Russian President Vladimir Putin turns 74 on October 7, 2026. Born in 1952 in what was then Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, he rose from a Soviet intelligence officer to a politician who has dominated Russian political life since the early 21st century.
From Leningrad to the KGB
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin grew up in a working-class family. He spent his childhood in post-war Leningrad, a city still reeling from the effects of the German blockade of World War II. His mother, Maria Shelomova, survived the blockade, and the family story later became an important part of Putin's public narrative of his own past.
In 1975, he graduated from Leningrad State University with a law degree and joined the KGB. Part of his career was spent in Dresden, then in the German Democratic Republic. After the collapse of the USSR, he left the service and began working in the administration of St. Petersburg.
His rise in Moscow was extremely rapid. In 1998, he became director of the Federal Security Service - FSB, the successor to part of the KGB structures, and in August 1999, President Boris Yeltsin appointed him prime minister.
On December 31 of that year, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and Putin became acting president. A few months later, he won the presidential election.
Over a quarter century in power
Putin was president between 2000 and 2008, after which he served as prime minister for four years, while Dmitry Medvedev was head of state. In 2012, Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin as president.
Constitutional changes approved in 2020 allowed his previous presidential terms to be disregarded under the new limit, effectively allowing him to remain in office until 2036.
In March 2024, Putin won a new six-year term with about 87% of the vote officially counted. The vote went without a real challenger, and the United States and several European countries said the election could not be considered free and fair because of the repression of political opponents and restrictions on independent media. The Kremlin rejected these criticisms.
If he finishes his current term in 2030, Putin will be among the longest-serving Russian leaders in modern history.
How Russia Has Changed Under Putin
The first years of his rule coincided with a period of strong economic growth, helped by high oil and gas prices. The Kremlin has strengthened central government control over the regions, increased its influence over strategic industries, and limited the political role of some of the oligarchs who had amassed enormous influence in the 1990s.
Putin's supporters associate his rule with stabilizing the state after the turbulent decade after the collapse of the USSR, increasing incomes during his first terms, modernizing the army, and restoring Russia as a factor in international politics.
His critics see the same period in a completely different light – such as gradually building a highly centralized political system, limiting independent media and opposition, and concentrating power around the Kremlin.
Among the most significant geopolitical events of his rule are the war with Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which the international community largely does not recognize, the Russian military intervention in Syria in 2015, and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.
Putin and Ukraine – the decisive legacy
It is the war against Ukraine that will likely remain the defining event in the historical assessment of Vladimir Putin's late rule.
After his decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia came under unprecedented Western sanctions, and its relations with the United States and the European Union reached their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in connection with the alleged illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia. Moscow, which does not recognize the court's jurisdiction, denies the charges.
Judo, German and the image of a strong leader
Outside politics, Putin has been building a public image associated with sports and physical endurance for decades. A special place is occupied by judo, which he began practicing as a young man.
His years in Dresden are the reason the Russian president speaks German. At various times, the Kremlin has also actively used footage of Putin fishing, riding, playing hockey, diving and other sports - part of a carefully crafted image of an energetic and physically active state leader.
Another characteristic feature is his extremely private personal life. Putin rarely speaks publicly about his family, and over the years the Kremlin has consistently kept personal details out of official political communications.
74th birthday comes at a tense time
Putin celebrates his birthday in 2026 at a time when the war continues to put severe pressure on the Russian economy, especially the energy sector.
According to data cited by Reuters on October 5, Russia's oil and gas revenues for the first nine months of the year fell by 17% compared to the same period in 2025. Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, lower production and a stronger ruble are limiting the effect of high international prices for Russian oil.
At the “Valdai“ On October 1, Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries had achieved some of their goals and, according to him, had cost the economy about 1% of GDP. He also said that Russian diesel would not reach world markets while sanctions against Moscow were in effect.
Just days before his birthday, Moscow said it would continue large-scale strikes on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, presenting them as retaliatory actions.
At the same time, diplomatic contacts around a possible settlement of the war have not ceased. In September, Putin said he saw a possibility of reaching an agreement, and US officials held talks in Moscow. However, no breakthrough was announced until early October.
On October 5, the Kremlin also confirmed that energy cooperation was among the topics of contact between Russian and American representatives, but refused to comment on information that the negotiations on Ukraine could be linked to a large-scale oil deal.
On the same day, Putin approved the restructuring and subsequent sale of part of the Russian business to Italy's UniCredit - another example of the ongoing realignment of Western corporate assets in Russia since the start of the war.
One of the most influential and controversial figures of the 21st century
At 74, Vladimir Putin remains the politician who has most determined the direction of Russia over the past quarter century. For his supporters, he is the leader who returned stability and international influence to the country after the crises of the 1990s. To his critics, he is an authoritarian ruler with severely limited political competition, and the war in Ukraine has led Russia into a prolonged confrontation with the West.
Regardless of the opposing assessments, one thing is hard to dispute - since entering the Kremlin in late 1999, Vladimir Putin has changed not only Russia's political system but also the balance of power in Europe. And as he approaches his 74th birthday, the question of when and under what conditions the war in Ukraine will end remains the main factor that will determine both the next stage of his rule and his place in history.