Biography of Russia President, Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the current President of Russia, was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

He is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer. He’s been in this office since 2012, and he was previously in this position from 1999 to 2008.

From 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012, he served as Prime Minister. After Alexander Lukashenko, Putin is the second-longest-serving European president.

Putin earned his law degree from Leningrad State University in 1975. Putin spent 16 years in the KGB’s foreign intelligence service, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring in 1991 to pursue a political career in Saint Petersburg.

In 1996, he relocated to Moscow to join President Boris Yeltsin’s cabinet. Before being appointed Prime Minister in August 1999, he served as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Secretary of the Security Council for a short time.

Following Yeltsin’s resignation, Putin took over as acting president and was elected outright to his first term as president less than four months later. He was reelected in 2004.

The Russian economy grew for eight years in a row during his first term as president, with GDP increasing by 72 percent in purchasing power, real incomes increasing by a factor of 2.5, real wages more than tripling, unemployment and poverty more than halving, and Russians’ self-assessed life satisfaction rising significantly.

A fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas, which account for the majority of Russian exports, as well as recovery from the post-communist depression and financial crises, increased foreign investment, and conservative economic and fiscal policies, all contributed to the boom.

In the Second Chechen War, Putin also guided Russia to victory. He oversaw large-scale military and police reforms, as well as Russia’s victory in the Russo-Georgian War while serving as Prime Minister under Medvedev.

Falling oil prices, combined with international sanctions implemented at the start of 2014 in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, caused the Russian economy to contract by 3.7 percent in 2015, however, it returned in 2016 with 0.3 percent GDP growth.

Vladimir Putin KGB career

Putin joined the KGB in 1975 and received training at the 401st KGB school in Okhta, Leningrad.

He began his career as a counter-intelligence officer in the Second Chief Directorate before being transferred to the First Chief Directorate, where he observed foreigners and consular officials in Leningrad.

Putin was dispatched to Moscow in September 1984 for additional training at the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute.

He served in Dresden, East Germany, from 1985 to 1990, under the guise of a translator. This time in his career is hardly unknown.

Vladimir Putin was supplied with a list of weapons during one of these sessions in Dresden, according to an anonymous source, a former member of the RAF.

In addition to Rainer Sonntag, Klaus Zuchold, who claimed to have been hired by Putin, alleged that the Russian leader also tried to hire an author of research on poisons.

Vladimir Putin and an interpreter are also said to have met with Germans who are interested in working with him on wireless communications issues.

As a result of the travels of German engineers recruited by him, he became involved with wireless technology throughout South East Asia.

Vladimir Putin Political career

The mayor of Leningrad, Anatoly Sobchak, hired Putin as an international affairs advisor in May 1990.

During a 2017 interview with Oliver Stone, Vladimir Putin stated that in 1991 he left the KGB because he did not agree with what had transpired and did not want to be a part of the intelligence services in the new administration following the assassination of Mikhail Gorbachev.

He may have worked as a private cab driver to supplement his income, or he may have considered doing so.

Putin was named First Deputy Chairman of the Government of Saint Petersburg in March 1994.

In May 1995, he created the Saint Petersburg branch of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin’s pro-government Our Home – Russia political party, a liberal power party.

Vladimir Putin Acting presidency

Vladimir Putin took over as acting president of the Russian Federation when Boris Yeltsin abruptly resigned on December 31, 1999. Putin’s first official act as president was a trip to Chechnya, where he met with Russian troops.

A Presidential Decree titled “On assurances for the former president of Russia and the members of his family” was signed by Vladimir Putin on December 31st, 1999. There would be no legal action taken against the outgoing President and his family because of this.

Vladimir Putin First presidential term

It was on May 7th, 2000, when Vladimir Putin was sworn in as president. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was selected by Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin’s popularity was initially challenged in August 2000, when he was accused of mishandling the Kursk sub catastrophe.

Much of the dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that it took Putin a few days to return from his vacation and another few before he made an appearance.

Vladimir Putin Personal life

Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva on July 28, 1983, and the couple lived together in East Germany from 1985 to 1990.

Mariya Putina, born 28 April 1985 in Leningrad, and Yekaterina Putina, born 31 August 1986 in Dresden, East Germany, are their two daughters.

Vladimir Putin Net Worth

Putin’s fortune was estimated to be around US$150,000 in bank accounts, a private 77.4-square-meter (833 sq ft) apartment in Saint Petersburg, and assorted other assets, according to official numbers revealed during the 2007 legislative election.

Putin’s reported 2006 earnings were around $80,000. Putin earned $113,000 in 2012, according to his tax returns.
In 2007, most CIA and analyst assessments estimated his overall net worth to be about $40 billion.

Vladimir Putin Religion

Putin is a devout follower of the Orthodox Church in Russia. His mother was a devout Christian who worshiped at the Russian Orthodox Church, whilst his father was a devout atheist.

Despite the government’s persecution of her religion at the time, his mother attended church on a regular basis. His mother baptized him as a newborn in secret and took him to church services on a regular basis.

Vladimir Putin Military development

The announcement by Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov during his meeting with Putin on 5 December 2007, that 11 ships, including the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, would take part in the first major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since Soviet times, followed the resumption of long-distance flights by Russia’s strategic bombers.