Putin celebrates decade in power
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.
