section_path: History/Independent Russian Federation/Movement towards a modernised economy, political centralisation and democratic backsliding
section_name: Movement towards a modernised economy, political centralisation and democratic backsliding
paragraph_text: Movement towards a modernised economy, political centralisation and democratic backsliding
  
  On 31 December 1999, President Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned, handing the post to the recently appointed prime minister and his chosen successor, Vladimir Putin. Putin then won the 2000 presidential election, and defeated the Chechen insurgency in the Second Chechen War.
  
  Putin won a second presidential term in 2004. High oil prices and a rise in foreign investment saw the Russian economy and living standards improve significantly. Putin's rule increased stability, while transforming Russia into an authoritarian state. In 2008, Putin took the post of prime minister, while Dmitry Medvedev was elected President for one term, to hold onto power despite legal term limits; this period has been described as a " tandemocracy ".
  
  Following a diplomatic crisis with neighbouring Georgia, the Russo-Georgian War took place during 1–12 August 2008, resulting in Russia recognising two separatist states in the territories that it occupies in Georgia. It was the first European war of the 21st century. The 2008 constitutional amendments saw the terms of the president extend to six years and the lower house (State Duma) to five years. Putin then went on to win the 2012 presidential election, which fueled the " Snow Revolution " protests.