Vladimir Putin is the current president of Russia. He was also a former foreign intelligence officer, and the prime minister of Russia in between his presidential terms, working closely with his associate Dmitry Medvedev.
Putin graduated in 1975 from the Leningrad State University where he studied law. He worked as KGB intelligence officer for 16 years then resigned in 1991 to pursue his political career in Saint Petersburg. In 1996 he relocated to Moscow to joined the Boris Yeltsin’s Administration. In this administration, he served as director of the FSB, the KGB’s successor agency, then as Prime Minister. When Yeltsin resigned on December 31, 1999, Vladimir took up the position of Acting President.
His fourth term as President began on May 7, 2018, and on the same day, he invited Dmitry Medvedev to form a new government.
Read more about Vladimir Putin’s:
Early Life and Education
Early Life
Vladimir Putin is the youngest of three children. He was born on October 7, 1952, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, in the Soviet Union. His parents are Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin who was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, and Maria Ivanovna Putin who was a factory worker. His father, Vladimir, and mother, Maria, were born in 1911. His father died in 1999 and his mother died in 1998.
Education
Putin started attending No.193 school at Baskov Lane near his home on September 1, 2019. At the age of 12, he practiced sambo and judo. He has a judo black belt and is a national master of sports. Putin also speaks fluent German.
Putin studied law at Leningrad State University and graduated In 1975. The focus of his thesis was “The Most Favored Nation Trading Principle in International Law.” While in University, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was a member up until December 1991.
His KGB Career
- 1975: Vladimir Putin joined the KGB, which was the main security agency for the Soviet Union, and was trained at the 401st KGB school in Okhta, Leningrad. His first job at the KGB was Second Chief Directorate. Afterward, he was transferred to First Chief Directorate to monitor foreigners and consular officials.
- 1984-1990: In September 1984 he was sent to Moscow where he received further training at the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute. Throughout 1985-1990, Putin worked undercover as a translator in Dresden, East Germany.
- 1990: Vladimir returned to Leningrad and worked with the International affairs section at Leningrad State University for approximately three months. While he was at the University, he was busy recruiting people for the KGB, watching the student body and reconciling his friendship with Anatoly Sobchak, his former professor.
Vladimir Putin Political Career
Putin held several positions throughout his political career. For example, in 1990, during his Saint Petersburgh administration, he was appointed advisor on international affairs to the Major of Leningrad, Anatoly Sobchak.
In 1991, he was appointed the head of the External Relations Committee and was responsible for promoting international relations, foreign investments, and business venture registration. Although he was under investigation by the city legislative council for understating prices and permitting the export of metals valued at $93 million in exchange for foreign food, he remained in this position until 1996.
He also held several other governmental positions in Petersburgh. He was appointed the first Deputy Chairman of the Government of Saint Petersburg in March 1994. In 1995, he organized and managed the legislative election campaign of Our Home Russia Political Party. He was also the leader of the Saints Petersburgh branch from 1995 to 1997.
From 1996 - 1998 his political career was based in Moscow. In June 1996, when the Major of Leningrad, Anatoly Sobchak, lost his re-election bid in Saints Petersburgh, Putin was appointed Deputy Chief of the Presidential Property Management Department. He held this position until March 1997 then was appointed deputy chief of Presidential staff on March 26, 1997. A year later, on July 25, 1998, Putin was appointed Director of the Federal Security Service.
His Presidential Career
Acting President of Russia
On August 9, 1999, Putin was appointed as one of three First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. On the same day, he was appointed acting Prime Minister. In addition, he agreed to run for the presidency later that day.
By August 16, 1999, his appointment as Prime Minister of Russia was approved by the State of Duma. Later that year, on December 31, Yeltsin resigned from his Presidential post without warning and Vladimir Putin became the acting President of Russia.
First & second Presidential term
On May 7, 2000, Putin took his presidential oath for his first presidential term and appointed Mikhail Kasyanov, who was the minister of Finance, as the Prime Minister. After serving his presidential term, he was re-elected for a second term on March 14, 2004.
Third Presidential term
In 2008, the constitution barred Putin from a third consecutive term so Dmitry Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister was elected. However, in 2011, Dmitry Medvedev announced that he would recommend Putin for President. On March 4, 2012, Putin won the presidential election for a third consecutive term. This sparks several protests. Putin and The United Russia Party were accused of fraud by the opposition.
Family and Personal Life
Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Shkrebneva got married on July 28, 1983. They resided in East Germany with their two daughters, Mariva Putina, and Yekaterina Putina. Mariva was born on April 28, 1985, while Yekaterina was born on August 31, 1986. Vladimir and Lyudmila were divorced on April 1, 2014.
Putin owns a Dacha in a gated community with a group of seven friends on the Karelian Isthmus in Priozeersky District of Leningrad Oblast, near St. Petersburg. He also has an Italian –style mansion under construction near the Black Sea village of Praskoveevka.
Religion
Vladimir Putin is Russian Orthodox.
Vladimir Putin’s Facts
- In 2014, Vladimir Putin authorized Russia military movements into the Ukranian territory.
- The Syrian government requested help from Russia to assist with rebel and jihadist groups. On September 30, 2015, Putin gave Russian Military permission to intervene in the Syrian Civil War.
- Although Putin denied that Russia did not interfere in the U.S. election, an assessment made by the US intelligence community in January 2017, expressed confidence that Putin had personally organized an “influence campaign” to belittle Hillary Clinton and to harm her electoral chances for the presidency.
- On May 25, 2018, Putin announced that he will not be running for President in 2024.
