Vladimir Putin is one of the most powerful men in the world.

Born in St. Petersburg in 1952, he worked as a KGB spy in East Germany before going into politics and working his way up to the top job of president.

Putin's military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In recent days, the simmering conflict between Moscow's military leadership and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of private mercenary group Wagner, exploded into an open insurrection, plunging Russia into renewed uncertainty as Putin faced the biggest threat to his authority in decades.

Putin is a polarizing figure who has dominated Russian politics since he was first elected in 2000. Look back at photos from his life and career.

A 6-year-old Putin poses for a picture with his mother, Maria Putina, in 1958. He was born on October 7, 1952, in St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad.
A 6-year-old Putin poses for a picture with his mother, Maria Putina, in 1958. He was born on October 7, 1952, in St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad.
Archivio GBB/Redux
At age 13, Putin and other students pose for a class photo. He is seen in the first row, third from right.
At age 13, Putin and other students pose for a class photo. He is seen in the first row, third from right.
Russian Archives via ZUMA Press Wire
Putin grew up in a communal apartment shared by three families.
Putin grew up in a communal apartment shared by three families.
Archivio GBB/Redux
Putin dances with a classmate during a party in St. Petersburg in 1970.
Putin dances with a classmate during a party in St. Petersburg in 1970.
Laski Diffusion/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Putin, bottom, wrestles at school in St. Petersburg in 1971.
Putin, bottom, wrestles at school in St. Petersburg in 1971.
Russian Archives via ZUMA Press Wire
Putin joined the KGB in 1975 and was first assigned to shadow foreign visitors.
Putin joined the KGB in 1975 and was first assigned to shadow foreign visitors.
Archivio GBB/Redux
Putin poses for a photograph with his parents, Maria and Vladimir, in 1985. It was just before his departure to Germany, where he was assigned to counterintelligence duties.
Putin poses for a photograph with his parents, Maria and Vladimir, in 1985. It was just before his departure to Germany, where he was assigned to counterintelligence duties.
Laski Diffusion/Newsmakers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Putin turned toward politics in 1991 and became an adviser to one of his law school mentors, Anatoly Sobchak, who was running for mayor of St. Petersburg. The two are seen here during a ceremony in 1992.
Putin turned toward politics in 1991 and became an adviser to one of his law school mentors, Anatoly Sobchak, who was running for mayor of St. Petersburg. The two are seen here during a ceremony in 1992.
Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. The couple married in 1983 and divorced in 2014.
Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. The couple married in 1983 and divorced in 2014.
Russian Archives via ZUMA Press Wire
Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin prime minister in 1999. Here, Putin hand Yeltsin flowers during a farewell ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow in December 1999. Amid a scandal Yeltsin had announced he was resigning immediately and that Putin would run the country as acting president until elections in March 2000.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin prime minister in 1999. Here, Putin hand Yeltsin flowers during a farewell ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow in December 1999. Amid a scandal Yeltsin had announced he was resigning immediately and that Putin would run the country as acting president until elections in March 2000.
AFP/Getty Images
Putin sets a flower on a tomb during his inauguration ceremony in May 2000 at the Kremlin in Moscow. He was sworn in as Russia's second democratically elected president.
Putin sets a flower on a tomb during his inauguration ceremony in May 2000 at the Kremlin in Moscow. He was sworn in as Russia's second democratically elected president.
Laski Diffusion/Newsmakers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Putin dances with a young girl in Kazan, Russia, while taking part in midsummer festivities in June 2000.
Putin dances with a young girl in Kazan, Russia, while taking part in midsummer festivities in June 2000.
Laski Diffusion/Newsmakers/Getty Images
Cuban leader Fidel Castro chats with Putin at the top of the steps of Havana's Palace of the Revolution during Putin's official welcoming ceremony in December 2000. Putin was on a four-day official visit to Cuba, the first by a Russian leader since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro chats with Putin at the top of the steps of Havana's Palace of the Revolution during Putin's official welcoming ceremony in December 2000. Putin was on a four-day official visit to Cuba, the first by a Russian leader since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Reuters
Putin listens to a question during a joint press conference with US President George W. Bush at the White House in November 2001.
Putin listens to a question during a joint press conference with US President George W. Bush at the White House in November 2001.
Stephen Jaffe/AFP via Getty Images
President Bush welcomes Putin upon his arrival at Camp David in 2003.
President Bush welcomes Putin upon his arrival at Camp David in 2003.
Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images
Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009.
Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009.
Alexey Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images
Putin meets with a victim of a terrorist attack at a Moscow hospital in March 2010. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up on packed metro trains in Moscow, killing dozen of people.
