Russia's Vladimir Putin, one of the world's most powerful leaders, is celebrating his birthday today. Putin, who has been in power in Russia for the past 22 years, turned 68.  Today, even though Russia has never had that stature in the world, it was once the Soviet Union (USSR), but even after many challenges, Putin has maintained Russia's status. Putin, who has reached the Russian presidency from a KGB intelligence spy, has many things that make him very different from any head of state in the world.

Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningard, today known as St. Petersburg. His grandfather was vladimir lenin, Joseph Stalin's personal cook. Born in a very poor family, Putin spent his childhood in difficult circumstances and struggled to graduate in law from the University of Lelyngard. After college, Putin received a modest position in the Soviet Intelligence Agency, after which he managed to reach the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in KGB. Putin's political career began in 1991 after he resigned from the post. In 1996, he went to Moscow where he had the opportunity to join the administration of the then President Boris Yeltsin.

Many people reportedly wanted to take advantage of the Yeltsin administration's urgency to reach power, and they were the ones who played a key role in making Putin the originator of Yeltsin. Before Yeltsin's resignation, Putin had served as director of the Federal Security Service and secretary of Russia's Security Council. He was also a minister for a few days in 1999 and then became acting president after Yeltsin's resignation. Four months later, Putin was formally elected president of the country in elections, holding the same post for the past 22 years.

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