Putin's demands for an agreement with Ukraine 1:40
(CNN) --
Here's a look at the life of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Personal information
Date of birth:
October 7, 1952
Place of birth:
Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia
Birth name:
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
Father:
Vladimir Putin, factory foreman
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Mother:
Maria Putin
Marriage:
Lyudmila (Shkrebneva) Putin (July 28, 1983-2014, divorced)
Children:
Yekaterina and Maria
Education:
Leningrad State University, law, 1975
Religion:
Orthodox Christian
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is a popular but polarizing figure who has dominated Russian politics since he was first elected in 2000. In February 2022, the Russian Army, under Putin's command, invaded Ukraine.
See in this gallery more photos of his life and career.
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Putin poses for a class photo in 1960. He was born on October 7, 1952 in what is now St. Petersburg, Russia.
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Putin dances with a classmate at a party in 1970.
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Putin, the latter, fights with a classmate in 1971. He then went on to study law at Leningrad State University, and in 1975 joined the KGB, a Soviet-era spy agency.
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Putin poses with his parents, Vladimir and Maria, in 1985. A year earlier, he was selected to attend the Red Flag Intelligence Institute, where he learned German and English.
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From 1991 to 1994, Putin served as chairman of the St. Petersburg Foreign Relations Committee.
He also served as deputy mayor of the city.
Here, Putin with the mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, in 1992.
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Putin quickly rose through the political ranks.
Here, he gives flowers to Russian President Boris Yeltsin during a farewell ceremony in Moscow in December 1999. Yeltsin, Russia's first democratically elected president, was resigning from him.
Putin, his prime minister, was named interim president until the election, which Putin won several months later.
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President-elect Putin watches Russia's Northern Fleet conduct tactical exercises in the Barents Sea in April 2000.
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Putin shakes hands with British Prime Minister Tony Blair after a news conference in London in April 2000.
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Putin dances with a young woman in Kazan, Russia, as he participates in the summer festivities in June 2000.
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Putin and US President Bill Clinton talk in Moscow in June 2000.
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Putin is greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong II after arriving in Pyongyang in July 2000. Russia is one of the few countries that has diplomatic relations with North Korea.
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Putin speaks with his wife, Lyudmila, as they pose in front of the Taj Mahal in India in October 2000. They were married for 30 years before their divorce was finalized in 2014. They have two daughters together.
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Putin listens to US President George W. Bush during a visit to the White House in November 2001. A few months later, the two signed a treaty to reduce and limit their strategic nuclear warheads.
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Putin watches honor guards march past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a wreath-laying ceremony in Moscow in June 2003.
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Putin rides out in an open carriage with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a welcoming ceremony in London in June 2003.
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Putin pets his dog Kuni while addressing reporters with German Chancellor Angela Merker in January 2007. Merkel, reportedly afraid of dogs since one attacked her in 1995, was photographed looking distinctly uncomfortable as Putin brought her large Labrador black to the meeting in Sochi, Russia.
Years later, he told the German newspaper Bild that he had no intention of intimidating Merkel.
"When I found out that she doesn't like dogs, of course I apologized," he said.
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In 2008, Putin had completed two terms and was constitutionally required to step down as president.
But he stayed close to power, becoming prime minister after Dimitry Medvedev, at center, was chosen as his successor.
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Putin shakes hands with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in November 2008.
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Putin participates in a judo training session at a Saint Petersburg athletics school in December 2009. Putin has a black belt.
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Putin officiates at a wrestling contest while visiting a youth educational forum near Russia's Seliger Lake in August 2011.
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Putin and Medvedev attend a State Council session in Moscow in December 2011. A few months later, Putin was re-elected president and Medvedev became prime minister.
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During a demonstration in Moscow, tears stream down Putin's face after he was elected president for a third term in March 2012.
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Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013.
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Putin and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands share a toast after unveiling a plaque at the Hermitage Amsterdam museum in April 2013. It is a branch of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
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A topless protester yells at Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merker during a visit inside Almenia in April 2013. That month Putin defended his government's record on freedom of expression and rejected a claim that it uses "Stalinist" methods. " to crack down on critics and activists.
Two international rights groups had issued scathing reports on Putin's presidency, saying changes to the law had helped authorities crack down on dissent.
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Putin fishes in the Russian region of Tuva during a vacation in July 2013. For years, Putin has cultivated a populist image in the Russian media.
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Putin arrives to watch a military exercise in Russia's Leningrad region in March 2014.
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From left to right, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Putin, and Medvedev look at their watches before the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in February 2014. Russia hosted the Olympics that year.
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Putin controls the puck during an ice hockey game between Russian amateur players and ice hockey stars at a festival in Sochi, Russia, in May 2014.
