...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...remarks on Monday, reported by Russian news agencies, said the military actions against Libya prove that Russia is correct in its drive to strengthen its own defenses.
Putin's remarks came as US Defense Secretary Robert Gates began a visit to Russia aimed at easing Moscow's worries over a proposed NATO missile defense shield in Europe.
His statements indicated that Russian suspicion of the West and the United States in particular remains strong.
Russia abstained in the UN Security Council vote on the resolution authorizing force in Libya.