Vladimir Putin was the head of the Russian government.
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation ( Председатель Правительства Российской Федерации , Romanized : Predsedatel ' Pravitel ` stva Rossiyskoy Federatsii ) , colloquially referred to as the Prime Minister ( Премьер-министр , Romanized : Prem ` yer-ministr ) is the head of the Russian government and the second most powerful figure of the Russian Federation . Vladimir Putin . The 2008 Presidential election was won by Dmitry Medvedev , who appointed Putin Prime Minister , beginning what has been called a period of `` tandemocracy '' .