Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin(Russian:Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин;IPA:[vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn](listen); born 7 October 1952) is aRussian politicianwho has been thePresident of Russiasince 7 May 2012. Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008, and asPrime Minister of Russiafrom 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin was also previously the Chairman ofUnited Russia.

For sixteen years Putin was an officer in theKGB, rising to the rank ofLieutenant Colonel, before he retired to enter politics in his nativeSaint Petersburgin 1991. He moved toMoscowin 1996 and joined PresidentBoris Yeltsin's administration where he rose quickly, becomingActing Presidenton 31 December 1999 when Yeltsin resigned unexpectedly. Putin won the subsequent2000 presidential electionand wasre-elected in 2004. Because ofconstitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term in 2008.Dmitry Medvedevwon the2008 presidential electionand appointed Putin asPrime Minister, beginning a period of so-called"tandemocracy".^[1]In September 2011, following a change in the law, Putin announced that he would seek a third, non-consecutive term as President in the2012 presidential election, an announcement which led tolarge-scale protests in many Russian cities. He won the election in March 2012 and will serve an increased, six-year term.^[2]^[3]

Russia Executive Branch