Vladimir Putin Biography Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin born October 7, 1952 is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has been serving as the President of Russia since 2012, after previously holding the position from 2000 to 2008. He also served as Prime Minister of Russia twice, first from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. At 25 years and 23 days, Putin became the longest-serving leader of Russia or the Soviet Union since Joseph Stalin, who ruled for 30 years. Putin worked for 16 years as a KGB foreign intelligence officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, before resigning in 1991 to pursue a political career in Saint Petersburg. In 1996, he moved to Moscow and joined President Boris Yeltsin’s administration. He briefly held the position of director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and then served as secretary of the Security Council of Russia before becoming prime minister in August 1999. When Yeltsin resigned, Putin became acting president and, in less than four months, was elected president.
Vladimir Putin Biography
Vladimir Putin, born on October 7, 1952, is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as the president of Russia since 2012, after previously holding the position from 2000 to 2008. He also served as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel (podpolkovnik), before resigning in 1991 to pursue a political career in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 to join President Boris Yeltsin’s administration, briefly holding positions as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council. In August 1999, he was appointed prime minister. Following Yeltsin’s resignation, Putin became acting president and was elected president within four months. He was reelected in 2004. Due to constitutional term limits, he served as prime minister again from 2008 to 2012 under Dmitry Medvedev. Putin returned to the presidency in 2012 following an election marked by allegations of fraud and protests, and was reelected in 2018.
Vladimir Putin Biography Details
Born | Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin 7 October 1952 (age 72) |
Political party | Independent (1991–1995, 2001–2008, 2012–present) |
Other political affiliations | People’s Front (since 2011) United Russia[1] (2008–2012) Unity (1999–2001) Our Home – Russia (1995–1999) CPSU (1975–1991) |
Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) |
Spouse | Lyudmila Shkrebneva (m. 1983; div. 2014) |
Children | At least 2, Maria and Katerina |
Relatives | Putin family |
Residence(s) | Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow |
Alma mater | Leningrad State University (LLB) Leningrad Mining Institute (Kandidat Nauk) |
Category | Biography |
About Vladimir Putin
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.
- Born: 7 October 1952 (age 72 years), Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Presidential terms: 7 May 2000 – 7 May 2008, 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2000, 7 May 2012 –
- Spouse: Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya (m. 1983–2014)
- Children: Mariya Putina, Katerina Tikhonova
- Organizations founded: National Guard Forces Command ·
- Education: Saint Petersburg Mining University (1997) ·
- Office: President of Russia since 2012
Early Life
Putin was born on October 7, 1952, in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Soviet Union, the youngest of three children. His parents were Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria Ivanovna Putina (née Shelomova; 1911–1998). His paternal grandfather, Spiridon Putin (1879–1965), served as a personal cook to both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Putin’s birth followed the deaths of two older brothers: Albert, who died in infancy, and Viktor, who died in 1942 during the Siege of Leningrad due to diphtheria and starvation.
Putin’s mother worked in a factory, and his father served as a conscript in the Soviet Navy during the early 1930s. During the early stages of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, his father served in an NKVD destruction battalion before being transferred to the regular army, where he was seriously wounded in 1942. Putin’s maternal grandmother was killed by German forces in the Tver region in 1941, and his maternal uncles went missing on the Eastern Front during World War II.
Vladimir Putin at a Glance
- Category: Richest Politicians › Presidents
- Net Worth: $70 Billion
- Salary: $187,000 per year
- Birthdate: October 7, 1952 (72 years old)
- Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Gender: Male
- Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m)
- Profession: Politician
- Nationality: Russian
What is Vladimir Putin’s Net Worth 2025?
Vladimir Putin is a Russian politician with a net worth of $70 billion. His political career began in the early 1990s, when he served as Deputy Mayor of Saint Petersburg under Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. His role involved focusing on international relations and attracting foreign investment. In 1999, Putin became Prime Minister of Russia under President Boris Yeltsin, and upon Yeltsin’s resignation, he assumed the role of Acting President.
Putin’s Secret Billion-Dollar Fortune
Despite official disclosures listing his presidential salary at $187,000 annually, and claims of a modest net worth of $180,000 in savings, Putin is suspect of having a much larger fortune. Critics allege that Putin has used his political influence to secretly acquire substantial stakes in major Russian companies, including a 4.5% ownership in Gazprom (a natural gas producer), a 37% stake in Surgutneftegas (an oil company), and a 50% stake in Swiss oil trader Gunvor. These investments, based on the companies’ revenues and market capitalizations, are said to bring his total net worth to $70 billion.
Political Career
After graduation, Putin spent 16 years in the KGB, where he trained at the 401st KGB school in Leningrad and worked as a foreign intelligence officer in East Germany from 1985 to 1990. He returned to Leningrad after the fall of the East German government and reconnected with Sobchak, who became Mayor of Leningrad. Putin was appointed head of the Committee for External Relations of the Mayor’s Office. In 1998, President Boris Yeltsin appointed him Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB’s successor.
In 1999, Yeltsin appointed Putin as Prime Minister, and shortly after, Putin agreed to run for president after Yeltsin’s resignation. Putin served as President from 2000 to 2008, then as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012, before returning to the presidency. His leadership has been marked by a focus on economic growth, centralization of power, and controversial foreign policies.
Personal Life
Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva in 1983, and they had two daughters, Yekaterina and Mariya. The couple divorced in 2013, with the divorce finalized in 2014. Putin is rumored to have two grandsons and a granddaughter. He is also believed to have a relationship with former gymnast Alina Kabaeva, though both parties have denied these rumors.
Putin’s public persona is built around a “macho” image, often depicted engaging in extreme sports, including shirtless photo ops. His aphorisms, or “Putinisms,” have gained attention for their blunt and sometimes humorous nature, such as when he responded to an American journalist’s question about a lost Russian submarine by saying, “She sank.”