Political career of Vladimir Putin personally congratulated Putin on his victory, calling Putin "a driving force behind strategic ties of cooperation between Venezuela and Russia." Anti-Putin protests took place during and directly after the presidential campaign. The most notorious protest was the 21 February Pussy Riot performance, and subsequent trial. Also, an estimated 8,000-20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on 6 May, when eighty people were injured in confrontations with police, and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day. Putin was inaugurated in the Kremlin on 7 May 2012. On his first day as President, Putin issued 14 Presidential decrees, including
2000 Vladimir Putin presidential campaign he planned to arrest.” In December 1999 Yury Luzhkov was re-elected as Mayor of Moscow, and announced that he would not compete for the presidency; Primakov pulled out two weeks after the legislative elections. In this regard, the main rival of Putin was Gennady Zyuganov. At noon, on 31 December 1999, Boris Yeltsin, in his televised address, announced his resignation. In accordance with article 92 of the Russian Constitution, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin became the Acting President, and early presidential elections were scheduled for March 2000. Putin's campaign strategy concentrated on image over policy. Rather than taking bold positions, he