russia in the 21st century has gone through many changes. in 2000 vladimir putin was made president of russia. through his term he had good and bad approval ratings. in 2001-2002 putin took over several media stations. issues like this have also occurred with print media. however putin has done good things for russia, indeed, during real gdp grew on average 6.7% a year, average income increased 11% annually, and a positive balance of the federal budget now let the government to cut 70% of its debt during his term.