Facts Vladimir Putin is the current President of Russia and the previous Prime Minister. He was also President for two terms ending in 2008. Vladimir Putin experienced great success in his political career from the start and has worked hard to become Russia's longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. His political history has been well documented and examined over the years.
His tenure was marked by territorial tensions in Eastern Europe, liberal economic reforms, a crackdown on political freedoms and a personality cult surrounding Putin's 'man of action' image.
Away from his public personality, Putin has lived a life of extremes: he grew up in poverty in the 1950s and 1960s in St Petersburg, for example, but now lives in a country palace complex worth more than $1 billion.
And his personality is also marked by contrasts. Putin was an officer of the State Security Committee (KGB) during the Cold War and claims to be a ruthless black belt in judo, but he also professes a genuine love for animals and the adoration of The Beatles.
Here are some facts about Vladimir Putin, the ruler of Russia, as quoted from Historyhit as follows:
1. Growing up in poverty
Facts about Vladimir Putin Putin's parents married at the age of 17. Hard times: during the Second World War, his father was injured and eventually maimed by a grenade, and during the Siege of Leningrad his mother was trapped and almost starved to death.
Putin's birth in October 1952 was preceded by the deaths of two brothers, Victor and Albert, who died during the Siege of Leningrad and in infancy respectively.
After the war, Putin's father took a factory job and his mother swept the streets and washed test tubes. The family lived in a communal apartment with several other families. Turns out there was no hot water and lots of rats.
2. Not a model student
Vladimir Putin Facts, In the ninth grade, Putin was selected to study at the Leningrad School No. 281, which only accepts the brightest students in the city. A Russian tabloid reportedly later found Putin's grade book. It said Putin was "throwing blackboard erasers at the children", "not doing his math homework", "behaving badly during singing class" and "talking in class". In addition, he was caught giving notes and often got into fights with the gym teacher and older students. While at school, he was interested in a career in the KGB. Knowing that the organization did not take volunteers and instead handpicked its members, he applied to law school as an avenue to be elected. In 1975, he graduated from Leningrad State University.
3. Reported to have broken records in Judo
Vladimir Putin facts. he has been practicing judo since he was 11 years old, before turning his attention to sambo 'Russian martial arts' when he was 14 years old. He won competitions in both sports in Leningrad now St Petersburg and in 2012 was awarded the eighth Dan of the black belt martial arts ranking system.
Which made him the first Russian to achieve this status. He has written books on the subject, co-authored Judo with Vladimir Putin in Russian, and Judo: History, Theory, Practice in English.
However, Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare editor and black belt in taekwondo and aikido, has disputed Putin's martial arts skills, stating that there is no video evidence of Putin displaying his noteworthy Judo skills.
4. Join the KGB.
Vladimir Putin fact, after completing his law degree, Putin joined the State Security Committee (KGB) in an administrative position. He studied in Moscow at the KGB foreign intelligence agency under the pseudonym 'Platov'.
He served in the KGB for 15 years and traveled across Russia, and in 1985 was sent to Dresden in East Germany. He rose through the ranks of the KGB and eventually became a lieutenant colonel.
However, in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Two years later, the Soviet Union collapsed and Putin left the KGB. However, this was not the end of Putin's relationship with the KGB: in 1998, he was appointed head of the FSB, the re-formed KGB.
5. After the KGB, he started his career in politics.
Facts Vladimir Putin, after a career in the State Security Committee (KGB), he held a position at Leningrad State University for a while before moving to politics. He is an honorable employee, and in 1994 had earned the title of Deputy Mayor under Anatoly Sobchak.
After his mayoral term ended, Putin moved to Moscow and joined the presidential staff. He started as Deputy Chief Management in 1998, then moved to head of the Federal Security Service, and in 1999 was promoted to Prime Minister.
Just before the turn of the century, then-President Boris Yeltsin stepped down and appointed Putin as Acting President. Yeltsin's opponents had been preparing for elections in June 2000. However, his resignation resulted in an earlier presidential election, in March 2000. There, Putin won in the first round with 53% of the vote. He was sworn in on May 7, 2000.
6. Fans The Beatles
Vladimir Putin Facts, In 2007, British photographer Plato was sent to take a portrait of Putin for Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year' issue. As a way of making conversation, Plato states, “I'm a huge Beatles fan. Are you?" He later shared that Putin said, "I love The Beatles!" and said his favorite song was Yesterday.
7. Have a castle in the forest
Facts Vladimir Putin, The mansion dubbed 'Putin's Palace', is an Italian palace complex located on the Black Sea coast in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The complex contains the main house with an area of nearly 18,000 m², an arboretum, greenhouse, helipad, ice palace, church, amphitheater, guest house, gas station, 80 meter bridge and a special tunnel inside the mountain with a tasting room.
Inside is a swimming pool, spa, sauna, Turkish bath, shops, cellar, reading room, music room, hookah bar, theater and cinema, wine cellar, casino, and about a dozen guest bedrooms. The master bedroom measures 260 m². Construction costs are estimated at around 100 billion rubles ($1.35 billion) at 2021 prices.
8. Have two kids
Vladimir Putin fact, he married Lyudmila Shkrebneva in 1983. The couple have two daughters together, Maria and Katerina, who are rarely mentioned by Putin and never seen by Russians. In 2013, the couple announced their divorce on a mutual basis, stating that they had not seen each other enough.
Foreign tabloids reported that Putin had at least one child with "a former rhythmic gymnastics champion who became a member of parliament", a claim Putin denies.
9. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice
In fact, Vladimir Putin persuaded Assad to surrender Syrian weapons peacefully as opposed to other aggressive intervention options, possibly because of his friendship with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. For this, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
He was also nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination did not come from the Kremlin: instead, it was supposed to be put forward by controversial Russian writer and public figure Sergey Komkov.
10. Vladimir Putin is an animal lover
Vladimir Putin's latest fact he has a number of pet dogs, and reportedly likes to be photographed with different animals. The abundance of images of Putin with animals can be broadly divided into three categories, loving pet owners with their many dogs, impressive animal handlers with horses, bears and tigers; and rescuers of endangered species such as the Siberian heron and the Siberian bear.
He's also pushed for laws for better treatment of animals, such as laws that prohibit keeping zoos inside malls and restaurants, outlaw the killing of wild animals and require proper care for pets.