Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin[d] (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served asPresident of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served asPrime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000[e] and again from 2008 to 2012.[f][7] He has been described as thede facto leader of Russia since 2000.[8]
Putin was born on 7 October 1952 inLeningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia),[21] the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina (née Shelomova). His grandfather,Spiridon Putin, was a personal cook toVladimir Lenin andJoseph Stalin.[22][23] Putin's birth was preceded by the deaths of two brothers: Albert, born in the 1930s, died in infancy, and Viktor, born in 1940, died ofdiphtheria andstarvation in 1942 during theSiege of Leningrad byNazi Germany's forces inWorld War II.[24][25]
On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No. 193 at Baskov Lane, near his home. He was one of a few in his class of about 45 pupils who were not yet members of theYoung Pioneer (Komsomol) organization. At the age of 12, he began to practicesambo and judo.[31] In his free time, he enjoyed reading the works ofKarl Marx,Friedrich Engels, and Lenin.[32] Putin attended Saint Petersburg High School 281 with a German language immersion program.[33] He is fluent in German and has given speeches and interviews in that language.[34]
In 1997, Putin received a degree in economics (Candidate of Economic Sciences) at theSaint Petersburg Mining University for a thesis on energy dependencies and their instrumentalisation in foreign policy.[39][40] His supervisor wasVladimir Litvinenko, who in 2000 and again in 2004 managed his presidential election campaigns in St Petersburg.[41]Igor Danchenko and Clifford Gaddy consider Putin to be aplagiarist according to Western standards. One book from which he copied entire paragraphs is the Russian-language edition ofKing andCleland'sStrategic Planning and Policy (1978).[41] Balzer wrote on the Putin thesis and Russian energy policy and concludes along with Olcott that "The primacy of the Russian state in the country's energy sector is non-negotiable", and cites the insistence on majority Russian ownership of any joint-venture, particularly sinceBASF signed the GazpromNord Stream-Yuzhno-Russkoye deal in 2004 with a 49–51 structure, as opposed to the older 50–50 split ofBP'sTNK-BP project.[42]
"Putin and his colleagues were reduced mainly to collectingpress clippings, thus contributing to the mountains of useless information produced by the KGB", Russian-AmericanMasha Gessen wrote in their 2012 biography of Putin.[51] His work was also downplayed by formerStasi spy chiefMarkus Wolf and Putin's former KGB colleague Vladimir Usoltsev. JournalistCatherine Belton wrote in 2020 that this downplaying was actually a cover for Putin's involvement in KGB coordination and support for the terroristRed Army Faction, whose members frequently hid in East Germany with the support of the Stasi. Dresden was preferred as a "marginal" town with only a small presence of Western intelligence services.[53] According to an anonymous source who claimed to be a former RAF member, at one of these meetings in Dresden the militants presented Putin with a list of weapons that were later delivered to the RAF in West Germany. Klaus Zuchold, who claimed to be recruited by Putin, said that Putin handled aneo-Nazi, Rainer Sonntag, and attempted to recruit an author of a study on poisons.[53] Putin reportedly met Germans to be recruited for wireless communications affairs, together with an interpreter. He was involved in wireless communications technologies in South-East Asia due to trips of German engineers, recruited by him, there and to the West.[45] However, a 2023 investigation byDer Spiegel reported that the anonymous source had never been an RAF member and is "considered a notorious fabulist" with "several previous convictions, including for making false statements".[54]
According to Putin's official biography, during thefall of the Berlin Wall that began on 9 November 1989, he saved the files of the Soviet Cultural Center (House of Friendship) and of the KGB villa in Dresden for the official authorities of the would-be united Germany to prevent demonstrators, including KGB and Stasi agents, from obtaining and destroying them. He then supposedly burnt only the KGB files, in a few hours, but saved the archives of the Soviet Cultural Center for the German authorities. Nothing is told about the selection criteria during this burning; for example, concerning Stasi files or about files of other agencies of the German Democratic Republic or of the USSR. He explained that many documents were left to Germany only because the furnace burst but many documents of the KGB villa were sent to Moscow.[55]
After thecollapse of the Communist East German government, Putin was to resign from active KGB service because of suspicions aroused regarding his loyalty during demonstrations in Dresden and earlier, although the KGB and theSoviet Army still operated in eastern Germany. He returned to Leningrad in early 1990 as a member of the "active reserves", where he worked for about three months with the International Affairs section ofLeningrad State University, reporting to Vice-RectorYuriy Molchanov, while working on his doctoral dissertation.[45]
There, he looked for new KGB recruits, watched the student body, and renewed his friendship with his former professor,Anatoly Sobchak, soon to be theMayor of Leningrad.[56] Putin said that he resigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 20 August 1991,[56] on the second day of the1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt against Soviet presidentMikhail Gorbachev.[57] Putin stated: "As soon as the coup began, I immediately decided which side I was on", although he said that the choice was hard because he had spent the best part of his life with "the organs".[58]
Putin's political rise began in the Saint Petersburg administration (1990–1996), where in May 1990, he was appointed as an advisor on international affairs to MayorAnatoly Sobchak. Shortly thereafter, in June 1991, he became the head of the Committee for External Relations of the Saint Petersburg Mayor's Office, overseeing the promotion of international ties, foreign investment, and the registration of business ventures. Though his tenure was marred by investigations from the city legislative council concerning discrepancies in asset valuation and the export of metals, Putin retained his position until 1996. During the mid-1990s, he expanded his responsibilities in Saint Petersburg, serving as first deputy head of the city administration and leading the local branch of the pro-government political partyOur Home Is Russia, as well as participating in advisory roles with regional newspapers.
