It was 14 years ago that Vladimir Putin was elected president for the first time, winning 53.4 percent of the vote on March 26, 2000.
While Putin was not in the Kremlin for four of those years, few would dispute that he has always remained at the helm of Russia. Here's a look back at Putin over the years — in pictures.
2000
Acting President Vladimir Putin, pictured in Moscow on Feb. 15, 2000, showing the candidate's card that allowed him to run for president. ( Igor Tabakov / MT)
2001
President Putin addressing a Moscow news conference on July 19, 2001. (Igor Tabakov / MT)
2002
President Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush speaking to reporters in Moscow in an archive photo. (Igor Tabakov / MT)
2003
President Putin fielding a question from one of the 710 journalists who attended his annual news conference in Moscow on June 22, 2003. (Igor Tabakov / MT)
2004
President Putin fighting with Olympic champion Oleg Saitov at a training session of the Russian national boxing team in Moscow on March 14, 2004. Putin was running for a second term at the time. (Kremlin.ru)
2005
President Putin attending the biannual Moscow Air Show in the summer of 2005. (Igor Tabakov / MT)
2006
President Putin speaking at a Moscow news conference in an archive photo. (Igor Tabakov / MT)
2007
President Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, voting in Moscow during State Duma elections on Dec. 2, 2007. (Kremlin.ru)
2008
Putin and his hand-picked successor as president, Dmitry Medvedev, greeting supporters during an election day concert on Red Square on March 2, 2008. (Kremlin.ru)
2009
Prime Minister Putin meeting with academics and reporters from the Valdai discussion group at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on Sept. 11, 2009. (government.ru)
2010
Prime Minister Putin listening to an explanation at the world's northernmost border checkpoint on the Carl Alexander Island in the Arctic Ocean on April 29, 2010. (government.ru)
2011
Prime Minister Putin attending a VTB investment forum in Moscow in an archive photo. (Igor Tabakov / MT)
2012
Putin paying tribute to World War II soldiers during a visit to Ulyanovsk in an archive photo. (Vladimir Filonov / MT)
2013
President Putin holding a big pike he caught while fishing in the Siberian republic of Tyva on July 20, 2013. (Kremlin.ru)
2014
President Putin joining Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, front left, Crimean parliamentary Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov, back left, and Sevastopol Mayor Alexei Chaliy at a signing ceremony at the Kremlin on March 18, 2014. They signed an agreement to make Crimea a part of Russia. (Sergei Ilnitsky / Reuters)
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