www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Core Library is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 092014 012015 Cover Photo Mikhail Klimentyev AP Images Interior Photos Mikhail Klimentyev AP Images 1 32 AP Images 4 7 10 22 Red Line Editorial 8 39 iStockphoto 12 epa Corbis 14 Alexei Druzhinin AP Images 17 Shutterstock Images 20 Alexander Zemlianichenko AP Images 26 30 45 Ivan Sekretarev AP Images 29 RDM Studio Shutterstock Images 36 Frederic Legrand Shutterstock Images 38 Iurii Osadchi Shutterstock Images 40 Editor Lauren Coss Series Designer Becky Daum Library of Congress Control Number 2014944237 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sylvan Lu Vladimir Putin Russian leader Lu Sylvan p cm Newsmakers Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-62403-645-3 1 Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich 1952 Juvenile literature 2 Presidents Russia Federation Juvenile literature 3 Russia Federation Politics and government 1991 Juvenile literature 1 Title 947 086 2092 dc23 B 2014944237
CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE A Reluctant President 4 CHAPTER TWO A Boy with Potential 12 CHAPTER THREE Rising to the Presidency 22 CHAPTER FOUR A Region in Crisis 32 Important Dates 42 Stop and Think 44 Glossary 46 Learn More 47 Index 48 About the Author 48
5 Although little information was known about Vladimir Putin when he became president of Russia in 1999 he would soon prove himself to be one of the world’s most powerful leaders CHAPTER ONE A RELUCTANT PRESIDENT The year 1999 was drawing to an end Russian president Boris Yeltsin knew he was finished The Russian economy had collapsed Many officials and businessmen were accused of corruption Yeltsin’s opponents had already tried to force him out of office Even his health was failing Elections were coming up soon With his approval rating so low Yeltsin didn’t think he could stay in power
