two weeks after Russia switched off oil supplies to Germany. Putin brought his black Labrador Konni in front of Merkel, who has a noted phobia of dogs and looked visibly uncomfortable in its presence, adding, "I'm sure it will behave itself", causing

6900-446: The hit men were Russian state security agents moonlighting for the oligarch and that the death occurred just prior to a scheduled meeting between Lesin and U.S. Justice Department officials to discuss the inner workings of RT. According to BuzzFeed, three other people told a similar story to the FBI, independent of the Steele report. Lesin's autopsy report was released in 2019 after a protracted 2-year legal battle by RFE/RL which filed

7000-399: The mountains of useless information produced by the KGB", Russian-American Masha Gessen wrote in their 2012 biography of Putin. His work was also downplayed by former Stasi spy chief Markus Wolf and Putin's former KGB colleague Vladimir Usoltsev. Journalist Catherine Belton wrote in 2020 that this downplaying was actually cover for Putin's involvement in KGB coordination and support for

7100-498: The newly formed Unity Party , which won the second largest percentage of the popular vote (23.3%) in the December 1999 Duma elections , and in turn supported Putin. On 31 December 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, according to the Constitution of Russia , Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation . On assuming this role, Putin went on a previously scheduled visit to Russian troops in Chechnya. The first presidential decree that Putin signed on 31 December 1999

7200-539: The period preceding Putin's rule. In 2005, the National Priority Projects were launched to improve Russia's health care , education , housing , and agriculture . The continued criminal prosecution of the wealthiest man in Russia at the time, president of Yukos oil and gas company Mikhail Khodorkovsky , for fraud and tax evasion was seen by the international press as a retaliation for Khodorkovsky's donations to both liberal and communist opponents of

7300-492: The police, released an official joint statement that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head but the manner of death was still classified as "undetermined". On 28 October 2016, after a year-long investigation, Washington's chief medical examiner and federal authorities released a joint statement saying Lesin died of blunt-force trauma to his head, sustained in his hotel room induced by falls amid acute ethanol intoxication. The investigation found Lesin had been on

7400-435: The presidency in 2012, following an election marked by allegations of fraud and protests , and was reelected in 2018 . During Putin's initial presidential tenure, the Russian economy grew on average by seven percent per year, driven by economic reforms and a fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas. Additionally, Putin led Russia in a conflict against Chechen separatists , reestablishing federal control over

7500-548: The president's weekly radio address to the country. From September 1996 until February 1997, he was head of Public Relations for the President of Russia under Yeltsin. From 1997 to 1999, he was first deputy chairman of the VGTRK (ВГТРК) , which essentially brought state run television under one roof and follows the designs of Vladislav Surkov . It was counter to the Western approach, which would have ended state owned media by promoting

7600-505: The region. While serving as prime minister under Medvedev, he oversaw a military conflict with Georgia and enacted military and police reforms . In his third presidential term, Russia annexed Crimea and supported a war in eastern Ukraine through several military incursions, resulting in international sanctions and a financial crisis in Russia . He also ordered a military intervention in Syria to support his ally Bashar al-Assad during

7700-473: The rise of Putin after the dissolution of Soviet rule was a time of upheaval in Russia. In a 2005 Kremlin speech, Putin characterized the collapse of the Soviet Union as the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century". Putin elaborated, "Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself." The country's cradle-to-grave social safety net was gone and life expectancy declined in

7800-617: The room which was booked in his name. On 7 November, a member of the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed the identity of the individual as Mikhail Yuriyevich Lesin. A law enforcement official said there were no obvious signs of forced entry or foul play in his hotel room and that on the video surveillance, Lesin appeared disheveled when he returned to his hotel room. The Russian news agency TASS reported that an early investigation did not find any signs of violent death, quoting

7900-432: The sides and back of the neck, also similar to what is seen during strangulation. Lesin was from a Jewish family. He was married to Valentina Ivanova and had a daughter, Catherine, from his first marriage in 1979; and a son, Anton, from his second marriage in 1983. Lesin had five grandchildren at the time of his death. Catherine, aka Yekaterina/Ekaterina Lesina , led the RT bureau in the United States . Anton attended

