A former Soviet spy who might just be the richest man on Earth – there’s a lot more to learn about Russia’s President. Find out about the real Vladimir Putin with these 10 incredible facts.
What we really know about Putin? Putin, Russian intelligence officer and politician who served as president (1999–2008, 2012–? ) of Russia and also was the country’s prime minister (1999, 2008–12).
10Putin is the richest men on Earth
Bill Browder, once Russia´s biggest investor, claims Putin has stolen 200 billion dollar of country´s assets. In true, he´d be the world´s richest person – worth more than Coca-Cola and 2.5 richer than Bill Gates.
09Putin´s childhood
Putin grew up in a communal apartment, his family living in a room just 12ft by 15ft (3.6m x 4.6m). Infested with rats, he´d chase them with sticks to pass the time.
08Putin and Angela Merkel
After learning that Germany´s Angela Merkel is afraid of dogs, Putin gave her a toy pooch. During energy negotiations he brought along his Labrador to intimidate her.
07Putin in KGB
Joining the KGB in 1975, Putin is said either to have stolen tech secrets or recruited westerners. Secret service documents claim he was a drunk, a philanderer and a wife-beater.
06Women like Putin
There is a pro-Putin, all-female political group called Putin´s army. At elections they strip off and perform sexy car washes to win support for Putin.
05Putin and Alex Litvinenko
Putin came to power after promising to catch bombers who killed 224 people. Spy Alex Litvinenko claimed the attacks were orchestrated by Russian agents to bring Putin to power. – he was later assassinated.
04Putin against homosexuality
In 2013 Putin made it illegal to provide children with info about homosexuality. Displaying a rainbow flag can lead to arrest and in some areas homophobic attacks have increased tenfold.
03Russia´s GDP has grown
Under Putin, Russia´s GDP has grown 700% and wages have tripled. If this had happened in the USA the average wage would now be over 100.000 dollar.
02Putin wants the power to take Russia
Putin wants the power to take Russia offline in emergencies – including times of protest. During such times only a government-run network of sites would be accessible.
01Putin is better than Chuck Norris
Putin had cultivated an action man image, his exploits include: bare-chested horse riding, co-piloting a jet fighter, shooting a whale with a crossbow, finding two ancient Greek urns while scuba diving, he also has a 9th-level black belt in taekwondo – one better than Chuck Norris.