Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia. Putin was born in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad) on October 7 1952 and studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975. After a 16-year career with the KGB, he resigned as a lieutenant colonel in 1991 with ambitions to enter politics. He has served in several positions, including as director of the FSB, secretary of the country’s security council and prime minister. He entered his fourth term as president in 2018. In February 2022 Putin launched a Russian invasion of Ukraine with the intention to overthrow its democratically-elected government.