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Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин
President of Russia
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2012
Prime Minister	Viktor Zubkov (Acting) Dmitry Medvedev
Preceded by	Dmitry Medvedev
In office 7 May 2000 – 7 May 2008 Acting: 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2000
Prime Minister	Mikhail Kasyanov Viktor Khristenko Mikhail Fradkov Viktor Zubkov
Preceded by	Boris Yeltsin
Succeeded by	Dmitry Medvedev
Prime Minister of Russia
In office 8 May 2008 – 7 May 2012
President	Dmitry Medvedev
Deputy	Igor Shuvalov
Preceded by	Viktor Zubkov
Succeeded by	Viktor Zubkov (Acting)
In office 16 August 1999 – 7 May 2000 Acting: 9 August 1999 – 16 August 1999
President	Boris Yeltsin
Deputy	Viktor Khristenko Mikhail Kasyanov
Preceded by	Sergei Stepashin
Succeeded by	Mikhail Kasyanov
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union State
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 May 2008
Preceded by	Position established
Leader of United Russia
In office 1 January 2008 – 26 May 2012
Preceded by	Boris Gryzlov
Succeeded by	Dmitry Medvedev
Personal details
Born	(1952-10-07) 7 October 1952 (age 59) Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Before 1991) Independent (1991–1995) Our Home-Russia (1995–1999) Unity (1999–2001) Independent (2001–2008) United Russia (2008–2012) Independent (2012–present)
Spouse(s)	Lyudmila Aleksandrovna
Children	Mariya Yekaterina
Alma mater	Leningrad State University
Signature
Website	Official website

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин; IPA: [vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn] ( listen); born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician who has been the President of Russia since 7 May 2012. Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008 and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin also serves as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move. Putin won the 2000 presidential election; in 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008.

Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term. After his successor Dmitry Medvedev won the 2008 presidential election, Putin was nominated by Medvedev to be Russia's Prime Minister; Putin took office on 8 May 2008 and a period of so-called "tandemocracy"^[1] followed. In September 2011, Putin and Medvedev agreed he should seek a third, non-consecutive term in the 2012 presidential election, which he won in the first round on 4 March 2012.^[2][3]

Putin claims to have overseen a return of political stability and economic progress to Russia, ending the crisis of the 1990s.^[4] During his presidency, the Russian economy grew for nine straight years, seeing GDP increase by 72% in PPP (sixfold in nominal),^[5][6] poverty decrease by more than 50%,^[7][8] and average monthly salaries increase from $80 to $640.^[5][9] These achievements have been ascribed by analysts to strong macroeconomic management, important fiscal policy reforms, surging capital inflows, access to low-cost external financing and a five-fold increase in price of oil and gas which are the majority of Russian exports.^{[10][11][12][13]} The fast formation of the modern middle class in the country, the 2.3 times increase in real incomes between 2000-2011 as well as improvements in healthcare and public order allowed Russia to achieve the highest level of life expectancy in its history.^[14]

As Russia's president, Putin passed into law a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes.^[12][15] As Prime Minister, Putin oversaw large scale military reform and police reform. His energy policy has affirmed Russia's position as an energy superpower.^[16][17] Putin established a number of national champions, i.e. state corporations which oversaw the restoration of high-tech industries in the country (such as nuclear industry and defence industry). A significant rise in foreign investment^[18] contributed to a boom in such sectors as the automotive industry. Economic megaprojects which Putin endorsed have included the construction of major export pipelines, the restoration of the global satellite navigation system GLONASS, and the building of infrastructure for international events held in Russia.

In Russia, Putin's leadership has mostly enjoyed considerable popularity, with generally high approval ratings;^[19] as Prime Minister, Putin's approval rating was 52 percent in January 2012, according to the state-run pollster VTSIOM.^[20] However, many of his actions have been characterised by the domestic opposition as undemocratic.^[21] Western observers and organisations have also voiced criticism of Putin's leadership. The 2011 Democracy Index stated that Russia has been in "a long process of regression culminated in a move from a hybrid to an authoritarian regime" under Putin,^[22] and American diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks allege that Russia has become a "virtual mafia state" due to systematic corruption in Putin's governance,^[23][24] allegations which Putin adamantly denies.

