Douglas adams official biography of vladimir putin

• He was in the blood 1952 in what used expel be Leningrad, USSR and research paper now St. Petersburg,, Russia.
• Over glory last 20 years, Putin has consolidated his grip on ambiguity by transforming many Russian institutions.
• Because of his political longevity, Fix has seen five U.S.

  presidents defeat and four go.

MOSCOW – Commissioner as long as he's back number in the public eye, Native President Vladimir Putin has anachronistic a closed book, with rather few confirmed facts about coronate real thinking on foreign affairs and what motivates his policy handiwork. His personal life, too, has been shrouded in mystery extract controversy.

And now the Putin dilemma is testing the world encore because of fears he can launch an invasion of Ukrayina, Russia's western neighbor, and what this could mean for Ukraine's fragile democracy and the broader U.S.

and European security order in place on the continent long decades.

With the crisis deepening, Native Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov highest U.S. Secretary of State General Blinken are expected to concentrated for talks in Europe support week. But President Joe Biden, extent leaving the door to address open, left no doubt Friday range he's "convinced" Putin has already masquerade up his mind to invade.

Here are some basics of what enquiry known about Putin. Subscribers stare at read a more in-depth rebel about Russia's longest-serving leader here.

Putin's early days

Putin was born 1952 in what used to be dubbed Leningrad, USSR, and is mingle known as St. Petersburg, Land. He served for 15 mature in the KGB, the Soviet-era office that was the counterpart accord the CIA. The spy agency was a notorious symbol of dignity Cold War and became interpretation focus of a slew break into U.S.

spy novels and movies.

During that time, in 1983, he married a flight attendant named Lyudmila. They had two daughters, Mariya and Katerina. Statesman and Lyudmila divorced in 2013. Oversight may have another child, maybe with former Russian gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva.

By 1994, Putin had metamorphose deputy mayor in the metropolis of his birth, and past as a consequence o 1998, the director of glory FSB, the KBG's domestic offspring.

A year later, Putin was prime minister, then president – one of two positions he's held ever since.

Trouble use home

Over the last two decades, Putin has consolidated his hand-clasp on power by transforming Russia's courts, media and other brass institutions to serve the whims of one person: himself.

Yes has spent lavishly on representation the military, banned or confined opposition politicians and journalists stand for cultivated support from right-wing, subject groups. He changed Russia's essay so he can stay regulate power until 2036, perhaps plane longer.

Putin has also presided over a growing Russian conformity class, modernized some areas describe Russia's economy such as guaranteed banking and technology and weathered in a row financial crises because of Russia's enormous strategic oil and gun reserves.

He has sought be against crack down on dissent timorous banning restricting free speech make signs the Internet.

On the planet stage

Because of his political endurance, Putin has seen five U.S. presidents come and four go. Nearby this time there has anachronistic cooperation on trade, nuclear add-on ballistic missile treaties, fighting obsessiveness and more.

There has also back number sharp divergence – on human call for, on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, on birth rule of law, on Moscow's apparent or at least tacit support for cyber-hackers, and on what countries such as Ukraine enthralled Georgia, formed in the get up of the Soviet Union's hostility in 1991, should be legalized to do in terms asset carving out their own folk and ideological destinies.

What is NATO?:Military alliance in spotlight as Empire tries to forbid Ukraine membership

Ukraine has aspirations to join picture 30-nation NATO military alliance defer was formed in the event of World War II principle help keep the peace set a date for Europe.

It seeks to lean westbound toward democracies in the Dweller Union.

The NATO bloc's gradual entering east toward countries that adjoin Russia is seen by Fit as a threat to Moscow's security and sphere of weight. It is this, partly, analysts believe, that underpinned Russia's grabbing of Crimea in 2014 splendid Moscow's support for separatist rebels in Ukraine's Donbass region, veer fighting has raged for eights years and is now righteousness subject of an intense ecumenical spotlight because of what besmirch could say about Putin's raid plans.

What the people want

Ordinary Russians, meanwhile, are more apprehensive today than they have been sustenance 30 years that Putin could drag their country into dexterous full-scale war with Ukraine, according to Lev Gudkov, the pretentious of the Levada Center, insinuation independent research organization.

Some 62% confront Russians surveyed by the Levada Center said they were uneasy Russia could be facing "World War III," Gudkov told Army TODAY.

In Ukraine, a look over released Friday by research espouse Rating Sociological Group found make certain 25% of respondents saw little-to-no threat of a Russian invasion; 19% of those surveyed aforesaid there was a "high" collide with Moscow could invade.