Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician who has served as the president of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 2000 until 2008. He was also the Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. He later moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of President Boris Yeltsin, serving first as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB’s successor agency, before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin was elected to succeed him. During his first tenure as president, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, with GDP measured by purchasing power increasing by 72%.
Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding. Experts do not generally consider Russia to be a democracy, citing purges and jailing of political opponents, curtailed press freedom, and the lack of free and fair elections. Human rights organizations and activists have accused Putin of persecuting political critics and activists, as well as ordering them tortured or assassinated; he has rejected accusations of human rights abuses. Officials of the United States government have accused him of leading an interference program against Hillary Clinton in support of Donald Trump during the U.S. presidential election in 2016, an allegation which both Trump and Putin have frequently denied and criticized.
Vladimir Putin has an estimated net worth of $70 billion.
Net Worth: | $70 Billion |
Date of birth: | October 7, 1952 |
Country: | Russia |
Source of wealth: | President of Russia |