In the media, Putin often projects an adventurous, macho image, demonstrating his physical capabilities and taking part in unusual or dangerous activities; some of these publicity stunts have occasionally been criticised. A keen practitioner of martial arts, Putin has played a major role in development of sport in Russia, notably, helping Sochi to win the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Ancestry, early life and education[link]

Putin with his mother, Maria Ivanovna, in July 1958

Putin was born on October 7, 1952, in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation),^[25] to parents Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria Ivanovna Putina (1911–1998). His mother was a factory worker, and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, where he served in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s.^[26] Two elder brothers were born in the mid-1930s; one died within a few months of birth, while the second succumbed to diphtheria during the siege of Leningrad.

Vladimir Putin's paternal grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (1879–1965), was employed at Vladimir Lenin's dacha at Gorki as a cook, and after Lenin's death in 1924, he continued to work for Lenin's wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya. He would later cook for Joseph Stalin when the Soviet leader visited one of his dachas in the Moscow region. Spiridon later was employed at a dacha belonging to the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, at which the young Putin would visit him.^[27]

The ancestry of Vladimir Putin has been described as a mystery with no records surviving of any ancestors of any people with the surname "Putin" beyond his grandfather Spiridon Ivanovich. It has been suggested that the Putin's are descended from the royal Tverskoy family. The 'family book' of the Tver region where Spiridon was from mentions the name of Putyanin who it claims were a clan of Russian aristocrats descended from Mikhail of Tver, the Grand Prince of Tver in the Middle Ages. It became common practice for family names associated with the former aristocracy to be abbreviated, e.g. Repnin becoming "Pnin" and, perhaps, Putyanin becoming "Putin".^[28]

His autobiography, Ot Pervogo Litsa (English: In the First Person),^[26] which is based on Putin's interviews, speaks of humble beginnings, including early years in a communal apartment in Leningrad. On 1 September 1960, he started at School No. 193 at Baskov Lane, just across from his house. By fifth grade he was one of a few in a class of more than 45 pupils who was not yet a member of the Pioneers, largely because of his rowdy behavior. In sixth grade he started taking sport seriously in the form of sambo and then judo. In his youth, Putin was eager to emulate the intelligence officer characters played on the Soviet screen by actors such as Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Georgiy Zhzhonov.^[29]

Putin graduated from the International Law branch of the Law Department of the Leningrad State University in 1975, writing his final thesis on international law.^[30] His PhD thesis was titled "The Strategic Planning of Regional Resources Under the Formation of Market Relations" and it argued that Russian economic success would depend on creating national energy champions.^[31] While at university he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and remained a member until the party was dissolved in December 1991.^[32] Also at the University he met Anatoly Sobchak who later played an important role in Putin's career. Anatoly Sobchak was at the time an Assistant Professor and lectured Putin's class on Business Law (khozyaystvennoye pravo).^[33]

KGB career[link]

Putin in KGB uniform

Putin joined the KGB in 1975 upon graduation, and underwent a year's training at the 401st KGB school in Okhta, Leningrad. He then went on to work briefly in the Second Chief Directorate (counter-intelligence) before he was transferred to the First Chief Directorate, where among his duties was the monitoring of foreigners and consular officials in Leningrad.^[34][35]

From 1985 to 1990, the KGB stationed Putin in Dresden, East Germany.^[36] Following the collapse of the East German government, Putin was recalled to the Soviet Union and returned to Leningrad, where in June 1991 he assumed a position with the International Affairs section of Leningrad State University, reporting to Vice-Rector Yuriy Molchanov.^[35] In his new position, Putin maintained surveillance on the student body and kept an eye out for recruits. It was during his stint at the university that Putin grew reacquainted with his former professor Anatoly Sobchak, then mayor of Leningrad.^[37]

Putin finally resigned from the active state security services with the rank of Lieutenant colonel on 20 August 1991 (with some attempts to resign made earlier),^[38] on the second day of the KGB-supported abortive putsch against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.^[39] Putin later explained his decision: "As soon as the coup began, I immediately decided which side I was on", though he also noted that the choice was hard because he had spent the best part of his life with "the organs".^[40]

Early political career[link]

Saint Petersburg administration[link]

In May 1990, Putin was appointed Mayor Sobchak's advisor on international affairs. On 28 June 1991, he was appointed head of the Committee for External Relations of the Saint Petersburg Mayor's Office, with responsibility for promoting international relations and foreign investments. The Committee also registered business ventures in Saint Petersburg. Less than one year later, Putin was investigated by a commission of the city legislative council. Commission deputies Marina Salye and Yury Gladkov concluded that Putin understated prices and permitted the export of metals valued at $93 million, in exchange for foreign food aid that never arrived.^[41][42] Despite the commission's recommendation that Putin be fired, Putin remained head of the Committee for External Relations until 1996.^[43][44]

