Russian oligarch 2004, Putin apparently engaged in a power-struggle with some oligarchs, reaching a "grand bargain" with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain their powers, in exchange for their explicit support of – and alignment with – Putin's government. Many more business people have become oligarchs during Putin's time in power, and often due to personal relations with Putin, such as the rector of the institute where Putin obtained a degree in 1996, Vladimir Litvinenko, and Putin's childhood friend and judo-teacher Arkady Rotenberg. However, other analysts argue that the oligarchic structure has remained intact under Putin, with Putin devoting much
Rotenberg (hills) the north, Herzberg am Harz to the northeast, Bad Lauterberg to the east, Duderstadt to the south, Göttingen to the southwest and Northeim to the northwest. According to the official classification of natural regions of Germany the ridge belongs to the landscape unit of the Eichsfeld Basin in the Weser-Leine Uplands. The Rotenberg is surrounded by the following other ranges: the Harz Mountains to the north and, somewhat further away, the Ohm Hills to the southeast and the Göttingen Forest to the southwest. The Rotenberg hills lie on the watershed between the Oder and Beber rivers in the north and