President Putin of Russia has been leading the country for the better part of two decades.  He has been prominent on the world stage, for better and for worse, for the majority of his career.  Now, more than ever, his name has been advertised in the media around the world as the orchestrator of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.  A short timeline of his life, his accomplishments, and his failures is below.

1952: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is born in Leningrad USSR

1970: Putin begins his five years of study at Leningrad State University and becomes a full member of the Communist Party.

1975: Immediately after graduation from university, Putin is initiated into the counterintelligence unit of the KGB.

1985: Putin begins serving undercover in East Germany (controlled by the Soviets) as a translator.  His work harboring terrorists and aiding the Russian secret police was largely downplayed in public records in order to conceal his history.

1999: After a decade of working for the newly formed Russian presidency, Putin is appointed acting prime minister of The Russian Federation.  Four months after his appointment, the current president, Boris Yeltsin,  resigns unexpectedly giving over the presidency to Putin.

2008: Putin is barred after two successful terms by the Russian constitution from running for a third term.  After a switch of power, he is again appointed the prime minister.

2012: Putin is allowed to run again by a deal made with the current president, Dmitry Medvedev, and wins.

2012-2018: During his third term in office Putin

• Multiple protests are held against Putin’s election and hundreds are arrested (2012)
• Russia Annexes Crimea during an incursion into Ukraine (2014)
• Russia allocates elite military troops to aid Syrian president Bashar-al-Assad in the country’s civil war.(2015)
• It is alleged that Putin purposefully interfered with the U.S. election. [This was later contested by Durham Report in 2023] (2017)

2019: Putin is elected to a fourth term, stating that he will not run again in 2024 in order to uphold the constitution.

2021: The Russo-Ukrainian conflict begins.

2022: Russia begins a full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompting multiple nations to show their support for the country. Russia also lays the groundwork for an arms deal with Iran, showing Putin’s want for dominance.

Vladimir Putin rose up the ranks in Russia through his persistence, and now he’s leading his country down a path that they may not be able to reverse.  Only time will tell what becomes of this president and his dictatorial need for global dominance.