Transitioning to the national scene in 1996, Putin was called to Moscow following the electoral defeat of Sobchak, where he assumed the role of Deputy Chief of the Presidential Property Management Department. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing the transfer of former Soviet assets to the Russian Federation. His career in Moscow advanced rapidly with his appointment in 1997 as deputy chief of the Presidential Staff and later as chief of the Main Control Directorate of the same department. A pivotal moment came in 1998 when PresidentBoris Yeltsin appointed him director of theFSB, Russia's primary intelligence and security agency. In this role, Putin concentrated on reorganising and strengthening the agency after years of perceived decline, a period that would prove formative for his later approach to governance.
In August 1999, Putin's profile increased substantially when he was named one of the three First Deputy Prime Ministers, and later the acting Prime Minister following the dismissal of Sergei Stepashin's cabinet. Endorsed by Yeltsin as his preferred successor, Putin quickly capitalized on his law-and-order reputation and rose in popularity, winning the presidential election in March 2000 and being inaugurated on 7 May 2000. Throughout his subsequent terms, alternately serving as President and Prime Minister, Putin has overseen extensive reforms aimed at consolidating state power, restructuring federal relations, and curbing the influence of oligarchs. His tenure has been punctuated by significant foreign policy actions, including the controversial annexation ofCrimea in 2014, military interventions inSyria, and ongoing involvement in theRusso-Ukrainian War.
2024–present: Fifth presidential term
Putin and Vietnamese presidentTô Lâm in Hanoi, Vietnam, June 2024Putin with heads of delegations at the16th BRICS summit inKazan, Russia in October 2024
In May 2024, Putinwas inaugurated as president of Russia for the fifth time.[70] According to analysts, replacing Sergei Shoigu withAndrey Belousov as defense minister signals that Putin wanted to transform the economy into awar economy and is "preparing for many more years of war".[71][72] Four Russian sources told Reuters that Putin was ready to end the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that would recognize Russia's war gains andfreeze the war on the then front lines, as Putin wanted to avoid unpopular steps such as furthermobilization and increased war spending.[73]
In September 2024, Putin warned the West that if attacked with conventional weapons Russia would consider anuclear retaliation,[78] in an apparent deviation from theno first use doctrine.[79] Putin went on to threaten nuclear powers that if they supported another country's attack on Russia, then they would be considered participants in such an aggression.[80][81] Russia and the United States are the world's biggestnuclear powers, holding 88% of the world'snuclear weapons.[82] Putin has made implicitnuclear threats since the outbreak of war against Ukraine.[83] Experts say Putin's announcement was aimed at dissuading the US, UK and France from allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range missiles such as theStorm Shadow andATACMS instrikes against Russia.[84]
In April 2025, US PresidentDonald Trump criticized Putin's determination to continue thewar against Ukraine despite the horrificdeath toll and called for apeace deal, posting on social media: "Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"[85] Putin rejected a proposal by the United States and Ukraine for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.[86][87] In May 2025, Putin attended theVictory Day parade in Moscow with Chinese PresidentXi Jinping, Brazilian PresidentLula da Silva and other foreign leaders.[88]
On 15 May 2025, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held direct talks inIstanbul for the first time since early 2022.[89] As a condition for peace, Putin called on Ukraine to abandon four partiallyoccupied Ukrainian regions that Russia hasannexed but not conquered: a territorial concession that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected. He also listed other demands that critics say would lead to the end of Ukraine as asovereign and independent state.[90][91] Putin rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and escalated attacks on Ukraine.[92]
In October 2025, Putin said that the United States government'ssanctions against Russia's largest oil companies,Rosneft andLukoil, would not force him to end the war in Ukraine. In exchange for agreeing to a peace deal, Putin demanded that Ukraine cede territory in theDonbas to Russia.[95]
Putin's domestic policies, particularly early in his first presidency, were aimed at creating a verticalpower structure. On 13 May 2000, he issued a decree organizing the 89federal subjects of Russia into seven administrativefederal districts and appointed a presidential envoy responsible for each of those districts (whose official title is Plenipotentiary Representative).[96]
According toStephen White, under the presidency of Putin, Russia made it clear that it had no intention of establishing a "second edition" of the American or British political system, but rather a system that was closer to Russia's own traditions and circumstances.[97] Some commentators have described Putin's administration as a "sovereign democracy".[98][99][100] According to the proponents of that description (primarilyVladislav Surkov), the government's actions and policies ought above all to enjoy popular support within Russia itself and not be directed or influenced from outside the country.[101]
