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Overview

Vladimir Putin wasn’t supposed to become the leader of Russia.

For much of his life, he was an ordinary paper pusher. He worked among thousands in Russia’s enormous spy network and was only tapped as president when the previous president died unexpectedly.

But now Putin is known for his corruption, greed, and ruthlessness. He has proven to be a bad leader by silencing dissenters and rigging elections. This book will show that he came into power accidentally then used terrorist attacks to gain support from the people. It will also reveal how he stole Super Bowl rings while in office as president of Russia.

Big Idea #1: Young Vladimir Putin was a fighter, quick to anger, but dreamed of being a spy.

The story of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin begins in the aftermath of World War II, when Saint Petersburg was bombarded and people were hurt. It was in this environment that his aggressive tendencies developed.

The Putin family lived through the war. His father was a soldier and had injured, disfigured legs. Two of his children died during that time. Luckily, they still had a place to live—uncommon in those times. In 1952, Vladimir Putin was born.

The family lived in a small room that was about 20 square meters. The stove was located in the hallway, and the makeshift toilet was at the bottom of the stairs. Putin called this place home until he turned 25 years old.

Putin was an angry child. He would get into a lot of fights, and he eventually became so frustrated that he started practicing the martial art Sambo to channel his aggression.

Putin had a tough childhood. His family lived in cramped quarters, and he had to help his parents with chores around the house. However, despite their poverty, they still owned appliances such as a telephone and television. How could they afford these luxuries? Putin’s father was friends with members of the KGB (the Russian intelligence agency). He received payment for providing information to them about other people during World War II. After that war ended, he continued working at his factory job—and in exchange for giving information to the secret police about what people were doing, he received additional pay from them. It was when Putin turned 16 years old that he also became interested in becoming an agent of this organization himself. When applying to become an agent, however, Putin learned that before joining the organization, one needed either a college degree or military experience. So because Putin hadn’t been successful academically, he decided to enroll at Leningrad University so that he could get enough credits for university admission.

Big Idea #2: Putin was bored with his job as a KGB bureaucrat; yet he witnessed the fall of the Wall himself.

After graduating from Leningrad University in 1975, Putin’s dream of working for the secret service became a reality. He was not a spy though and spent most of his time as a paper pusher.

Putin was in East Germany from 1985 to 1990. He collected newspaper clippings and wrote reports for the KGB. Putin’s wife, Lyudmila, lived in a neighborhood with other Russian agents. Putin gained weight from drinking beer while working for the KGB. His most significant accomplishment at work was buying an U.S Army manual for 800 German marks (about $600).

In the late 1980s, things changed. Although there were riots and protests across Eastern Europe, Putin remained loyal to the KGB and the Soviet Union. In 1989, riots in East Germany signaled that a change was coming. People wanted freedom from communism. They traveled to Prague and Warsaw by train in order to reach West German embassies where they could apply for asylum in Western countries such as Canada or France.