putin - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: ?????´??? ?????´??????? ??´????·i Russian pronunciation: [vl?'d?im??r vl?'d?im??r?v??t?? 'put??n]) (born October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, USSR; now Saint Petersburg, Russia) is a Russian politician who was the 2nd President of the Russian Federation (from 2000 to 2008) and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on December 31, 1999, succeeding Boris Yeltsin, and then won the 2000 presidential election. In 2004, he was re-elected for a second term lasting until May 7, 2008. Throughout his presidential terms and into his second term as Prime Minister, Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings amongst the Russian public. During his eight years in office, the economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase six-fold (72% in PPP),[3][4] poverty cut more than half[5][6][7] and average monthly salaries increase from $80 to $640, or by 150% in real rates.[8][3] At the same time, his conduct in office has been questioned by domestic dissenters, as well as foreign governments and human rights organizations, for his handling of internal conflicts in Chechnya and Dagestan, his record on internal human rights and freedoms, his relations with former Soviet Republics, and his relations with the so-called oligarchs: Russian businessmen with a high degree of power and influence within both the Russian Government and economy (See Criticism of Vladimir Putin). This was seen by the Kremlin as a series of anti-Russian propaganda attacks orchestrated by western opponents and exiled oligarchs.[9] Due to constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive Presidential term. Following the success of his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, in the 2008 presidential elections, he was then nominated by the latter to be Russia's Prime Minister and took the post on May 8, 2008.