Vladimir Putin failed to ever become President.
Vladimir Putin . He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin 's administration , rising quickly through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999 , when Yeltsin resigned . He was re-elected President in 2004 with 72 % of the vote . In September 2011 , after presidential terms were extended from four to six years , Putin announced he would seek a third term as president .