Vladimir Putin speaks at a military parade on Red Square marking the 55th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany, 9 May, 2000. Photo: EPA / SERGEY CHIRIKOV

Marking the 25th anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s first election as Russian president on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian news outlet RBC that in the past quarter of a century, Russia had stepped back from “the abyss” to become a developed and sovereign nation.

Putin was appointed acting president of Russia on 31 December 1999 following the surprise resignation on health grounds of then-president Boris Yeltsin. A presidential election was subsequently held on 25 March 2000, which Putin won in the first round with almost 53% of the vote.

Now in his fifth presidential term, having also served one term as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev before changes to the Russian Constitution allowed a president to serve more than two terms, his electoral outcomes have — on paper, at least — only gone from strength to strength, with his vote share increasing from 63.6% in 2012 to 87.3% in 2024.

Putin is now one of Russia’s 10 longest-serving leaders, though he still needs to remain in power for another quarter of a century if he wants to surpass Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who ruled Russia for over 50 years. Among Soviet leaders, only Stalin ruled longer, RBC continued.

Among his allies, Putin is still bested by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and Tajikistan’s leader Emomali Rahmon, both of whom have been in power since 1994, with Lukashenko being sworn in for his seventh consecutive term as the country’s leader on Tuesday.