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
War in Chechnya Conflicts between Russia and Chechnya have been frequent When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Chechnya declared itself an independent nation Russia tried and failed to bring Chechnya back under full Russian control The First Chechen War was fought from 1994 to 1996 Thousands of Russians and Chechens died in the conflict Many of them were civilians Russian forces left Chechnya after a peace treaty was signed in 1996 Then in 1999 Islamist and separatist groups staged terrorist attacks on Russia Putin accused Chechnya of being behind the attacks leading to the brutal Second Chechen War In 2003 Chechens voted to rejoin Russia Some believe that the Russian government fixed the vote 6 The Right Man for the Job Ten days before the new year began Yeltsin called Russia’s prime minister Vladimir Putin into his office Putin was very popular with the Russian people He seemed to be doing what the Russian people wanted Putin had proven himself to be a firm and decisive leader He had been very tough in battling terrorism He was known for pushing for war in Chechnya a small republic southwest of Russia Though little was known about
Ye l t s i n l e f t t a l k s w i t h P u t i n r i g h t s h o r t l y a f t e r P u t i n became president in December 1999 his background Putin seemed to be the perfect successor to Yeltsin Yeltsin told Putin that he was going to resign As his second-in-command Putin would automatically become acting president until the next election Yeltsin wanted to know Would Putin take the job or not Putin thought hard about it Russia was the largest country in the world by area The last few decades had brought many changes for the country For most of the 1900s Russia had been part of the 7