The practice of the system is characterized by Swedish economistAnders Åslund as manual management, commenting: "After Putin resumed the presidency in 2012, his rule is best described as 'manual management' as the Russians like to put it. Putin does whatever he wants, with little consideration for the consequences, with one important caveat. During the Russian financial crash of August 1998, Putin learned that financial crises are politically destabilizing and must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, he cares about financial stability"[102]
The period after 2012 saw mass protests against the falsification of elections, censorship, and the toughening of free assembly laws. In July 2000, according to a law proposed by Putin and approved by theFederal Assembly of Russia, Putin gained the right to dismiss the heads of the 89 federal subjects. In 2004, the direct election of thoseheads (usually called "governors") by popular vote was replaced with a system whereby they would be nominated by the president and approved or disapproved by regional legislatures.[103][104]
This was seen by Putin as a necessary move to stop separatist tendencies and get rid of those governors who were connected with organized crime.[105] This and other government actions effected under Putin's presidency have been criticized by many independent Russian media outlets and Western commentators as anti-democratic.[106][107]
During his first term in office, Putin opposed some of the Yeltsin-erabusiness oligarchs, as well as his political opponents, resulting in the exile or imprisonment of such people asBoris Berezovsky,Vladimir Gusinsky, andMikhail Khodorkovsky; other oligarchs such asRoman Abramovich andArkady Rotenberg are friends and allies with Putin.[108] Putin succeeded in codifying land law and tax law and promulgated new codes on labour, administrative, criminal, commercial, and civil procedural law.[109] Under Medvedev's presidency, Putin's government implemented some key reforms in the area of state security, theRussian police reform and theRussian military reform.[110]
In 1999, Putin describedcommunism as "a blind alley, far away from the mainstream of civilization".[111]
Sergey Guriyev, when talking about Putin's economic policy, divided it into four distinct periods: the "reform" years of his first term (1999–2003); the "statist" years of his second term (2004—the first half of 2008); the world economic crisis and recovery (the second half of 2008–2013); and the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia's growing isolation from the global economy, and stagnation (2014–present).[112]
In 2000, Putin launched the "Programme for the Socio-Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the Period 2000–2010", but it was abandoned in 2008 when it was 30% complete.[113] Fueled by the2000s commodities boom includingrecord-high oil prices,[10][11] under the Putin administration from 2000 to 2016, an increase in income in USD terms was 4.5 times.[114] During Putin's first eight years in office, industry grew substantially, as did production, construction, real incomes, credit, and the middle class.[115][116]A fund for oil revenue allowed Russia to repay the Soviet Union's debts by 2005. Russia joined theWorld Trade Organization in August 2012.[117]
In 2006, Putin launched an industry consolidation programme to bring the main aircraft-producing companies under a single umbrella organization, theUnited Aircraft Corporation (UAC).[118][119] In September 2020, the UAC general director announced that the UAC will receive the largest-ever post-Soviet government support package for the aircraft industry in order to pay and renegotiate the debt.[120][121]
In 2014, Putin signed a deal to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.Power of Siberia, which Putin has called the "world's biggest construction project", was launched in 2019 and is expected to continue for 30 years at an ultimate cost to China of $400bn.[123] Theongoing financial crisis began in the second half of 2014 when the Russian ruble collapsed due to a decline in the price of oil andinternational sanctions against Russia. These events in turn led to loss of investor confidence and capital flight, although it has also been argued that the sanctions had little to no effect on Russia's economy.[124][125][126] In 2014, theOrganized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named Putin their Person of the Year for furthering corruption and organized crime.[127][128]
According toMeduza, Putin has since 2007 predicted on several occasions that Russia will become one of the world's five largest economies. In 2013, he said Russia was one of the five biggest economies in terms of gross domestic product but still lagged behind other countries on indicators such as labour productivity.[129] By the end of 2023, Putin planned to spend almost 40% ofpublic expenditures on defense and security.[130]
In 2004, Putin signed theKyoto Protocol treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[131] However, Russia did not face mandatory cuts, because the Kyoto Protocol limits emissions to a percentage increase or decrease from 1990 levels and Russia's greenhouse-gas emissions fell well below the 1990 baseline due to a drop in economic output after the breakup of the Soviet Union,[132] excluding emissions fromland use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF).[133]
Putin describedclimate change as a concerning fact with big consequences for Russia. He is not sure if it man made or not, but said that Russia is trying and will try to reduce man-made emissions with forests and "low-emission energy"; by this term, he intendsNatural gas,Nuclear energy, andHydroenergy in Russia. He said that rich countries should provide finance and technology to those with less money for lower emissions.[138] Some describe his policy as "mimicry of climate policy" and say he turned environmentalism into tool of political influence.[139]
