More than anything else, Vladimir Putin understands power: how to get it; how to consolidate it. His predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, knew how to seize power but not how to consolidate it, which partly explains why power seeped away throughout his presidency. President Putin's success, however, has bred its own problem: he consolidated power at the center so well that opposition is brewing in Russia's regions.
More than anything else, Vladimir Putin understands power: how to get it; how to consolidate it. His predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, knew how to seize power but not how to consolidate it, which partly explains why power seeped away throughout his presidency. President Putin's success, however, has bred its own problem: he consolidated power at the center so well that opposition is brewing in Russia's regions.