25 years ago today Vladimir Putin took power… but his brutal mafioso regime is only ever ONE STEP away from collapse
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SOME 25 years ago today Vladimir Putin seized power - but despite his tyrannical rule his fragile regime always sits just one step from collapse. The bloodthirsty tyrant could go the way of his deposed Syrian dictator pal Bashar al-Assad if he isn't able to win the war in Ukraine and continue extending his regime's blood-soaked tentacles abroad.
![[Vlad sunning himself while on vacation in 2017]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/russias-president-vladimir-putin-vacation-714310307.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
On New Year's Eve 25 years ago Putin became president and has ruled with an iron fist ever since. The swaggering KGB thug - then 47, now 72 - took over from the weak and booze-soaked Boris Yeltsin. And despite originally trying to build bridges with the West, he proceeded to put Russia into a screeching reverse gear.
![[Putin trying out a GRU military intelligence shooting gallery]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/masked-security-officer-stand-shooting-439138844.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Over the next quarter of a century he veered the world back into mire of distrust and put it on the brink of war - drawing the Iron Curtain closed once again just like the darkest days of the Cold War. He has survived a coup attempt, widescale protests, mercilessly killed his enemies, invaded his neighbours and launched biggest war in Europe since WW2.
![[Putin during his inauguration after his rigged election in 2024]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/RTRMADP_RUSSIA-POLITICS-PUTIN_2008234647_RC2LL7AV8NU8_2024-05-07T101436Zjpg-JS899591489-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But it is believed that despite his iron grip - Putin's empire is still built on foundations of sand and could slip through his fingers. Vlad's great paranoia at the foundation of much of what he does is his deepseated fear of being deposed, dragged through the streets and killed - much like defeated Libyan dictator Gaddafi.
