As it turns out, Vladimir Putin might already have a successor ready to take the throne. However, age is a crucial factor.

During his brief turn in office, Kiriyenko made the fateful decision to appoint Putin as the head of the FSB, the successor institution to the KGB. Kiriyenko is working hard "to make himself an ...

Few gave his largely unknown successor as acting president much chance of reversing the economic implosion or remaining in office for long. The then-Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin’s media ...

But with the enigmatic Vladimir Putin orchestrating Russia’s transfer of power, the riddle over how his successor will run things – especially with Putin as prime minister – remains very ...

They began grooming Putin as his successor. Then, suddenly, just as Putin was running for president for the first time, his old friend Anatoly Sobchak died, at the age of 62, in a hotel room in ...

When the ailing Yeltsin decided to resign in December 1999, he reportedly chose Putin as his successor because Putin gave convincing assurances he would not prosecute Yeltsin or his family for ...

Nevertheless, Putin’s New Year’s message remained upbeat. He looked ahead to the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Soviet ...

Mendoza said: "The Putin children are kept firmly away from the public gaze, and there's no suggestion that any of them are going to be coming forward to rule with Daddy." With a successor unclear ...

There appeared to be no chance whatever that Putin, who was designated by Yeltsin as his successor could possibly become the next Russian president. The apartment bombings changed everything.

When Russia’s first democratically elected president, Boris Yeltsin, resigned on New Year’s Eve in 1999, he publicly implored Vladimir Putin, his handpicked but little-known successor ...

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Add to the tension that Putin’s Russia has been engaged in a ...