Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin [c] (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer, serving as the current president of Russia . Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: [d] as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012, and as president from 2000 to 2008 and since 2012. [e] [7]
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 moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of president Boris Yeltsin . He briefly served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council of Russia , before being appointed prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became acting president and, less th
During Putin's first tenure as president, the Russian economy grew on average by seven percent per year, [10] after economic reforms and a fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas. [11] [12] Putin also led Russia during a war against Chechen separatists , reestablishing federal control of the region. [13] [14] As prime minister under Medvedev, he oversaw a war against Georgia and military and police reform . During his third term as president, Russia annexed Crimea and sponsored a war in eastern Ukrain