8000-460: The siege had ended, the Russian president enjoyed record public approval ratings—83% of Russians declared themselves satisfied with Putin and his handling of the siege. In 2003, a referendum was held in Chechnya , adopting a new constitution which declares that the Republic of Chechnya is a part of Russia; on the other hand, the region did acquire autonomy. Chechnya has been gradually stabilized with

8100-580: The stake in Yuri Shamalov 's associated Gazfond is managed by Anatoly Gavrilenko 's Leader (management company)  [ ru ] ( Russian : ЗАО «Лидер» ) a management company which is part of the SOGAZ insurance group controlled by the Vladimir Putin associated Rossiya Bank . Yuri Kovalchuk is its largest shareholder. In March 2014, Rossiya Bank sold its indirect control of Lider to Gasfond which owns

8200-476: The suspension. "These include [NATO] members cutting their arms allotments and further restricting temporary weapons deployments on each NATO member's territory. Russia also want[ed] constraints eliminated on how many forces it can deploy in its southern and northern flanks. Moreover, it is pressing NATO members to ratify a 1999 updated version of the accord, known as the Adapted CFE Treaty , and demanding that

8300-507: The terrorist Red Army Faction , whose members frequently hid in East Germany with the support of the Stasi. Dresden was preferred as a "marginal" town with only a small presence of Western intelligence services. According to an anonymous source who claimed to be a former RAF member, at one of these meetings in Dresden the militants presented Putin with a list of weapons that were later delivered to

8400-575: The time belonged to the National Media Group . In 2011, he moved to Beverly Hills, California , and enjoyed ocean fishing, being with his family, and helping his son Anton in the Hollywood movie business. Lesin's old friend Alexander Shapiro, a former vice president of Warner Bros. , is a co-producer with Anton in several films. "HollywoodReporter 2015-11-15" /> In 2013, he returned to Russia and, from 1 October 2013 until 12 January 2015,

8500-469: The travel of the protesters and the arrests of as many as 150 people who attempted to break through police lines. On 12 September 2007, Putin dissolved the government upon the request of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov . Fradkov commented that it was to give the President a "free hand" in the run-up to the parliamentary election. Viktor Zubkov was appointed the new prime minister. On 19 September 2007, Putin's nuclear-capable bombers commenced exercises near

8600-428: The youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria Ivanovna Putina ( née  Shelomova ; 1911–1998). His grandfather, Spiridon Putin (1879–1965), was a personal cook to Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin . Putin's birth was preceded by the deaths of two brothers: Albert, born in the 1930s, died in infancy, and Viktor, born in 1940, died of diphtheria and starvation in 1942 during

8700-401: Was reelected to another term. Under Putin's rule , the Russian political system has been transformed into an authoritarian dictatorship with a personality cult . His rule has been marked by endemic corruption and widespread human rights violations , including the imprisonment and suppression of political opponents , intimidation and censorship of independent media in Russia , and

8800-505: Was Head of Commercial Department, Deputy General Director and General Director of RIA Novosti . At this position in Novosti, he was pivotal in the Russian parliamentary elections of 1995 and especially the re-election campaign of Yeltsin in the 1996 Russian presidential elections . He began the slogan "Voice of the Heart", authored "I believe, I do, I hope" and "Save and Protect", and provided

8900-427: Was appointed as an advisor on international affairs to the mayor of Leningrad Anatoly Sobchak . In a 2017 interview with Oliver Stone , Putin said that he resigned from the KGB in 1991, following the coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, as he did not agree with what had happened and did not want to be part of the intelligence in the new administration. According to Putin's statements in 2018 and 2021, he may have worked as

9000-577: Was brought back by Marina Salye , but she was silenced and forced to leave Saint Petersburg. While his opponents had been preparing for an election in June 2000, Yeltsin's resignation resulted in the presidential elections being held on 26 March 2000; Putin won in the first round with 53% of the vote. The inauguration of President Putin occurred on 7 May 2000. He appointed the minister of finance , Mikhail Kasyanov , as prime minister. The first major challenge to Putin's popularity came in August 2000, when he

