Putin was nominated its successor after his "loyalty" to Bill Clinton. This doesn't make sense. Nominate as heir the most big enemy of United States of America when he is supposed to be the loyal vassal of Bill Clinton?
Putin was nominated as the successor in 1999, as back then he was considered to be the most loyal person to Boris Yeltsin. Putin made sure that Yeltsin was never prosecuted for the plundering of the Russian national wealth. At that point of time, Putin and Clinton were good friends, and Putin maintained the good relations with the United States until George Bush became the POTUS in 2000.