From 1994 to 1997, Putin was appointed to other positions in Saint Petersburg. In March 1994, he became first deputy head of the city administration. From 1995 through June 1997, he led the Saint Petersburg branch of the pro-government Our Home Is Russia political party.^[45] From 1995 through June 1997 he was also the head of the Advisory Board of the JSC Newspaper Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti.^[45]

Moscow career[link]

Putin as FSB director, 1998

In 1996, Anatoly Sobchak lost the Saint Petersburg mayoral election to Vladimir Yakovlev. Putin was called to Moscow and in June 1996 became a Deputy Chief of the Presidential Property Management Department headed by Pavel Borodin. He occupied this position until March 1997. During his tenure Putin was responsible for the foreign property of the state and organized transfer of the former assets of the Soviet Union and Communist Party to the Russian Federation.^[33]

On 26 March 1997, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin deputy chief of Presidential Staff, which he remained until May 1998, and chief of the Main Control Directorate of the Presidential Property Management Department (until June 1998). His predecessor on this position was Alexei Kudrin and the successor was Nikolai Patrushev both future prominent politicians and Putin's associates.^[33]

On 25 May 1998, Putin was appointed First Deputy Chief of Presidential Staff for regions, replacing Viktoriya Mitina; and, on 15 July, the Head of the Commission for the preparation of agreements on the delimitation of power of regions and the federal center attached to the President, replacing Sergey Shakhray. After Putin's appointment, the commission completed no such agreements, although during Shakhray's term as the Head of the Commission there were 46 agreements signed.^[46] Later, after becoming President Putin canceled all those agreements.^[33]

On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin head of the FSB (one of the successor agencies to the KGB), the position Putin occupied until August 1999. He became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on 1 October 1998 and its Secretary on 29 March 1999.

Accusations of plagiarism[link]

On 27 June 1997, at the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute Putin defended his Candidate of Science dissertation in economics titled "The Strategic Planning of Regional Resources Under the Formation of Market Relations".^[47] According to Clifford G Gaddy, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, 16 of the 20 pages that open a key section of Putin’s 218-page thesis were copied either word for word or with minute alterations from a management study, Strategic Planning and Policy, written by US professors William King and David Cleland and translated into Russian by a KGB-related institute in the early 1990s.^[48][49] 6 diagrams and tables were also copied.^[50] Gaddy doesn't believe that the plagiarism was really intentional "in the sense that if you had wanted to hide where the text came from you wouldn’t even list this work in the bibliography."^[51] The dissertation committee disagreed with Gaddy's claims. Chairman of the committee Natalia Pashkevich, accused Gaddy of not reading the dissertation very well. "There are references to the article mentioned. Everything is done correctly... It is only a plus for Vladimir Putin that he used not only Russian authors, but foreign ones as well." Anatoly Suslov, provost of economics at the Mining Institute, who was present at Putin dissertation defense, recalled "The opponent was someone from Moscow. The defense went calmly. There were many questions, of course, since it was a candidate's dissertation, but there was no question of plagiarism. No one uncovered anything of the kind. Vladimir Putin defended himself, and he prepared his own work. All those conversations about dissertations being bought are untrue. Ours isn't the kind of institute where you can do that."^[52]

First Premiership (1999–2000)[link]

On 9 August 1999, Vladimir Putin was appointed one of three First Deputy Prime Ministers, which enabled him later on that day, as the previous government led by Sergei Stepashin had been sacked, to be appointed acting Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation by President Boris Yeltsin.^[53] Yeltsin also announced that he wanted to see Putin as his successor. Later, that same day, Putin agreed to run for the presidency.^[54] On 16 August, the State Duma approved his appointment as Prime Minister with 233 votes in favour (vs. 84 against, 17 abstained),^[55] while a simple majority of 226 was required, making him Russia's fifth PM in fewer than eighteen months. On his appointment, few expected Putin, virtually unknown to the general public, to last any longer than his predecessors. He was initially regarded as a Yeltsin loyalist; like other prime ministers of Boris Yeltsin, Putin did not choose ministers himself, his cabinet being determined by the presidential administration.^[56]