Rex Tillerson and Vladimir Putin. AP

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO and chairman Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state, he confirmed early Tuesday.

Tillerson's nomination as Washington's top diplomat and the primary conduit between the United States and foreign governments has drawn criticism from those worried about his connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The photos below illustrate the evolution of Tillerson's relationship with Putin, beginning after Exxon struck a deal with Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft in 1999 and ending with Putin awarding Tillerson Russia's Order of Friendship medal in 2013.