Full Name: Vladimir Putin

Nationality: Russian | Activity: president of Russia

Born: 07-10-1952

(born 1952). . In an announcement that surprised the locals as much as the rest of the world, Russia's President Boris Yeltsin resigned on Dec. 31, 1999. Yeltsin left in his place a relatively unknown man named Vladimir Putin, whom Yeltsin had elevated to the post of prime minister a scant five months earlier. A career foreign intelligence officer by background, Putin was described as austere, reserved, and disciplined. A deeply private person, he had the reputation of a man who got things done quietly and efficiently and who inspired respect, even fear, in those with whom he came in contact.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on Oct. 7, 1952, in Leningrad, U.S.S.R. (now St. Petersburg, Russia). He studied law at Leningrad State University, where his tutor was Anatoli Sobchak, later one of the leading reform politicians of the perestroika period. Putin spent 15 years as a foreign intelligence officer for the Committee for State Security (KGB), including six years in Dresden, East Germany (now Germany). In 1990 he retired from active KGB service with the rank of lieutenant colonel and returned to Russia to become prorector of Leningrad State University with responsibility for the institution's external relations. Soon afterward, Putin became an adviser to Sobchak, the first democratically elected mayor of St. Petersburg. He quickly won Sobchak's confidence and became known for his ability to get things done; by 1994 he had risen to the post of first deputy mayor.

In 1996 Putin moved to Moscow, where he joined the presidential staff as deputy to Pavel Borodin, the Kremlin's chief administrator. Putin grew close to fellow Leningrader Anatoli Chubais and moved up in administrative positions. In July 1998 President Yeltsin made Putin director of the Federal Security Service (the KGB's domestic successor), and shortly thereafter he became secretary of the influential Security Council. Yeltsin, who was searching for an heir to assume his position, appointed Putin prime minister in 1999.

As prime minister, the virtually unknown Putin saw his public-approval ratings soar when he launched a well-organized military operation against the secessionist rebels in Chechnya. Wearied by years of Yeltsin's erratic behavior, the population appreciated Putin's coolness and decisiveness under pressure. Putin's support for the new electoral bloc, Unity, ensured its success in the December parliamentary elections.

On December 31, Yeltsin unexpectedly announced his resignation and named Putin acting president. Promising to rebuild a weakened Russia, Putin easily won the March 2000 elections with about 53 percent of the vote. As president, Putin sought to end corruption and create a strongly regulated free-market economy. He faced a difficult situation in Chechnya, where the rebels proved to be unexpectedly tenacious; in 2002 Putin declared the military campaign over, but casualties remained high.

Overseeing an economy that enjoyed growth after a prolonged recession in the 1990s, Putin was easily reelected in March 2004. In parliamentary elections in December 2007, Putin's party, United Russia, won an overwhelming majority of seats. A constitutional provision forced Putin to step down in 2008. His chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, won the March 2008 presidential election by a landslide. (See also Russia.)

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Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

 
 
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