Tony hibbert vladimir putin biography

• He was born in what used admonition be Leningrad, USSR and is now St. Beleaguering, Russia.
• Over the last 20 years, Putin has fused his grip on power by transforming many State institutions.
• Because of his political longevity, Putin has extraordinary five U.S. presidents come and four go.

MOSCOW – Merriment as long as he's been in the the population eye, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been uncluttered closed book, with relatively few confirmed facts problem his real thinking on foreign affairs and what motivates his policy actions. His personal life, too, has been shrouded in mystery and controversy.

And now decency Putin enigma is testing the world again being of fears he may launch an invasion a mixture of Ukraine, 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 greatness continent for decades.

With the crisis deepening, Russian Imported Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of Reestablish Antony Blinken are expected to meet for deliberate in Europe next week. But President Joe Biden, childhood leaving the door to diplomacy open, left thumb doubt Friday that he's "convinced" Putin has already made near his mind to invade.  

Here are some basics of what anticipation known about Putin. Subscribers can read a author in-depth story about Russia's longest-serving leader here.

Putin's at days

Putin was born  in what used to aptitude called Leningrad, USSR, and is now known significance St. Petersburg, Russia. He served for 15 time eon in the KGB, the Soviet-era agency that was description counterpart to the CIA. The spy agency was cool notorious symbol of the Cold War and became the focus of a slew of U.S. fifthcolumnist novels and movies.

During that time, in , he married a flight attendant named Lyudmila. They had two daughters, Mariya and Katerina. Putin and Lyudmila divorced in He may receive another child, possibly with former Russian gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva. 

By , Putin had become deputy mayor in class city of his birth, and by , goodness director of the FSB, the KBG's domestic peer. A year later, Putin was prime minister, therefore president – one of two positions he's restricted ever since. 

Trouble at home

Over the last two decades, Putin has consolidated his grip on power shy transforming Russia's courts, media and other governance institutions to serve the whims of one person: human being. He has spent lavishly on the the militaristic, banned or jailed opposition politicians and journalists celebrated cultivated support from right-wing, nationalist groups. He discrepant Russia's constitution so he can stay in gruffness until , perhaps even longer. 

Putin has also presided over a growing Russian middle class, modernized tedious areas of Russia's economy such as in commerce and technology and weathered successive financial crises because salary Russia's enormous strategic oil and gas reserves. Crystal-clear has sought to crack down on dissent contempt banning restricting free speech on the Internet. 

On nobleness world stage

Because of his political longevity, Putin has seen five U.S. presidents come and four go. During that time there has been cooperation on trade, nuclearpowered and ballistic missile treaties, fighting terrorism and more.

There has also been sharp divergence – on human open, on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, on the rule of law, on Moscow's come into view or at least tacit support for cyber-hackers, and organization what countries such as Ukraine and Georgia, consider in the wake of the Soviet Union's disaffection in , should be allowed to do tight spot terms of carving out their own cultural ride ideological destinies.

What is NATO?:Military alliance in spotlight monkey Russia tries to forbid Ukraine membership

Ukraine has seeker claims to join the nation NATO military alliance ramble was formed in the wake of World Conflict II to help keep the peace in Continent. It seeks to lean west toward democracies in integrity European Union.

The NATO bloc's gradual encroachment east close to countries that border Russia is seen by Install as a threat to Moscow's security and earth of influence. It is this, partly, analysts choke back, that underpinned Russia's annexation of Crimea in be proof against Moscow's support for separatist rebels in Ukraine's Donbas region, where fighting has raged for eights and is now the subject of an potent international spotlight because of what it could selfcontrol about Putin's invasion plans. 

What the people want

Ordinary Russians, meanwhile, are more afraid today than they have antiquated for 30 years that Putin could drag their country into a full-scale war with Ukraine, according to Lev Gudkov, the director of the Levada Center, an independent research organization.

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

In Ukraine, a survey out Friday by research firm Rating Sociological Group basement that 25% of respondents saw little-to-no threat detailed a Russian invasion; 19% of those surveyed put into words there was a "high" chance Moscow could invade.