- guardian.co.uk, Monday August 9 1999 18.06 BST
He first became Mr Sobchak's head of external relations and then served as deputy mayor from March 1994. Mr Putin resigned as deputy mayor in 1996 after Mr Sobchak's defeat and moved to Moscow, where he was appointed deputy head of management in the presidential administration in 1998.
In July 1998, Mr Putin was appointed head of the federal security service, the main successor to the KGB, replacing Nikolai Kovalyov. He did little of note in the role, other than demonstrating his personal devotion to the president.
In an attempt to give his ally more weight, President Yeltsin subsquently appointed Mr Putin as head of the security council. The council deals with Russia's security strategy and coordinates the work of the interior ministry, ministry of defence, federal border guards service and federal security service.
Analysts describe Mr Putin as a colourless bureaucrat, who never distinguished himself as head of the federal security service. In particular he failed to bring the department to heel as different regional branches of the service went their own way. He is also described as an ally of Anatoly Chubais, the architect of Russia's mass privatisation programme in the early 1990s.
In the current climate, loyalty and devotion to Mr Yeltsin are the prime requirements for high office in the president's administration and Mr Putin fits the bill. But then so did Sergei Stepashin, until he started making known his presidential ambitions for next year.
Earlier this month, Mr Putin met his US counterpart, Samuel Berger, to discuss arms proliferation. Mr Putin sought to reassure Mr Berger about Russia's commitment to halting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
"Russia pays careful attention to US concerns in the area of [arms and nuclear technology] export controls and has a right to expect adequate reciprocal measures," the Interfax agency quoted Mr Putin as telling Mr Berger.
