Born in Russia's second largest city of Leningrad, currently named St. Petersburg, on Oct. 7, 1952, Putin graduated from the Law Department of the Leningrad State University in 1975 and was commissioned to work for the former Soviet Union's State Security Committee (KGB).

　　In 1984, he was sent to the KGB Red Banner Academy and Foreign Intelligence School, and in 1985 he was posted to the former German Democratic Republic, where he served until 1990.

　　In 1990, Putin worked as an assistant to the rector of the Leningrad State University and then became advisor to the then Chairman of the Leningrad City Council Anatoly Sobchak. After Sobchak was elected mayor of St. Petersburg on June 12, 1991, Putin was appointed chairman of the Mayor's Office Committee for International Relations.

　　In 1994, he became first deputy mayor of St. Petersburg's city government.

　　On March 26, 1997, he was appointed as a deputy chief in Boris Yeltsin's office and head of the president's Main Audit Directorate.

　　In May 1998, Putin became the first deputy head of the presidential office in charge of regional policies. On July 25, 1998, Yeltsin decreed Putin's appointment as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the KGB.

　　In March 1999, while still heading the FSB, Putin was appointedsecretary of the State Security Council. In August 1999, Yeltsin dismissed Sergey Stepashin, his fourth prime minister in 16 months,and replaced him with Putin. Upon Yeltsin's resignation on Dec. 31,1999, Putin became the acting president of Russia.

　　On March 26, 2000, Putin was elected president and inaugurated two months later. On March 14, 2004, he was reelected as the Russian president and inaugurated on May 7.

　　He visited China in July 2000 and December 2002 in his capacity as Russian president.