Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia, was born on October 7, 1952, in Moscow, Russia. He is a former intelligence officer and politician. He has been in this post since 2012, and prior to that, he held it from 1999 to 2008. From 1999 to 2000, and then again from 2008 to 2012, he served as Prime Minister. Putin is currently the European president with the second-longest term.
Childhood and Upbringing
Putin was born in Leningrad and received his bachelor’s degree in law from Leningrad State University in 1975. Putin spent 16 years in the KGB as a foreign intelligence officer, attaining 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 work for President Boris Yeltsin’s administration. Before being appointed Prime Minister in August 1999, he held positions as Director of the Federal Security Service and Secretary of the Security Council. 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 re-elected in 2004.
Presidential Election
Putin received over 76 percent of the vote in the 2018 presidential election. His fourth term started on May 7, 2018 and will end in 2024. Putin invited Dmitry Medvedev to establish a new cabinet the same day. Putin took part in the launching of the movement along the highway segment of the Crimean bridge on May 15, 2018. Putin signed orders establishing the composition of the new government on May 18, 2018. Putin said on May 25, 2018, that he would not run for president in 2024, citing the Russian Constitution as his justification. Putin officially kicked off the 21st FIFA World Cup, which was held for the first time in Russia, on June 14, 2018.
