title: Vladimir Putin
abstract: Vladimir Putin has been the dominant figure in Russian politics for more than two decades. This chapter considers what kind of leader Putin is and evaluates what his leadership has meant for Russia. This is done principally, by considering Putin’s actions and the results of his time in office, measured against the claims made for his leadership by his supporters and the regime. The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 obviously has a major impact on this assessment. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and fom