Vladimir Putin: Biographical timeline and career overview

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, began his career in the KGB, serving as an intelligence officer. His service included assignments in the First Chief Directorate for Foreign Intelligence and counterintelligence duties in Dresden, East Germany, during the mid-1980s.

After transitioning to politics in 1991 as an adviser to Anatoly Sobchak in Leningrad, Putin held several high-ranking positions, including deputy chief administrator of the Kremlin, Chief of the Federal Security Service (FSB), and Secretary of the Russian Security Council. Following Boris Yeltsin's resignation on December 31, 1999, Putin became acting president and was subsequently elected to the presidency in March 2000.