Putin Reasserts Russia's Global Power | Voice of America - English
Russian voters have elected Dmitri Medvedev as their new president to succeed Vladimir Putin who has held that post for eight years. He will officially relinquish the presidency in May. What is Mr.Putin's legacy in foreign and military affairs?  Dmitri Medvedev inherits a country far different than the one Vladimir Putin faced when he was first elected Russian President in March 2000, several months after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin.   Analysts say that when Mr. Putin came to power, Russia was economically bankrupt and politically unstable.
Experts say Mr. Putin has also used Russia's military to irritate the West. Herspring says one of the latest examples was in mid-February, when U.S. warplanes from an aircraft carrier intercepted a pair of Russian Tupolev-95 bombers as they were approaching the American fleet engaged in exercises near Japan. "Why in heaven's name is he taking a 1950, 1955 aircraft that is basically propeller-driven, that has an incredibly big radar signature, and having them fly around the world and irritate people? The answer is simple," says Herspring. "He is like a small child, sitting there and saying, 'Look, here I am; here I am. I'm important. Look at me and pay attention to me,' because the [U.S.] Navy is not concerned about those [planes], they see them coming [from] 2,000 miles away. The only purpose is to say, 'I'm back. Here I am. And look how strong I am.'"