 After the 2004 school siege, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced sweeping security and political reforms, sealing borders in the Caucasus region and revealing plans to give the central government more power.He also vowed to take tougher action against domestic terrorism, including preemptive strikes against Chechen separatists.In 2005 and 2006, separatist leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev were killed.