Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria … 展开

In 1975, Putin joined the KGB and trained at the 401st KGB School in Okhta, Leningrad. After training, he worked in the Second Chief Directorate (counterintelligence), … 展开

Putin's domestic policies, particularly early in his first presidency, were aimed at creating a vertical power structure. On 13 May 2000, he issued a decree organizing the 89 federal subjects of Russia into seven administrative federal districts and appointed a presidential … 展开

Polls and rankings
The director of the Levada Center stated in 2015 that drawing conclusions from Russian poll results or … 展开

On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No. 193 at Baskov Lane, near his home. He was one of a few in his class of about 45 pupils who were … 展开

1990–1996: Saint Petersburg administration
In May 1990, Putin was appointed as an advisor on international affairs to the mayor of Leningrad 展开

Generally, Putin's tenure experiences tensions with the west. Anna Borshchevskaya, in her 2022 book, summarizes Putin main foreign policy objectives as originating in his 30 December 1999 document which appeared on the … 展开