The most designing character of modern Russian politics – Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin – was born in Leningrad on November 7th, 1952.

Vladimir Putin is a master of sports in unarmed self-defense and judo. He’s also a repeated USD champion of Saint-Petersburg. He is married and his wife’s name is Lyudmila Alexandrovna Putina. The couple has two daughters.

V.V. Putin is a law school graduate. After graduation, he was offered to work for the department of national security. He served in the First main department (foreign reconnaissance) of USSR KGB, and spent a long time working in Germany. After that, he passed the whole rank scale from the pro-rector’s assistant on international matters in the Leningrad State University, to the director of Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

Then in 1999, the former Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, managed to replace six Heads of Government during the last 1.5 years of his reign! However, he overshadowed everything he had done before by publishing the decree that appointed Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin the Head of the Government of the Russian Federation. The observers were shocked; nobody had expected a colonel of the special service to become the new head of Russia. Nobody had thought of Putin as a person able to achieve any success in public politics. More likely he was just an official appointed because of his loyal attitude to Yeltsin. No one could understand how a person practically unfamiliar to the public and lacking charisma (which seemed to be inevitable for a Russian politician) would be able to become a serious candidate for presidency. Yeltsin made things clear: on December 31st, 1999 he sent in his resignation after wishing the Russian people a Happy New Year, and appointed Putin the acting President of the Russian Federation. According to the law, Putin got the system of the country’s Nuclear Forces control (“the nuclear case”). It could have been the issue that helped him win the pre-term presidential election on March 26th, 2000 with 52.52% of the votes. On March 14th, 2004 he was re-elected.

The starting period of Putin’s presidency marked the start of the hard times for the representatives of big business; even for those who had been in the Kremlin’s good books before. The new President announced the realization of a state-reinforcement idea - he was the leader that the country suffering from the results of hectic reformation could only dream of.

He cut almost all attempts of major financial and industrial circles (so-called oligarchs) to affect the politics. State-scale theft of natural resources and major industrial companies was replaced by incredible providence and governmental interest. His idea of the reinforcement of state influence was embodied in the creation of seven federal districts whose heads are appointed by the Head of the State himself and function as the “master’s eye” on vast Russian lands – from Northern seas to Kazakhstan steppes. Putin also managed to simplify the taxation system which significantly vivified the small and medium business.

The best of V. Putin’s numerous achievements are the liquidation of huge salary and pension debts, the increase of the pension, and the general economy growth.

And one last thing – Vladimir Putin occupies a worthy place among sex symbols of Russian women.