Vladimir Putin became the second president of post-Soviet Russia after Boris Yeltsin’s unexpected resignation. He quickly won public approval and secured his presidency by mobilizing a military response to the rebel crisis in Chechnya. This biography follows Putin’s life, from his impoverished beginnings, career as an intelligence officer of the KGB, to his administration, which is marked by extensive federal reorganization, campaigns against powerful Russian businessmen, and issues surrounding the reach of his presidential powers. This is a comprehensive examination of the life and career of a world leader and it places Putin’s presidency in the context of post-communist Russia, a federal republic still defining itself after the dissolution of the USSR.