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US President Barack Obama toasts Putin at a New York luncheon hosted by UN Secretary-General Ben Ki-moon in September 2015. "Amidst the inevitable trials and setbacks, we will never relax in our pursuit of progress and never give up the pursuit of peace," Obama said before ringing glasses.
"Health".
The two, bitterly at odds over Ukraine and Syria, had a closed-door meeting later that day.
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Putin sits on a batyscape as he dives into the Black Sea in August 2016. He dove underwater to see the wreckage of an ancient merchant ship that was found earlier that year.
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Putin works out at a Black Sea resort in Sochi in August 2016.
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Putin shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany in July 2017. They spoke for more than two hours, discussing interference in US elections and striking a deal to stop the violence in Syria.
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Putin and Medvedev speak during their visit to the New Jerusalem Orthodox Monastery outside the city of Istra, Russia, in November 2017.
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Putin shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his meeting in Sochi in May 2018.
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Putin with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, right, after the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow.
France defeated Croatia in the final.
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Putin hands Trump a World Cup soccer ball after their July 2018 summit in Helsinki, Finland.
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Putin inspects the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve in Siberia in August 2018.
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Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018.
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Putin welcomes North Korean leader Kim Jong before his talks in Vladivostok, Russia, in April 2019.
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Pope Francis exchanges gifts with Putin when the Russian leader visited Vatican City in July 2019.
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Putin poses with the leaders of African countries who visited Sochi to attend a Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in October 2019.
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Putin during an address in February 2022. Western intelligence officials have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to overthrow Ukraine's democratically elected government, replacing it with a friendly puppet regime.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Stock image.
The invasion of Ukraine has unleashed global tension, a humanitarian crisis in Europe, and many countries in the region and the world have come together to impose economic sanctions on Russia and Putin. (Credit: OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
Other data
He likes to exercise and is a black belt in judo.
He grew up in a communal apartment shared by three families.
He served in the KGB as an intelligence agent before becoming involved in politics.
Chronology
1975 -
Joins the Committee of State Security (KGB).
He is part of the staff of the KGB's First General Directorate of Foreign Intelligence and is assigned to follow foreign visitors.
1984 -
He is selected to attend the Red Flag Intelligence Institute, where he learns German and English.
1985 -
Assigned to counterintelligence duties in Dresden, East Germany.
Reportedly, he monitors the loyalty of Soviet diplomats.
1990 -
Becomes vice-rector (dean) for international affairs at Leningrad State University.
Reportedly, he monitors the loyalty of students and follows foreigners.
1991 -
He turns to politics when he becomes an adviser to one of his mentors at law school, Anatoly Sobchak, who is running for mayor of Leningrad.
After Sobchak wins the election, Putin is chosen to work at the city council as chairman of the international relations committee.
He resigns from the KGB.
1997 -
Putin is appointed deputy chief administrator of the Kremlin under President Boris Yeltsin.
1998 -
Head of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
1999 -
Secretary of the Russian Security Council.
August 9, 1999 -
Yeltsin appoints Putin as prime minister.
December 31, 1999 -
Yeltsin resigns amid scandal and Putin becomes interim president.
Grant Yeltsin immunity from prosecution.
March 26, 2000 -
He is elected President of Russia.
May 7, 2000 –
Putin is sworn in.
June 16, 2001 -
Putin meets with US President George W. Bush and the two hold a joint news conference.
Bush tells reporters that during the two-hour meeting, he was able to get a glimpse of Putin's soul.
May 24, 2002 -
Putin and Bush sign the Moscow Treaty on Reductions in Strategic Offensive Operations, which requires each country to reduce its stockpile of strategic nuclear warheads over the course of ten years.
March 15, 2004 -
Re-elected after campaigning as an independent.
May 7, 2004 -
Putin is sworn in for his second term.
April 27, 2005 -
Becomes the first Russian leader to visit Israel.
October 4-5, 2005 -
Visits UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and announces increased cooperation between Russia and Britain to combat terrorism.
September 5, 2006 -
Meets with South African President Thabo Mbeki during the first visit to sub-Saharan Africa by a Russian leader.
December 19, 2007 -
Named Person of the Year by Time magazine.
March 2, 2008 -
Dmitry Medvedev is elected President of Russia.
May 7, 2008 -
Just two hours after his presidential oath, Medvedev appoints Putin as prime minister.
August 2008 -
Russia becomes involved in a military conflict with neighboring Georgia.
September 24, 2011 -
Medvedev calls on the ruling United Russia party to back Putin for the presidency in 2012. Putin, in turn, suggests that Medvedev take over as prime minister if the party wins parliamentary elections in December.
March 4, 2012 -
Putin wins a third term as president, with just under 65% of the vote.
Critics question the results amid allegations of voter fraud.
May 7, 2012 -
Putin is sworn in under tight security.
