“I cannot imagine my own country in isolation from Europe and what we often call the civilized world,” said Putin, who was still acting president after Boris Yeltsin’s sudden resignation on New Year’s Eve 1999. Days before he was elected to the Russian presidency in 2000, Vladimir Putin told the BBC that Russia was “part of European culture” and that he “would not rule out” the possibility of it joining NATO.
Vladimir Putin is the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin, having led the country for more than 2 decades as either its Prime Minister or its President. Vladimir Putin, in full Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R, Russian intelligence officer and politician who served as president of Russia and also was the country’s prime minister.
Here are 10 facts about Vladimir Putin.
- Vladimir Putin Went to Law School
Vladimir Putin was born in 1952 in Leningrad, Russia; now called St. Petersburg. He and his parents lived in a shared apartment with another family and attended the local Primary and High school. Vladimir enrolled at Leningrad State University after High school and began studying for a Law degree. After graduating with his Law degree, Vladimir sought out a job in the intelligence industry and decided to serve his country at the same time.
- Vladimir Putin Began His Political Career Working For His Mentor
After he retired from the KGB, Vladimir Putin held a position at the Leningrad State University for a short time before starting his career in politics. During his time as both a student and employee, at Leningrad State University Vladimir formed a friendship with mentor Anatoly Sobchak. He was the first democratically elected mayor of Leningrad; now called St. Petersburg.
- Vladimir Putin Has Consistently Held a Seat of Power
Once Vladimir Putin reached his presidential seat, he remained in that seat of power until this day. Starting as Acting President in 1999, he was elected as the official Present a few months later in 2000. He was then re-elected in 2004 for a second term, but could not campaign for a third term due to constitutional limits. Vladimir maintained his seat of power by having his pupil, Dmitry Medvedev, succeed him and then designate Vladimir as prime minister again. After Medvedev’s term was up, Vladimir was re-elected as President in 2012 and has remained there until this day.
- He Offered Help to the US After the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
During his time as President, Vladimir Putin has had a love-hate relationship with the United States. After the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, Putin offered Russia’s assistance to the U.S; allowing the U.S to use their airspace, and also joined the U.S in search-and-rescue missions. However, this support shifted to the opposition when the U.S changed its focus to eliminating Saddam Hussein; with Russia, Germany, and France not supporting the plan.
- Vladimir Putin Has a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
Another connection that Vladimir Putin and Edward Snowden have is their Nobel Peace Prize Nomination in 2014. Snowden was nominated for his information leak, and Putin was nominated for his peaceful solution to Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Vladimir’s friendship with the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, was the likely reason for his success. Vladimir Putin persuaded Assad to surrender Syria’s weapons peacefully as opposed to the other option of aggressive intervention.
