Putin remains popular after decade in Kremlin

MOSCOW: Vladimir who? When an ailing Boris Yeltsin appointed a shadowy intelligence boss prime minister on August 9, 1999, he hardly seemed the man to shape Russia's post-Soviet destiny.

Vladimir Putin was the fourth prime minister in less than two years to be named under the increasingly wayward Yeltsin, and came to power in a period of political chaos when the break-up of the country seemed a real danger.

He was virtually unknown in Russia, let alone abroad.

Yet Putin -- now back as prime minister after eight years in the Kremlin -- Sunday marked a full decade in power after making a decisive contribution to Russia's history after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He clipped the wings of the once all-powerful oligarchs, waged a controversial war to destroy Chechen separatists, oversaw an economic boom and never shied from upsetting the West.

He is lauded by nationalist politicians for restoring Russian self-respect but has become a bete noire of rights activists. However, few dispute the importance of Putin in shaping modern Russia.

"He has historic importance as the country stopped moving on a track towards democratic progress and also went on a path towards confrontation with the world," said Lev Ponamarev, one of Russia's best known human rights defenders.