How Vladimir Putin Went From Spy Film Admirer To One Of The World's Most Powerful Men

We all know the name Vladimir Putin. From his oppression of Russia's LGBT community to his invasion of Ukraine to his unyielding support for the Syrian government, the ironfisted president at the helm of Russia's government has been a mainstay in recent headlines.

But what do we know about Vladimir Putin, really?

According to biographers Fiona Hill and Clifford G. Gaddy, "Very little information is definitive, confirmable, or reliable. As a result, some observers say that Vladimir Putin has no face, no substance, no soul. He is a 'man from nowhere,' who can appear to be anybody to anyone."

In the interest of finding out just how the "man from nowhere" came to be known everywhere, we traced the rise of Putin, from a boy hunting rats in his family's communal apartment to one of the world's most powerful men.