The world greatest country and politicians

                Russia is the largest country in the world, a status it maintained even after shedding 14 countries when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

It has been contending with its Soviet past ever since, even as the economic chaos of the Russian Federation’s early days gave way to oil-fueled growth, and an early riot of political activity was been tamped down by the authoritarian regime of Vladimir V. Putin.


For more than a decade, Russian politics have been dominated by Mr. Putin, who was named acting prime minister in 1999 by the former president, Boris N. Yeltsin, and then elected president in 2000. Arising from obscurity, Mr. Putin, a former K.G.B. officer, proceeded to consolidate control over almost every aspect of society and business and marginalize what opposition still existed.


His success in stabilizing the society and the firmness with which he clamped down on rebels in Chechnya made him widely popular. He remained president until 2008, when he had to step down because the Russian constitution limits a president to two consecutive terms.


His hand-picked successor was the younger and more pro-Western Dmitri A. Medvedev, who was elected in 2008. But Mr. Putin did not relinquish control. The solution was a “tandem” government: Mr. Medvedev became president and Mr. Putin moved to the post of prime minister, though he remained the most influential man in Russian politics.


In late September 2011, Mr. Putin revealed his intention to reclaim the Russian presidency, and in late November he accepted his party’s nomination.


But, in the intervening months since his announcement, the country’s mood had changed. Far from hailing the extension of the Putin era, Russia appeared to be deeply annoyed. During parliamentary election in early December, Mr. Putin’s United Russia party suffered surprisingly steep losses, barely reaching a 50 percent majority.


Three opposition parties made big gains. United Russia appeared to have little choice but to forge a working relationship with at least one of the three, and Mr. Putin faced an unexpectedly challenging three-month campaign for the presidency.