Hundreds of protesters are detained by the police.
December 14, 2012 -
US President Barack Obama signs the Magnitsky Act, a law that places financial and travel restrictions on people in Russia suspected of human rights violations.
The law is named after Sergey Magnitsky, a lawyer who died under mysterious circumstances in 2009 after finding evidence that Russian officials committed tax fraud.
December 28, 2012 -
In response to the Magnitsky Act, Putin signs a bill that prohibits US citizens from adopting Russian children.
The law also bars US-funded civic groups from operating in Russia.
June 6, 2013 -
During an interview broadcast on state television, Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, announce that their marriage is over.
September 11, 2013 -
Putin publishes an opinion piece in the New York Times on the Civil War in Syria.
March 2014 -
Putin sends troops to Crimea after Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych fled amid violent protests.
August 6, 2014 -
Putin signs a decree banning imports of food and agricultural products from countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia.
September 28, 2015 -
Putin attends the United Nations General Assembly in New York, then meets with Obama.
The two leaders talk about Ukraine and Syria, according to senior US officials.
It is their first in-person meeting since Russia's incursion into Ukraine.
January 21, 2016 -
A UK investigation is published, presenting evidence suggesting that Putin approved the operation to kill former FSB spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
July 25, 2016 -
The FBI announces that it has launched an investigation into the hacking of the Democratic National Commission's computer system.
Although the statement does not indicate that the agency has a particular suspect or suspects in mind, US officials told CNN they believe the cyberattack is related to Russia.
September 1, 2016 -
During an interview with Bloomberg News, Putin denies that the Russian government had any involvement in the hacking of Democratic National Commission emails.
December 30, 2016 -
Putin says Russia will not expel US diplomats in response to new Obama administration sanctions and expulsion of 35 US diplomats.
He says he will instead try to rebuild relations with the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
January 6, 2017 -
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence releases a declassified report concluding that Putin ordered an "influence campaign" aimed at hurting Hillary Clinton and helping Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
January 17, 2017 -
At a news conference, Putin says a damning dossier on Trump is "false" and dismisses accusations that his country's security services have been monitoring the US president-elect.
July 7, 2017 -
Meets with Trump for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
During a two-hour meeting, the men reportedly discussed accusations of Russian meddling in US elections and the war in Syria, among other things.
Hours later, they return to talk informally over dinner with other heads of state.
July 30, 2017 -
Putin announces that Russia is implementing a series of measures in response to a new sanctions bill approved by Trump.
He says that 755 employees of US diplomatic missions in Russia will be laid off from their jobs.
March 1, 2018 -
During his annual speech to Parliament, Putin boasts about the country's nuclear capabilities and declares that Russian missiles can evade air defense systems.
In a video simulation, nuclear warheads are shown flying through space and raining down on a peninsula that resembles the state of Florida.
March 18, 2018 -
Putin wins the election with 76.7% of the vote, according to the Russian Central Election Commission.
His most prominent rival, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was barred from running.
International election monitors say the votes were counted in an orderly manner, but criticize state media coverage of the presidential race, which heavily promoted Putin.
May 7, 2018 -
Takes the oath of office as president for another six years.
July 16, 2018 -
Putin and Trump meet in Helsinki and hold a joint press conference.
Trump refuses to endorse the US government's assessment that Russia interfered in the election.
"I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in denying him today," Trump said.
November 28, 2018 -
UK authorities say Putin has approved a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy.
The attack in Salisbury, England, sickened Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.
Another woman who came into contact with the poison died.
April 25, 2019 -
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Putin in Vladivostok.
The summit includes one-on-one talks, but does not include signed agreements or joint statements.
May 14, 2019 -
Putin meets with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who says he hopes the US and Russia can develop a more cooperative relationship.
Pompeo says he wants countries to work together "to make both of our peoples more successful and, frankly, the world as well."
July 3, 2019 -
Putin signs a law suspending Russia's participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
October 22, 2019 -
Putin meets with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi and the men announce a comprehensive deal on Syria, announcing that Russian and Turkish troops will patrol the Turkish-Syrian border.
The Kurdish forces have about six days to withdraw some 32 kilometers from the border.
January 15, 2020 -
Putin announces plans to push through reforms that would make his successor as president less powerful.
Authority would be redistributed giving greater influence to the Russian parliament and the prime minister's office.
The entire government resigns the same day.
March 23, 2021 -
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells CNN that Putin received a Covid-19 vaccine, although no videos or images of the vaccination process were made available.
The spokesman did not reveal which vaccine was used, but said it was one of three Russian vaccines that were approved: Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona or CoviVac.
April 5, 2021 -
Putin signs into law constitutional amendments that would allow him to seek two terms over six years when his presidency ends in 2024.
Vladimir Putin