The russian economy under Putin (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Russia, grade: 1, University of Vienna (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), language: English, abstract: Putin promotes himself as a big reformer but no real actions have been undertaken so far, which would prove that true. Therefore I am asking myself, if President Putin is rather a reformer or a power-politician.
Where are the necessary reforms Putin is talking about? Does Putin really want to reform the country for the better or is his major concern to maintain his position as president? Are the new reforms meant seriously or are they just a way to quiet up the critics and protect his position? It is very unclear where Russia is heading too. If you believe the official statement, you would see a democratic reformed Russia. Unfortunately if you dig deeper, Putins words need to be doubted. No effective reforms were installed that would have turned the country around.
What are Putins real intentions, aims and goals? I am questioning myself what kind of influence he has on the Russian economy.
In my paper I will try to answer all these questions. Further I choose this topic as discussions about Russia's economical strength are constantly going on.
For me, Wladimir Putin is a very interesting man. It seems very difficult to figure him out or for what he is actually standing for. His behaviour on certain issues is much contradicted what makes him a very difficult business partner. He seams to have two faces.