Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born October 7, 1952) is a Russian politician, former intelligence officer, and the long-serving leader of the Russian Federation. He has held the presidency since 2012, having previously served in that office from 2000 to 2008. Between his presidential terms, he served as the Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. As a central figure in modern Russian history, Putin’s leadership has been characterized by the consolidation of state authority, a shift toward centralized domestic policy, and an increasingly assertive foreign policy that has significantly reshaped Russia's relationship with the West and the international order. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), in the Soviet Union, Putin was the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina. His childhood was influenced by the legacy of the Siege of Leningrad, in which his family suffered significant losses. He attended primary and high school in Leningrad, demonstrating an early interest in law and intelligence. Putin studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975. During his university years, he was required to join the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a membership he maintained until the party's dissolution in 1991. His early interests also included martial arts, specifically judo and sambo, which he continued to practice throughout his life. Following his graduation, Putin joined the KGB. Over the course of 16 years, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. A defining period of his intelligence career was his service in Dresden, East Germany, from 1985 to 1990, where he operated under a cover identity. Following the collapse of the Communist government in East Germany and his resignation from the KGB in 1991, Putin returned to Saint Petersburg. He entered local politics, becoming an advisor to Anatoly Sobchak, the first democratically elected mayor of the city. Putin’s efficiency in the Saint Petersburg administration facilitated his rapid political rise, eventually leading to his transition to Moscow in 1996, where he joined the presidential staff under Boris Yeltsin. In Moscow, Putin held several high-level positions, including serving as the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council. In August 1999, Boris Yeltsin appointed him Prime Minister. Following Yeltsin’s resignation on December 31, 1999, Putin became the acting president. He won his first presidential election in March 2000 and was reelected in 2004. Due to constitutional term limits that prevented more than two consecutive presidential terms, Putin shifted to the role of Prime Minister in 2008, while Dmitry Medvedev served as president. Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, a position he has held through subsequent reelections in 2018 and 2024. Putin's political legacy is defined by a significant reassertion of state control over key sectors of the economy, including energy and media, and the centralization of power within the executive branch. His domestic policies have emphasized national stability, a return to traditional values, and economic development, though they have also drawn widespread international criticism for the suppression of political dissent, the erosion of independent media, and the limitation of civil liberties. On the international stage, his tenure has been marked by a series of geopolitical confrontations, including the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, actions that led to significant international sanctions and Russia’s diplomatic isolation from much of the West. Regarding his personal life, Putin was married to Lyudmila Shkrebneva from 1983 until their divorce was finalized in 2014; the couple had two daughters, Maria and Katerina. Throughout his presidency, he has maintained a highly guarded and private personal life, rarely discussing his family or personal affairs in public. His image, often carefully curated to project strength and stoicism, remains a focal point of his political branding. As he continues his fifth term as president, his policies and actions remain the primary driver of Russia's domestic trajectory and its role in the global geopolitical landscape.