““Vladimir Putin shot out of obscurity in 1999 by exploiting growing nostalgia for the USSR, fueled by the disappointment, uncertainty and crisis that brought Yeltsin’s reform era to a shuddering halt. Once in power the following year, Putin set about building an authoritarian regime whose control would expand for more than a decade, until soaring corruption on top of another economic downturn—a much smaller one, triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008—prompted another backlash.””
![“The Yeltsin years considerably lowered the bar [of public expectations] for the country’s next leader: Putin’s specific policies and actions arguably matter far less than his reassuring symbolic function as “a real man” who can husband the nation’s resources and promise a return to greatness…” quote by Helena Goscilo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4ab/helena-goscilo-70434_leadership_the-yeltsin-years-considerably-lowered-t_464034.jpg)
![“Russia, despite its heavy flirtation with capitalism and some quite unsavory oligarchs, is still building its foreign policy on the Soviet ideals of internationalism, solidarity and logic. And even domestically, President [Vladin]Putin is slowly, step-by-step, restoring many important Soviet…” quote by Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8db/andre-vltchek-5249_achievement_russia-despite-its-heavy-flirtation-with_3136018.jpg)
![“Dictatorships sometimes fall unexpectedly and quickly. And [Vladimir] Putin knows that for him, the loss of power doesn't mean a comfortable retirement, but something completely different.” quote by Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/510/garry-kasparov-910_comfortable_dictatorships-sometimes-fall-unexpectedl_2443466.jpg)
