Putin celebrates decade in power

VLADIMIR PUTIN celebrated a decade in power yesterday, and it appears the former KGB strongman may maintain his grip on Russia’s government for years to come.

Supporters credit him with rescuing the economy from the post-Soviet doldrums and restoring national pride. Critics say the price – rolling back democratic reforms and stifling dissent – has been too high.

It has been 10 years since an ailing Boris Yeltsin promoted Putin from security chief to prime minister on August 9, 1999. He was elected president the following year and in 2008 he handed the post, but not all the power, to Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin became prime minister again, allowed almost all the men he surrounded himself with as president to remain in power, and is still understood to call the major shots. And the signs are the 56-year-old is far from ready to loosen his grip on power. The St Petersburg native stripped to the waist for a photo shoot in southern Siberia last week, plunging into an icy river and climbing cliffs and trees.

“Putin can easily rule until 2012 (the next elections) or longer,” said Lilia Shevtsova, of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, stressing his handling of the current crisis could play a decisive role in his future.