Vladimir Putin, who is seen by many to have striven to make Russia great again during his eight years as president, will step down today to be replaced by his successor Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin hosted a farewell meeting with government and Kremlin officials on Monday, and urged them to continue his policies.

"This is the last time I will chair the government meeting in this capacity. So I wish to thank you for the joint work of the past eight years rather than discuss current issues," the Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying at a regular Monday meeting with senior officials.

"This country has new large-scale and serious goals. We will mount efforts in a number of inter-related areas, including an innovative economy, an efficient state administration, a better pension system and a new social development policy," said Putin.

Putin, who will take on the post of prime minister tomorrow, urged the government to implement major initiatives in the spheres of taxes, finance, healthcare, education, rural development and housing policy.

Most Russians think Putin succeeded in his past eight years as president. Russia's economy is flourishing, a Chechen insurgency has been quelled and this week Russia's military will display its reviving might by parading tanks through Red Square.

Foreign governments and a minority inside Russia ask at what cost. On Putin's watch, Russia's relations with the West have turned prickly while critics accuse him of accumulating huge power at the expense of democracy and human rights.

Either way, he has left a big mark on Russia and his legacy is still being written. His successor Medvedev has said he will continue Putin's policies.

Looks can be deceptive

Back in August 1999, when the ailing and unpopular President Boris Yeltsin named former KGB spy Putin as his prime minister and heir apparent, the country did not know what to make of him.

He was a 46-year-old head of the Federal Security Service - one of the successor organizations to the KGB - with no record in elected office.

He preferred beer to vodka, judo to saunas and his thin blond hair and clipped manners seemed foreign to many Russians.

But even before taking over as caretaker president on Dec 31, 1999, after Yeltsin's surprise resignation, he proved that looks can be deceptive.

Putin sent troops to Chechnya and, at considerable cost in human life, brought the region back under Kremlin's control.

His popularity soared. In the 2000 presidential election he defeated a strong Communist rival with 53 percent of the vote.

Putin displayed boldness on the economy. He made liberal Mikhail Kasyanov his prime minister, and pushed through reforms of the tax and financial systems and vast state-owned companies, facing down resistance from government skeptics.

High energy prices did the rest. With a gross domestic product of $1.3 trillion and gold reserves exceeding $500 billion, Putin now wants Russia to become one of the top seven world economies by 2020.

When he thought politically-ambitious "oligarchs" who made fortunes under Yeltsin were a threat, he confronted them.

Confrontation with West

In diplomacy, Putin, who wants to keep Russia as a key international player and values its role in the Group of Eight industrial nations, has never been afraid to irk the West.

He blocked efforts to recognize Kosovo's independence from Serbia in the United Nations, and maintained warm ties with Iran while other major powers were pressing for sanctions.

Putin has accused Washington of seeking global domination, and clashed with NATO over its enlargement in eastern Europe and over US plans for a missile defense shield.

"I pursue national interests," Putin has said describing his foreign policy credo.

Putin's rule has been marked by seemingly unshakeable popularity, founded on the strong economy.

Even events like the sinking of a nuclear submarine in 2000 or Chechen rebel raids on a Moscow theatre in 2002 and a school in the southern town of Beslan in 2004 have failed to dent his appeal at home. Putin was re-elected in 2004 with over 70 percent of the vote.

Putin has said he is building a democracy that suits the realities of Russia - not a Western-imposed version.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/07/2008 page10)