Biography
Born: 7 October 1952
Birthplace: Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg)
Vladimir Putin was elected president of the Russian Federation in 2000 as the hand-picked successor of Boris Yeltsin. After earning a law degree in 1975, Vladimir Putin joined the KGB, the security force of the former Soviet Union. He spent years working primarily in East Germany, then left the service in 1991 and became active in the politics of St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).
He was brought to Moscow by Yeltsin in 1996 and served as an administrator in the Kremlin and an official for the security organizations which replaced the KGB.
In 1999 Vladimir Putin became Yeltsin's fifth prime minister in 17 months, then became acting president when Yeltsin left office. He was officially elected to the office in 2000 and then re-elected in a landslide vote in March of 2004. As president he gained a reputation as a clever and ruthless political operator with a hunger for Russian power and not too much concern for the niceties of democracy or diplomacy. He stepped down in 2008 (as required by term limits) and was replaced by his own hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev then installed Putin as prime minister, a move which left Putin, as The New York Times put it, as "the country's dominant politician, with a firm grip on power."
- Sergei Dovlatov
Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (Mechik) (Russian: ?????? ????????? ???????? (?????) September 3, 1941-August 24, 1990) was a Russian short-story writer and novelist. Dovlatov was born on September 3, 1941 in Ufa, Republic of Bashkiria, where his family had...
- Korney Chukovsky
Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Russian: ?????? ???????? ?????????, March 31 NS 1882 - October 28, 1969) is probably the most popular poet for children in the Russian language. His poems Doctor Aybolit (???????), Giant Roach (??????????), Crocodile (????????)...
- Olga Berggolts
Biography Berggolts was born in a working suburb of St. Petersburg to the family of a doctor who worked at a plant. Her verses were first published in 1924. In 1925 she joined a youth literature group 'The Shift' where she became acquainted with...
- Horst Köhler - Biography
Horst Köhler, born 22 February 1943 in Heidenstein, Generalgouvernement, today Skierbieszów, Poland) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union, and the current President of Germany. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister...
- Silvio Berlusconi - Biography
Silvio Berlusconi (born Sept. 29, 1936, Milan, Italy) Italian media tycoon and prime minister of Italy (1994; 2001 ? 06); reelected 2008. After graduating from the University of Milan, he became a real estate developer, amassing a considerable fortune...
Biography
Vladimir Putin - Biography
Born: 7 October 1952
Birthplace: Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg)
Vladimir Putin was elected president of the Russian Federation in 2000 as the hand-picked successor of Boris Yeltsin. After earning a law degree in 1975, Vladimir Putin joined the KGB, the security force of the former Soviet Union. He spent years working primarily in East Germany, then left the service in 1991 and became active in the politics of St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).
He was brought to Moscow by Yeltsin in 1996 and served as an administrator in the Kremlin and an official for the security organizations which replaced the KGB.
In 1999 Vladimir Putin became Yeltsin's fifth prime minister in 17 months, then became acting president when Yeltsin left office. He was officially elected to the office in 2000 and then re-elected in a landslide vote in March of 2004. As president he gained a reputation as a clever and ruthless political operator with a hunger for Russian power and not too much concern for the niceties of democracy or diplomacy. He stepped down in 2008 (as required by term limits) and was replaced by his own hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev then installed Putin as prime minister, a move which left Putin, as The New York Times put it, as "the country's dominant politician, with a firm grip on power."
- Sergei Dovlatov
Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (Mechik) (Russian: ?????? ????????? ???????? (?????) September 3, 1941-August 24, 1990) was a Russian short-story writer and novelist. Dovlatov was born on September 3, 1941 in Ufa, Republic of Bashkiria, where his family had...
- Korney Chukovsky
Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Russian: ?????? ???????? ?????????, March 31 NS 1882 - October 28, 1969) is probably the most popular poet for children in the Russian language. His poems Doctor Aybolit (???????), Giant Roach (??????????), Crocodile (????????)...
- Olga Berggolts
Biography Berggolts was born in a working suburb of St. Petersburg to the family of a doctor who worked at a plant. Her verses were first published in 1924. In 1925 she joined a youth literature group 'The Shift' where she became acquainted with...
- Horst Köhler - Biography
Horst Köhler, born 22 February 1943 in Heidenstein, Generalgouvernement, today Skierbieszów, Poland) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union, and the current President of Germany. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister...
- Silvio Berlusconi - Biography
Silvio Berlusconi (born Sept. 29, 1936, Milan, Italy) Italian media tycoon and prime minister of Italy (1994; 2001 ? 06); reelected 2008. After graduating from the University of Milan, he became a real estate developer, amassing a considerable fortune...