Vladimir Putin (b. 1952)

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Biography

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. He has been described as the de facto leader of Russia since 2000.

In Their Own Words (5)

Two weeks later they still have not been found. The question is, where is Saddam Hussein? Where are those weapons of mass destruction, if they were ever in existence? Is Saddam Hussein in a bunker sitting on cases containing weapons of mass destruction, preparing to blow the whole place up?

In a Press conference, regarding the weapon of mass destruction of Iraq. (May 1, 2003) , 2003

Don't you know that Ukraine is not even a real country? Part of it is really East European, and part is really Russian.

In a meeting with US Ambassador William J. Burns at Novo-Ogaryovo, March 2008 (William J. Burns 2019, The Back Channel, P. 238) , 2008

I see that not everyone in the West has understood that the Soviet Union has disappeared from the political map of the world and that a new country has emerged with new humanist and ideological principles at the foundation of its existence.

interview with TF-1 Television Channel (France), taken on July 12, 2006 , 2006

We have spoken on many occasions of the need to achieve high economic growth as an absolute priority for our country. The annual address for 2003 set for the first time the goal of doubling gross domestic product within a decade.

Annual Address to the Federal Assembly, (May 2006) , 2006

He raped 10 women. I never expected it from him. He surprised all of us.

NewsRu (19 Oct 2006) , 2006

Timeline

The story of Vladimir Putin, told in moments.

1975 Life

Joins the KGB. Serves as a foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, mostly stationed in Dresden, East Germany. He's there when the Berlin Wall falls in 1989. Burns KGB files while protesters gather outside. Calls Moscow for instructions. Moscow is silent. He resigns from the KGB in 1991.

16 years in the KGB, mostly in Dresden. Were you a spy or a bureaucrat? When the Wall fell, you burned files. What was in them?

1999 Event

Becomes acting president when Boris Yeltsin resigns on New Year's Eve. Yeltsin had appointed him prime minister only four months earlier. Barely anyone in Moscow knows who he is. He wins the presidential election three months later. He's 47. A former intelligence officer from nowhere, now running Russia.

Yeltsin handed you the presidency on New Year s Eve. Did you plan for that moment? Acting president at midnight. Were you ready?

2014 Event

Annexes Crimea from Ukraine after a disputed referendum conducted under military occupation. Russian soldiers appear on the peninsula without insignia. The "little green men." The West imposes sanctions. Russia's economy takes a hit. Putin's domestic approval rating rises to 86%.

Annexing Crimea under military occupation. Was the referendum legitimate? Did you expect the sanctions?

2022 Event

Launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. International sanctions isolate the Russian economy. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for war crimes related to the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The largest war in Europe since 1945. What was the calculation? Did you expect Kyiv to fall in days?

2024 Event

Reelected to a fifth term as president with 87% of the vote. Constitutional amendments he signed in 2021 could extend his presidency to 2036. He has dominated Russian politics for a quarter century. The communal apartment boy from Leningrad never left the Kremlin.

87 percent in a fifth term. Is that democracy or theater? Constitutional amendments to stay in power until 2036. Is there an exit plan?