Thread by @axios

On New Year's Eve 1999, a political newcomer and former KGB operative named Vladimir Putin suddenly assumed the Russian presidency.

Part 1 of our "20 Years of Putin" special report focuses on his rise, early years and escalating antagonism with the West.
axios.com/vladimir-putin…

A "talented recruiter" rises: There aren’t many who could've stood between Putin and the presidency two decades ago. Mikhail Khodorkovsky was one.

"He’s able to be in your eyes what you want him to be...I wasn’t the only person who was deceived by him.”
axios.com/vladimir-putin…

Putin worked his way from the FSB, the successor of the KGB, to prime minister to president.

"My strongest memory was that he made no memory ... He made virtually no impression back then.” — Michael @McFaul, who crossed paths with Putin in the 1990s.
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Many in the West were prepared to embrace Putin: "I remember when Putin approached us his whole body language was open and positive, very much unlike the aggressive strut he has now"—diplomat Daniel Fried, who was on hand for a Bush-Putin meeting in 2001 axios.com/vladimir-putin…

The U.S.-Russia relationship was strengthened by Putin's offer of support after 9/11, but it began to sour over the invasion of Iraq and, in particular, the color revolutions in Georgia (2003) and Ukraine (2004), for which Putin blamed the West.
axios.com/vladimir-putin…

Putin did not sustain his initial burst of pro-market economic reforms, and Russia did not sustain the growth rates that had burnished his image at home and abroad.

Choosing not to diversify Russia's economy left it essentially frozen in time.
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Putin assured the Russian people in 1999 that there would be "no vacuum of power," but few guessed he'd still be in power two decades later.

“What struck people and inspired people to hope was that Putin was never trained as a politician" Trenin said.
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Consolidating control: Even Putin's critics acknowledge he has accomplished three central objectives: building a strong Russian state, re-establishing Russia as a global power and maintaining his own grip on power.

axios.com/vladimir-putin…

This is part one of a two-part special report on "20 Years of Putin." Sign up for Axios World to get part two in your inbox: link.axios.com/join/world-sig…