Vladimir Putin became president of Russia in 2000. For the twelve years following the election, Putin proposed this idea of ​​"Putinism." Through his plan, Putin envisioned returning Russia to the superpower it had been during the era of Joseph Stalin and communism. It seems that after the fall of communism in 1991, Russia faded into the background of other countries. The first part of Putin's plan is to use all the natural resources produced by Russia to their advantage. However, a trap could be set for Putin due to problems with Russian natural resources. Russia is the world's largest producer of petroleum energy and an exporter of natural gas to Europe (Rehman). In 2007, the price of a barrel of oil was around $40. Today, the price of a barrel exceeds $100. Oil prices were forced to rise because the budget had to be balanced (Adomanis). Therefore, the rulers are unable to use their natural resources due to cost and need an external export market to sell their energy (Rehman), which Russia does not have this support for. The second part of Putin's plan is to use the legacy left by the Soviet Union as a driving force to rebuild Russia. The legacy left by the Soviet Union would not benefit Putin in restoring Russia. Most people outside of Russia associate it with a negative connotation. People can't help but think of Joseph Stalin and communism. For Putin to achieve his goal of restoring Russia to being a superpower like it once was, he must try to turn Russian culture away from its negative spotlight. Russia does not need to become a weak country, but a country can prove its strength without having a negative image. The Soviet Union always had a relationship between paper and the rest of Asia. A quote from Joseph Stalin applies to Vladimir Putin: “I believe in only one thing, the power of human will” (Joseph Stalin). Works Cited Adomanis, Mark. “Crude oil remains very expensive, so Russia will likely remain stable.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, March 14, 2013. Web. January 13, 2014. Blij, Harem De, Muller, Peter O and Nijman, January “Russia”. Geography: kingdoms, regions and concepts. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2012. 1+. Internet. January 13, 2014.Rehman, Scheherazade. “Putin’s Russia will not achieve superpower status.” American News. USNews & World Report, October 31, 2012. Web. January 13, 2014. “Russian military force.” Military force of Russia. Global Fire Power, December 4, 2012. Web. January 13, 2014. “Russia to restore Soviet-era naval base in Arctic: Putin. » Fox News. FOX News Network, September 16, 2013. Web. January 13. 2014.