Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is the most successful Russian leader in five decades. Ever since he became prime minister in 1999 under President Boris Yeltsin, things have gone his way in an almost charmed manner. His position as the country’s most powerful man remains secure, and his approval ratings are consistently high. His rivals among oligarchs have either been jailed or pushed out of the country. His friends and judo coaches, along with former dacha neighbors and KGB colleagues, have risen from obscurity to the Forbes list of the richest people in the world. Putin himself, according to various sources, has parlayed his position into a
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