Vladimir Putin: All You Need to Know about the Russian Ruler

Vladimir Putin was first appointed as the President of Russia in 1999, going on to be re-elected multiple times until 2008 when he was unable to run and was chosen to be the Prime Minister by his successor Dmitry Medvedev. In March 2012, Vladimir Putin was re-elected for his third term and later won a fourth term in March 2018. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the Russian ruler, Vladimir Putin.

Early Life and Political Career

Vladimir Putin was born in Leningrad, which is now called St. Petersburg, in Russia on October 7, 1952. Growing up with his family in a communal apartment, he attended the local grammar and high schools before later attending Leningrad State University. After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1975 with a degree in law, Vladimir Putin began a career in the KGB as an intelligence officer until retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1990.

After retiring from the KGB, Vladimir Putin held an administrative position at the University of Leningrad and later became an adviser to liberal politician Anatoly Sobchak in 1991. His political career progressed when Sobchak was elected mayor of Leningrad, becoming his head of external relations and, by 1994, Sobchak’s first deputy mayor. After Sobchak’s defeat in 1996, Putin chose to resign his post and move to Moscow, where he was later appointed deputy head of management in 1998, under Boris Yeltsin’s presidential administration. Shortly after being appointed deputy head of management, Putin was appointed head of the Federal Security Service and the head of Yeltsin’s Security Council. In the following year, Yeltsin dismissed his current prime minister Sergey Stapashin and promoted Vladimir Putin in his place.

President of Russia: First, Second, And Third Terms

In 1999, Boris Yeltsin resigned as President of Russia, appointing Putin as acting President until official elections were held. In the March 2000 election, Putin was elected to his first term with 53 percent of the vote.

Putin was re-elected to the presidency in 2004 and made a historic visit to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the following year, which marked the first visit to Israel by any Kremlin leader.

Due to constitutional term limits, Putin was unable to run for the presidency in 2008 but was later appointed prime minister by his protégé Dmitry Medvedev who succeeded him as President in March 2008.

In March 2012, Putin returned for his third term as President, and after widespread protests and allegations of electoral fraud, his inauguration was held in May 2012.

Chemical Weapons in Syria

In 2013, there were tensions between the United States and Syria in regards to Syria’s possession of chemical weapons. When the U.S. began threatening military action if the weapons were not relinquished, the crisis was averted when the Russian and U.S. governments brokered a deal for the weapons to be destroyed.

In the modern-day, there is still unrest in Syria, and news has emerged from Putin of militants from the war town nation heading to Afghanistan. For more information on this story, head over to Alarabiya News to learn about Vladimir Putin’s thoughts on the situation and the Kremlin’s envoy to Afghanistan.

Fourth Presidential Term

In March 2018, during the fourth anniversary of Russia’s seizure of Crimea, 67% of the electorate turned out to vote. Putin won by more than 76% for his fourth term as President; the opposition stood little chance against Putin’s popularity, and his closest competitor had a mere 13% of the vote.