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Five minutes on Vladimir Putin — who he is, what he has done, and how this site handles a living, contested figure.

Who he is

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952, Leningrad) is the President of Russia, an office he has held in 2000–2008 and continuously since 2012. Between his presidential terms he served as Prime Minister (2008–2012). Before politics he was a KGB officer (1975–1991), posted to Dresden, East Germany, in the 1980s.

The career in six steps

1. Leningrad childhood and law degree — born 1952; graduated from Leningrad State University’s law faculty in 1975. See Early Life.
2. KGB officer, 1975–1991 — foreign-intelligence work, including Dresden 1985–1990; resigned as a lieutenant colonel. See KGB Years.
3. St. Petersburg politics, 1990–1996 — aide to Mayor Anatoly Sobchak; ran the city’s foreign-relations committee. See St. Petersburg 1990s.
4. Moscow and the security services, 1996–1999 — Kremlin administration posts; FSB director from July 1998; prime minister from August 1999. See Rise to Power.
5. President, 2000–2008 — two terms; then prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev, 2008–2012. See First Presidencies and Medvedev Interlude.
6. President again, 2012–present — re-elected 2012, 2018, and 2024; constitutional amendments in 2020 reset his term count. See Return 2012 and Constitutional Changes.

The events you will meet

• The Second Chechen War (1999–2000), launched weeks into his premiership — see Rise to Power.
• The 2008 war with Georgia over South Ossetia — see Foreign Policy.
• The 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine — see Ukraine Conflict.
• The 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international sanctions, and the 2023 ICC arrest warrant — see Ukraine Conflict.

How this site stays neutral

• Every quotation is verbatim from a published transcript, with venue and date — see Sayings.
• Every contested event names who said or did what, per which source. Russian government claims, Ukrainian government claims, and international-body findings are each attributed, never merged into one voice — see Methodology.
• No invented numbers. Casualty figures, poll numbers, and election results appear only as officially reported figures with their source named — see Public Record.
• Reported-but-unconfirmed material is flagged as such or omitted.

Where to go next

• The full life story: Biography.
• The dated record: Timeline.
• His words, verified: Sayings.
• The animated character stream: Stream.

Source notes

• Orientation written 2026-09-26. Dates follow the Kremlin’s official chronology and standard biographical sources (see sources); election figures are official Central Election Commission results (see public-record).