From Crisis to Crisis
In 2008, Vladimir Putin reached the end of his second presidential term. Barred by the constitution from serving three consecutive terms, he appointed Dmitry Medvedev his successor and took the position of prime minister for himself. The political shift coincided with an economic crisis, as the financial crash in the United States spread to Russia. Oil prices slumped and financial markets froze up. Many in Russia predicted the end of Putinomics, and new president Medvedev touted his plans to diversify Russia’s economy away from energy. Little came of that. Instead, Russia used the huge financial war chest that Putin had built up to bail out businesses and plug holes in the budget while waiting for an economic recovery. Renewed growth came quickly, though with less vigor than before. Slower growth rates and continued corruption sparked anti-Putin protests in Moscow during late 2011 and early 2012, but Putin’s record of economic success during the 2000s gave him the support he needed to sideline opponents and reassert his control on power. He returned to the presidency in 2012.