Vladimir Putin, Before He Was Famous

Vladimir Putin has been both the president and prime minister of Russia since the year 2000. Since then, he’s been taking shirtless photos, accused of war crimes, and playing ridiculous exhibition hockey games. Putin is a larger than life figure that has ruled Russia with an iron fist and has built himself up to be almost a demigod. But, who was Putin before he was famous?

Well, we’ve got Michael McCrudden on deck to walk us through it. In his newest video he shows us that Vladimir was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg) in 1952. He grew up in a struggling family and he wasn’t exactly an ideal student when he entered school. He used to fight with other students, his gym teacher, and showed a particular interest in martial arts.

Upon leaving school, Putin joined the communists and began working for the KGB. Putin continued to butt heads with his peers. During this time, his job was to monitor foreigners in the city of Leningrad. Shortly thereafter he was married and had two daughters. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Putin spent time recruiting students to join the KGB.

Once the Soviet Union fell, Putin moved into politics. Throughout the 1990s he worked under President Boris Yeltsin until eventually becoming acting president after Yeltsin abruptly resigned. As Putin took control in the early 2000s, he eventually became one of the most powerful people in the world (as evidenced by this pop song) as he maintained control on Russia.