My profile:
10 Years of Putin
1 of 12 
Igor Tabakov / MT
After Boris Yeltsin named him as his prime minister in August 1999, Putin (pictured above on August 16, 1999, after the State Duma confirmed premiership) had to endear himself to voters, who had no idea who he was or what he stood for, to gain their votes in the May 2000 elections. In February 2000, he stated that he would not make his campaign platform public because he believed that "as soon as you make it public, they will start gnawing at it and tearing it to pieces." The only thing resembling an explanation of his beliefs was in an open letter to the voters saying, "our first and most important problem is the weakening of will. … Vacillation, dithering, the habit of putting off the hardest tasks for later."
1 of 12
Recent photo galleries Archive
Recent videos Archive
Most popular videos
Most Read
1.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
2.
Red Square Flyboy Regrets Air Stunt
When Mathias Rust landed his white Cessna on Red Square on May 28, 1987, he had placed all his hopes for world peace in Mikhail Gorbachev.
3.
Protest and Chaos Seen in Kudrin-Ordered Study
Continued protests in Russia will likely lead to violence or chaotic change, according to a new study ordered by the former finance minister.
4.
Tensions Rise as Opposition Leaders are Freed
Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Navalny emerged from prison Thursday, while a dramatic standoff erupted at a State Duma hearing over a bill that would hike fines for illegal demonstrations.
5.
More Public Figures Accused of Flouting Road Rules
Following the president's order to cut the number of officials entitled to use flashing lights to skirt through traffic, several incidents of alleged abuse involving high-profile figures have come to light.
6.
Japanese Diplomat to Visit After Motorcycle Tourist Murdered in Siberia
A Japanese diplomat will travel to Chita on Thursday from the Khabarovsk consulate in response to the murder of a Japanese tourist who was traveling across Russia on a motorcycle.
7.
Polar Bear Bites Off Fingers of Khabarovsk Zoo Visitor
A polar bear bit off two fingers of a woman attempting to feed it at a zoo in a suburb of the Far East city of Khabarovsk.
8.
Medvedev Chats With U.S. Cowboys
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev paid a visit Wednesday to a Bryansk region farm that has imported cattle from the U.S. and also some American cowboys to help the Russians develop their struggling meat industry.
9.
Initiative Brings Khamatova Joy and Frustration
The Soviet maxim "initiative is punishable" is only half true for actress Chulpan Khamatova.
10.
Russia's New Propaganda Minister
After Monday's announcement that historian Vladimir Medinsky was appointed the culture minister, critics quickly labeled him the new propaganda minister. Medinsky's academic ethics and historical distortions may raise serious questions, but for the Kremlin, he has three important attributes that are much more important: He is a model United Russia leader, a firm Putin loyalist and a skilled sophist.
1.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
2.
Furniture Magnate Shot Dead in Mercedes in Moscow Region
A 46-year-old furniture magnate was killed with six gunshot wounds to the head and chest early Sunday as he arrived in his Mercedes at his home in the Moscow region.
3.
New Cabinet Has Familiar Cast of Characters
President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced the makeup of the new Cabinet answering to Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, with three-fourths of the members having been replaced.
4.
Will Smith Slaps Man for Trying to Kiss Him
Love can take over, overwhelm the senses and cause a person to act unceremoniously.
5.
Village Grannies Make It to Eurovision Finals
Russia's group Buranovskiye Babushki has made it into the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing the elderly folk singers from a far-off Russian village to the attention of more than 100 million viewers around the world.
6.
Medvedev Meets With Obama at G8 Summit
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev insisted that the “reset” was still on during a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a weekend G8 summit at Camp David.
7.
Red Square Flyboy Regrets Air Stunt
When Mathias Rust landed his white Cessna on Red Square on May 28, 1987, he had placed all his hopes for world peace in Mikhail Gorbachev.
8.
Cabinet Appointments Complicated by Unwillingness
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is not having an easy time forming a Cabinet, as many of those he invited did not want to work in the government.
9.
Protest and Chaos Seen in Kudrin-Ordered Study
Continued protests in Russia will likely lead to violence or chaotic change, according to a new study ordered by the former finance minister.
10.
Chelsea Is the Luckiest Team in Football
Lots of money, lots of luck and players who didn't care about winning ugly, just so long as they won, turned Chelsea into the champions of Europe Saturday night.
1.
Hundreds of Arrests Set Grim Backdrop for Victory Day Celebrations
As Moscow gears up to celebrate its victory in World War II, 67 years ago Wednesday, the shadow of political conflict shrouds the capital as hundreds of arrests cloud Victory Day festivities.
2.
Russian Satellite Takes Highest-Ever Resolution Picture of Earth
A stunning 121-megapixel snapshot of the Earth was taken by a Russian weather satellite in what is thought to be the highest resolution picture of the planet ever taken from space.
3.
Bodies, No Survivors Spotted at Superjet Crash
Search and rescue helicopters and volunteers struggling through thick forest and mountainous terrain spotted bodies but no survivors on the Indonesian mountainside where a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed by the time darkness forced an end to the search Thursday night.
4.
Mysterious Photos Reveal an Unseen WWII
After the end of World War II, Paul Sadler returned home to Chicago with three German books and a photo album from the Dachau concentration camp.
5.
Green Fog Blanketing Moscow Recedes
Moscow’s sky was back to normal Friday after a mysterious green cloud that descended on part of the city and prompted emergency calls from residents fearing a chemical spill had dissipated.
6.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
7.
Furniture Magnate Shot Dead in Mercedes in Moscow Region
A 46-year-old furniture magnate was killed with six gunshot wounds to the head and chest early Sunday as he arrived in his Mercedes at his home in the Moscow region.
8.
Vladivostok Bridge Climbers Fined 300 Rubles Each
Three thrill-seekers who climbed two Vladivostok bridges earlier this week and took photos from the top were fined 300 rubles ($10) each for trespassing.
9.
New Cabinet Has Familiar Cast of Characters
President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced the makeup of the new Cabinet answering to Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, with three-fourths of the members having been replaced.
10.
Superjet Missing in Indonesia With 50 on Board
A dark cloud was cast Wednesday on the revival of Russia’s aviation industry when a Sukhoi-built Superjet 100 with 50 people on board disappeared from the radar screens of Indonesian flight controllers.