Putin meets with a victim of a terrorist attack at a Moscow hospital in March 2010. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up on packed metro trains in Moscow, killing dozen of people.
Alexey Nikolsky/AFP via Getty Images
Putin judges an arm wrestling match while visiting the Seliger youth educational forum in Russia's Tver region in August 2011.
Putin judges an arm wrestling match while visiting the Seliger youth educational forum in Russia's Tver region in August 2011.
Mikhail Metzel/AP
During a rally in Moscow, tears run down Putin's face after he was elected president for a third term in March 2012.
During a rally in Moscow, tears run down Putin's face after he was elected president for a third term in March 2012.
Ivan Sekretarev/AP
Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev clink glasses in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow in June 2012 during a reception marking the patriotic Russia Day holiday to celebrate the country's 1990 declaration of independence from Soviet rule.
Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev clink glasses in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow in June 2012 during a reception marking the patriotic Russia Day holiday to celebrate the country's 1990 declaration of independence from Soviet rule.
Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images
Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013.
Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013.
AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A topless demonstrator with a message on her back walks toward Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hanover, Germany, in April 2013.
A topless demonstrator with a message on her back walks toward Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hanover, Germany, in April 2013.
Jochen Lübke/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
From left, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Putin and Medvedev look at their watches before the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in February 2014. Russia hosted the Olympics that year.
From left, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Putin and Medvedev look at their watches before the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in February 2014. Russia hosted the Olympics that year.
Dmitry Astakhov/ITAR-TASS/Landov
Putin shakes hands with Speaker of Crimean legislature Vladimir Konstantinov, second from left, and Sevastopol mayor Alexei Chalyi as Crimean Premier Sergei Aksyonov looks on in March 2014. Putin had just signed a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia.
Putin shakes hands with Speaker of Crimean legislature Vladimir Konstantinov, second from left, and Sevastopol mayor Alexei Chalyi as Crimean Premier Sergei Aksyonov looks on in March 2014. Putin had just signed a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia.
Sergei Ilnitsky/AP
Putin is seen through a video camera's viewfinder as he speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow in December 2014.
Putin is seen through a video camera's viewfinder as he speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow in December 2014.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
From left, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gather in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2015. Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany were gathering for crucial talks in the hope of negotiating an end to the fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine.
From left, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gather in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2015. Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany were gathering for crucial talks in the hope of negotiating an end to the fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Mykola Lazarenko/AP
US President Barack Obama and Putin toast during a luncheon hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 70th annual UN General Assembly in 2015.
US President Barack Obama and Putin toast during a luncheon hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 70th annual UN General Assembly in 2015.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Putin pays his respects to slain Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov during the funeral ceremony at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow in December 2016. Karlov was assassinated in Turkey by an off-duty policeman.
Putin pays his respects to slain Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov during the funeral ceremony at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow in December 2016. Karlov was assassinated in Turkey by an off-duty policeman.
Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Putin hands US President Donald Trump a World Cup football during a joint press conference after their 2018 summit in Helsinki, Finland. The two leaders met one-on-one and discussed a range of issues, including the 2016 US election.
Putin hands US President Donald Trump a World Cup football during a joint press conference after their 2018 summit in Helsinki, Finland. The two leaders met one-on-one and discussed a range of issues, including the 2016 US election.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018.
Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018.
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin meet in Paris in December 2019.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin meet in Paris in December 2019.
Eliot Blondet/Pool/SIPA/Shutterstock
A security officer asks the media to step back at the start of a summit between US President Joe Biden and Putin in June 2021. Seated from left are US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The summit, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first meeting of Biden and Putin since Biden was elected president.
A security officer asks the media to step back at the start of a summit between US President Joe Biden and Putin in June 2021. Seated from left are US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The summit, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first meeting of Biden and Putin since Biden was elected president.
Denis Balibouse/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Putin meets with Macron in Moscow in February 2022. Macron was hoping to de-escalate the tense standoff between Russia and Ukraine. At the time, Putin had assembled 70% of the military personnel and weapons it would need for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, based on US intelligence estimates.
Putin meets with Macron in Moscow in February 2022. Macron was hoping to de-escalate the tense standoff between Russia and Ukraine. At the time, Putin had assembled 70% of the military personnel and weapons it would need for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, based on US intelligence estimates.
SPUTNIK/AFP/Getty Images
A family that left eastern Ukraine watches Putin's televised address from a hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, in February 2022. In lengthy remarks, Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West and appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination. He would soon order troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine.
A family that left eastern Ukraine watches Putin's televised address from a hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, in February 2022. In lengthy remarks, Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West and appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination. He would soon order troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine.
Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux
In this image taken from video, Putin pays his respects near the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow in September 2022.
In this image taken from video, Putin pays his respects near the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow in September 2022.
Russian pool via AP
Putin meets with the Moscow-appointed heads of four Ukrainian regions, partially occupied by Russia, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in September 2022. In defiance of international law, Putin announced Russia would annex four Ukrainian regions as Russian territory: Luhansk and Donetsk — home to two Russian-backed breakaway republics where fighting has been ongoing since 2014 — as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, two areas in southern Ukraine that have been occupied by Russian forces since shortly after the invasion began.
Putin meets with the Moscow-appointed heads of four Ukrainian regions, partially occupied by Russia, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in September 2022. In defiance of international law, Putin announced Russia would annex four Ukrainian regions as Russian territory: Luhansk and Donetsk — home to two Russian-backed breakaway republics where fighting has been ongoing since 2014 — as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, two areas in southern Ukraine that have been occupied by Russian forces since shortly after the invasion began.
Getty Images
Putin is seen on a screen as he addresses a rally and concert in Moscow marking the annexation of the four regions of Ukraine in September 2022.
Putin is seen on a screen as he addresses a rally and concert in Moscow marking the annexation of the four regions of Ukraine in September 2022.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
Putin speaks with his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg in December 2022.
Putin speaks with his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg in December 2022.
Alexey Danichev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Putin sees off Chinese President Xi Jinping after a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow in March 2023.
Putin sees off Chinese President Xi Jinping after a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow in March 2023.
Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Putin is seen on monitors as he addresses the nation after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of private mercenary group Wagner, called for an armed rebellion in June 2023. Putin vowed to punish those behind the "armed uprising." Later the Belarusian government claimed President Alexander Lukashenko had <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Feurope%2Flive-news%2Frussia-ukraine-war-news-06-24-23%2Findex.html" target="_blank">reached a deal</a> with Prigozhin to halt the advance. The Kremlin said criminal charges against Prigozhin will be dropped and he will be sent to neighboring Belarus.
Putin is seen on monitors as he addresses the nation after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of private mercenary group Wagner, called for an armed rebellion in June 2023. Putin vowed to punish those behind the "armed uprising." Later the Belarusian government claimed President Alexander Lukashenko had reached a deal with Prigozhin to halt the advance. The Kremlin said criminal charges against Prigozhin will be dropped and he will be sent to neighboring Belarus.
Pavel Bednyakov/Sputnik via AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Putin visit the construction site of a rocket launch complex in Tsiolkovsky, Russia, in September 2023. <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2023%2F09%2F12%2Fasia%2Fkim-jong-un-putin-meeting-russia-intl-hnk%2Findex.html" target="_blank">Kim and Putin met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome</a>, in Russia's far east, as both countries face international isolation over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. Putin has said Russia is considering and discussing some military cooperation with North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Putin visit the construction site of a rocket launch complex in Tsiolkovsky, Russia, in September 2023. Kim and Putin met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Russia's far east, as both countries face international isolation over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. Putin has said Russia is considering and discussing some military cooperation with North Korea.
Getty Images
<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2024%2F02%2F09%2Feurope%2Fvladimir-putin-interview-tucker-carlson-gershkovich-intl-hnk%2Findex.html" target="_blank">Putin speaks with American right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson</a> during an interview in February 2024. It was <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2024%2F02%2F08%2Fmedia%2Fvladimir-putin-tucker-carlson-interview-reliable-sources%2Findex.html" target="_blank">Putin's first interview</a> with a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin speaks with American right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson during an interview in February 2024. It was Putin's first interview with a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Tucker Carlson Network/Zuma Press
Putin speaks at a press conference after partial election results indicated he would <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2024%2F03%2F17%2Feurope%2Fputin-wins-russia-presidential-election-intl%2Findex.html" target="_blank">win another term</a> in March 2024, extending his rule until at least 2030. With most opposition candidates either dead, jailed, exiled or barred from running -- and with dissent effectively outlawed in Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 -- Putin faced no credible challenge to his presidency.
Putin speaks at a press conference after partial election results indicated he would win another term in March 2024, extending his rule until at least 2030. With most opposition candidates either dead, jailed, exiled or barred from running -- and with dissent effectively outlawed in Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 -- Putin faced no credible challenge to his presidency.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Vladimir Putin walks to take his <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F2024%2F05%2F07%2Feurope%2Fputin-inauguration-russia-president-fifth-term-intl%2Findex.html" target="_blank">oath as Russian president</a> during an inauguration ceremony in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2024.
Vladimir Putin walks to take his oath as Russian president during an inauguration ceremony in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2024.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP