Title: Russia - The Putin presidency | Britannica
Headings: 
The Putin presidency
Separatism
Foreign affairs
The oligarchs
Political and economic reforms
The Medvedev presidency

Content: Putin even enjoyed success in taming the independent-minded regions, as the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan reluctantly brought their constitutions into accord with that of the Russian Federation in 2002. Foreign affairs
Although Putin hoped to maintain a strategic partnership with the United States, he focused on strengthening Russia’s relations (both security and economic) with Europe, particularly Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, after the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the United States by al-Qaeda, Putin was the first foreign leader to telephone U.S. Pres. George W. Bush to offer sympathy and help in combating terrorism. Moreover, Russia established a council with NATO on which it sat as an equal alongside NATO’s 19 members. Russia also reacted calmly when the United States officially abandoned the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, established temporary military bases in several of the former Soviet states in Central Asia, and dispatched special forces on a training mission to Georgia, where there were suspected al-Qaeda training bases. However, Putin was wary of U.S. unilateralism and worked to strengthen Russian ties with China and India and maintain ties with Iran. In 2002–03 he opposed military intervention against Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom and developed a joint position with France and Germany that favoured a more stringent inspections regime of Iraq’s suspected weapons of mass destruction program rather than the use of military force ( see also Iraq War ). Putin brought new life to the CIS by providing relatively active Russian leadership, in sharp contrast to the Yeltsin years, and he strengthened Russia’s ties with the Central Asian republics in order to maintain Russian influence in this vital area. Under Yeltsin the Russian army, starved of funds, had lost much of its effectiveness and technological edge.