Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin ( vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn) (born October 7, 1952, in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union) is the President of the Russian Federation. He became acting President on December 31, 1999, succeeding Boris Yeltsin, and then won the 2000 presidential election. In 2004, he was re-elected for a second term, which expires on May 7, 2008.