Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: ???????? ???????????? ?????, {{Audio|ru-Putin.ogg|pronunciation}}, Pútin; born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and the current President of the Russian Federation. He succeeded Boris Yeltsin on December 31, 1999.

Life and Career

Putin was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). His biography, translated into English under the title First Person and based on interviews conducted with Putin in 2000, speaks of humble beginnings, including early years in a rat-infested tenement in a communal apartment. In his youth, he was eager to emulate staunch intelligence officers, as enacted on Soviet screen by Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Georgiy Zhzhonov.

Related Topics:
Leningrad - Saint Petersburg - 2000 - Tenement - Vyacheslav Tikhonov - Georgiy Zhzhonov

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In the same book, Putin notes that his paternal grandfather, a chef by profession, was brought to the Moscow suburbs to serve as a cook at one of Stalin's dachas. (In "The Court of the Red Tsar" by Simon Sebag Montefiore, a footnote on page 300 cites Putin as saying that while his grandfather did not discuss his work very often, he recalled serving meals to Rasputin as a boy and also prepared food for Lenin). His mother was a factory worker and his father was conscripted into the navy, where he served in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s. (His father subsequently served with the land forces during the Second World War). Two older brothers were born in the mid-1930s; one died within a few months of birth; the second succumbed to diphtheria during the siege of Leningrad.

Related Topics:
Dacha - Rasputin - Lenin - Diphtheria - Siege of Leningrad

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Putin graduated from the International Department of the Law Faculty of the Leningrad State University in 1975 and was recruited into the KGB. In First Person, Putin described to journalists his early duties in the KGB, which included suppressing dissident activities in Leningrad.

Related Topics:
Leningrad State University - 1975 - KGB

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From 1985 to 1990 the KGB stationed Putin in East Germany, in what he himself acknowledges was a minor position. Following the collapse of the East German regime, Putin was recalled to the USSR and returned to Leningrad, where in June 1990 he assumed a position with the International Affairs section of Leningrad State University, reporting to the Vice-Rector. In June 1991 he was appointed head of the International Committee of the Saint Petersburg Mayor's office, with responsibility for promoting international relations and foreign investments.

Related Topics:
1985 - 1990 - East Germany - East German - 1991 - Saint Petersburg

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Putin formally resigned from the state security services on August 20, 1991, during the abortive putsch against the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1994 he became First Deputy Chairman of the city of Saint Petersburg, a position he retained until he was called to Moscow, in August 1996, to serve in a variety of senior positions in Yeltsin's second Administration. He was head of the FSB (one of the successor agencies to the KGB) from July 1998 to August 1999, and also served as Secretary of the Security Council March-August 1999.

Related Topics:
Putsch - Mikhail Gorbachev - 1994 - Moscow - 1996 - FSB - July - 1998 - August - 1999

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