Russian President Boris Yeltsin made an unexpected announcement on December 31, 1999, saying, 'When the country has a strong leader who can be the president whom almost all citizens see in the future, why should I stay in power for six more months?'

Yeltsin acknowledged the pain caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union and said, 'Why should I stand in their way ?' The person Yeltsin was referring to at the time was none other than Vladimir Putin . Putin was the Prime Minister of Russia at the time.

Yeltsin appointed Putin as Prime Minister on August 9, 1999. Putin, who became the prime minister only about five months ago, was not very well known politically.

But with Yeltsin's resignation, according to the Russian constitution, Putin became acting president . Since then he has been in power continuously. Sunday marked 25 years since Putin led the Russian government. He was the president for more than two decades. He was the Prime Minister for four years from 2008. But the reins of power were in his own hands.

During two and a half decades, Putin has always been in the center of discussion. Wherever they went, whatever they did made news headlines in the media all over the world .

Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in an ordinary family in Saint Petersburg of the then Soviet Union (Russia). He attended military training, as was mandatory for young men at the time, and in 1975 began working for the KGB (National Security Committee), the Russian intelligence service.

Putin retired as a lieutenant colonel of the KGB in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, after more than a decade and a half of intelligence service. Shortly thereafter, he became an adviser to the first elected mayor of St. Petersburg, and in 1994 became the city's deputy mayor.

Putin, who became famous for playing an important role in ending corruption and disorder in St. Petersburg, was able to work in the Russian presidential office in the Kremlin.

^{Vladimir Putin with Boris Yeltsin in 1999. Photo: AP}

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin became president of Russia after Mikhail Gorbachev resigned.  Putin became director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1998. The following year Yeltsin made Putin prime minister .

The beginning of Putin's presidential tenure was due to the conflict with Chechnya. He emerged as the unopposed leader of Russia after defeating the Chechen rebels with organized military operations. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became acting president and was elected president for the first time in the elections held on March 26, 2000.

After becoming president for two consecutive terms from May 7, 2000, he was forced to step down due to legal provisions. But strategically he managed to keep the power by electing his confidant Dmitry Medvedev as president.

Then Putin, who became the prime minister, ran Medvedev as a 'rubber stamp' president for four years. During Medvedev's tenure, the term of the Russian president was increased from 4 years to 6 years. Then he was elected for the third term in 2012, fourth in 2018 and fourth term in 2024.

Putin, who was elected to a final six-year term in 2018, opened the way for two more terms in 2021 through a new law. By law, Putin can be president until 2036.

In the first term of the presidency, Putin has access to power and money since he opposed the oligarchy by maintaining control over the media, fuel traders. Recently, Putin seems to be able to cover all his activities with government decisions and legal procedures. 

It is normal for Putin to level his opponents and critics. Alexei Navalny, a staunch critic of Putin and opposition leader, was attacked by a suspected poison in August 2020. Navalny, who returned to Russia after treatment in Germany, was arrested and charged with financial embezzlement. Navalny, who was serving a prison sentence after being convicted in the case, died mysteriously in February 2024.  

Putting the economy in charge of liberal thinking technocracy and politics is like blindly trusting the former KGB officer, Putin says. In addition, he seems to be successful in assuring the people that the claim of the supporters that "there is no Russia without Putin" is correct. If necessary, he consolidates his power through repression and military force.

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un with  Vladimir Putin . Photo: AP 

At 73, Putin is still fit and healthy. Sometimes Putin is seen bathing or fishing in a cold lake in Siberia. Likewise, it is common to see Putin hunting in the woods, riding horses, playing ice hockey or judo. He also has the ability to fly a fighter plane and drive a submarine. An infallible shooter, Putin is also fond of dogs and watches. At 5 feet 7 inches tall, Putin also seems very fashion conscious.

In public events, Putin praises the 18th century Russian emperor 'Peter the Great'. A ruthless and arbitrary ruler, Peter the Great was an admirer of Western thought, science and culture. Led by Russia fought a war from the Baltic  Controlled the territory up to the Black Sea. Putin has compared the Ukraine war to the war fought by Peter three centuries ago to expand the country's territory. 

Putin is probably the single most powerful dictator in the world. The West sees Russia as part of the Soviet Union, and Putin as the most powerful ruler since Stalin. Putin, who is well aware of the problems the country faces when the leadership is weak, does not know how to compromise with anyone for power. This behavior of Putin has been termed as ``Attari ruler'' by Western countries including America. Putin got this title only because he was able to take Russia out of chaos and re-establish it as a world power in the 1990s.

After suppressing the Chechen rebellion, Putin annexed Crimea to Russia in 2014. Not only attacked Lebanon, but also intervened militarily in Syria. However, the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the Russian-backed leader in Syria, has recently collapsed. Assad, who fled after the rebels took over the country, is currently in the Russian capital, Moscow.

News that Putin colluded in the 2016 US presidential election to win Donald Trump. The American intelligence agency even concluded that the election was colluded. Trump has been elected president for the second term from the election held last November. It is certain that world politics will be guided by the relationship between Trump and Putin, who will take office from this January.

Meanwhile, Putin has won over everyone and has the upper hand in Russian . But because of the steps taken by him three years ago, he himself is in trouble . That is - the attack on Ukraine . Putin's decision to launch a full-scale attack on Ukraine has been somewhat counterproductive. This has had devastating consequences and Russia has also suffered a huge loss of arms, military power and economic losses.