9100-407: Was brought under arrest as a fugitive from Russia and while incarcerated refused to agree to the terms for the transfer. However, in 2001 with Lesin acting as mediator, "Media Most" assets were transferred to Gazprom-Media under the terms of Protocol No. 6, which allowed oligarchs to escape prosecution and be given the freedom to leave the country if they turned over their assets to the state. In

9200-544: Was chairman of the board. In 2005, Gazprom-Media purchased Izvestia , a leading nationwide newspaper. In May 2008, Sergei Fursenko 's National Media Group  [ ru ] gained a 50.1% stake in Izvestia . For 37.22 billion rubles in August 2005, Gazprom-Media Holdings was sold to Gazprombank . In 2012 OJSC Gazprom owned a 41.73% stake in Gazprombank and NPF Gazfond owned a 46.92% stake in Gazprom. As of 2012, most of

9300-445: Was criticized for the alleged mishandling of the Kursk submarine disaster . That criticism was largely because it took several days for Putin to return from vacation, and several more before he visited the scene. Between 2000 and 2004, Putin set about the reconstruction of the impoverished condition of the country, apparently winning a power-struggle with the Russian oligarchs , reaching

9400-710: Was head of Gazprom-Media , a state-controlled media giant that describes itself as one of the largest media groups in Russia and Europe. In April 2014, he became chairman of the Russian Association of Film and Television Producers . He resigned from Gazprom-Media in December 2014, citing family reasons. After retiring, he spent several months in Switzerland for treatments to a spinal injury that he received while skiing and then returned to his home in California. Lesin led

9500-584: Was influential in Putin's career in Moscow. In 1997, Putin received a degree in economics ( kandidat ekonomicheskikh nauk ) at the Saint Petersburg Mining University for a thesis on energy dependencies and their instrumentalisation in foreign policy. His supervisor was Vladimir Litvinenko , who in 2000 and again in 2004 managed his presidential election campaigns in St Petersburg. Igor Danchenko and Clifford Gaddy consider Putin to be

9600-606: Was on "The Most Favored Nation Trading Principle in International Law". While there, he was required to join the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU); he remained a member until it ceased to exist in 1991. Putin met Anatoly Sobchak , an assistant professor who taught business law , and who later became the co-author of the Russian constitution . Putin was influential in Sobchak's career in Saint Petersburg, and Sobchak

9700-574: Was sent to Moscow for further training at the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute . From 1985 to 1990, he served in Dresden , East Germany , using a cover identity as a translator. While posted in Dresden, Putin worked as one of the KGB's liaison officers to the Stasi secret police and was reportedly promoted to lieutenant colonel . According to the official Kremlin presidential site,

9800-531: Was severely wounded in 1942. Putin's maternal grandmother was killed by the German occupiers of Tver region in 1941, and his maternal uncles disappeared on the Eastern Front during World War II. On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No. 193 at Baskov Lane, near his home. He was one of a few in his class of about 45 pupils who were not yet members of the Young Pioneer ( Komsomol ) organization. At

9900-650: Was taken to Media-Most. In 2000, Bobkov created the Institute for Strategic Assessments and Analysis (ISOA) ( Russian : Институт стратегических оценок и анализа (ИСОА) ), a joint stock company (JSC). It operated as a think tank successor to Media Most's security department with the former head of KGB in Azerbaijan Vaqif Hüseynov  [ ru ] ( Russian : Вагиф Алиовсат оглы Гусейнов , b. born November 27, 1942, Quba , Azerbaijan ). The director of ISOA from 2001 to 2002 Vladimir Zhizhin  [ ru ]

10000-475: Was titled "On guarantees for the former president of the Russian Federation and the members of his family". This ensured that "corruption charges against the outgoing President and his relatives" would not be pursued. This was most notably targeted at the Mabetex bribery case in which Yeltsin's family members were involved. On 30 August 2000, a criminal investigation (number 18/238278-95) in which Putin himself, as

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