Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian, Влади́мир Пу́тин) (born 7 October 1952) was the second President of the Russian Federation, serving from 2000 to 2008. After leaving the Presidency in 2008 due to term limits, he became Prime Minister, where he continued to exert considerable power over the country.

Critics accuse Putin of eroding democracy in Russia and destabilizing Eastern Europe by pursuing an aggressive, militaristic foreign policy. On the other hand, the consensus is that Putin's economic policies were critical in pulling Russia out of a substantial crisis.

In 2011, Putin announced that he would seek the presidency in 2012. Despite some outcry from the Russian people, Putin won his bid for a third term in March 2012.

Vladimir Putin in The Gladiator
In an alternate where the Soviet Union won the Cold War, Vladimir Putin (1952- ca. 2027) was considered one of the great leaders of Soviet communism, along with Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Images of the three leaders were worn on the uniforms of the Young Socialists' League. A statue commemorating Putin stood in front of the Duomo of Milan in the Italian People's Republic.

Literary comment
While Turtledove never makes it explicit, implicitly, it was under Putin's reign that the USSR won the Cold War in the last days of the 20th Century.