Human rights organizations and religious freedom advocates have criticized the state of religious freedom in Russia.[145] In 2016, Putin oversaw the passage of legislation that prohibited missionary activity in Russia.[145] Nonviolent religious minority groups have been repressed under anti-extremism laws, especiallyJehovah's Witnesses.[146] One of the2020 amendments to the Constitution of Russia directly refers tobelief in God.[147]
The resumption of long-distance flights of Russia'sstrategic bombers was followed by the announcement by Russian defense ministerAnatoliy Serdyukov during his meeting with Putin on 5 December 2007, that 11 ships, including the aircraft carrierKuznetsov, would take part in the first major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since Soviet times.[148][149]
Key elements of the reform included reducing the armed forces to a strength of one million, reducing the number of officers, centralizing officer training from 65 military schools into 10 systemic military training centers, creating a professionalNCO corps, reducing the size of the central command, introducing more civilian logistics and auxiliary staff, elimination of cadre-strength formations, reorganizing the reserves, reorganizing the army into a brigade system, and reorganizing air forces into an airbase system instead of regiments.[150]
According to the Kremlin, Putin embarked on a build-up ofRussia's nuclear capabilities because of U.S. presidentGeorge W. Bush's unilateral decision to withdraw from the 1972Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.[151] To counter what Putin sees as the United States' goal of undermining Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent, Moscow has embarked on a program to develop new weapons capable of defeating any new American ballistic missile defense or interception system. Some analysts believe that this nuclear strategy under Putin has brought Russia into violation of the 1987Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.[152]
Accordingly, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump announced the U.S. would no longer consider itself bound by the treaty's provisions, raising nuclear tensions between the two powers.[152] This prompted Putin to state that Russia would not launch first in a nuclear conflict but that "an aggressor should know that vengeance is inevitable, that he will be annihilated, and we would be the victims of the aggression. We will go to heaven as martyrs".[153]
Putin has also sought to increase Russian territorial claims in the Arctic and its military presence there. In August 2007, Russian expeditionArktika 2007, part of research related to the2001 Russian territorial extension claim, planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole.[154] Both Russian submarines and troops deployed in the Arctic have been increasing.[155][156]
New York City–based NGOHuman Rights Watch, in a report titledLaws of Attrition, authored by Hugh Williamson, the British director of HRW's Europe & Central Asia Division, has claimed that since May 2012, when Putin was reelected as president, Russia has enacted many restrictive laws, started inspections of non-governmental organizations, harassed, intimidated and imprisoned political activists, and started to restrict critics. The new laws include the "foreign agents" law, which is widely regarded as overbroad by including Russian human rights organizations that receive some international grant funding, the treason law, and the assembly law, which penalizes many expressions of dissent.[157][158] Human rights activists have criticized Russia for censoring speech of LGBT activists due to"the gay propaganda law"[159] and increasing violence against LGBT+ people due to the law.[160][161][162]
In 2020, Putin signed a law on labelling individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad as "foreign agents". The law is an expansion of "foreign agent" legislation adopted in 2012.[163][164]
As of June 2020, per the Memorial Human Rights Center, there were 380 political prisoners in Russia, including 63 individuals prosecuted, directly or indirectly, for political activities (including Alexey Navalny) and 245 prosecuted for their involvement with one of the Muslim organizations that are banned in Russia. 78 individuals on the list, i.e., more than 20% of the total, are residents of Crimea.[165][166] As of December 2022, more than 4,000 people were prosecuted for criticizing the war in Ukraine under Russia'swar censorship laws.[167]
Scott Gehlbach, a professor of Political Science at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, has claimed that since 1999, Putin has systematically punished journalists who challenge his official point of view.[168]Maria Lipman, an American writing inForeign Affairs claims, "The crackdown that followed Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012 extended to the liberal media, which had until then been allowed to operate fairly independently".[169] The Internet has attracted Putin's attention because his critics have tried to use it to challenge his control of information.[170] Marian K. Leighton, who worked for theCIA as a Soviet analyst in the 1980s, says, "Having muzzled Russia's print and broadcast media, Putin focused his energies on the Internet".[171]
Robert W. Orttung and Christopher Walker reported that "Reporters Without Borders, for instance, ranked Russia 148 in its 2013 list of 179 countries in terms of freedom of the press. It particularly criticized Russia for the crackdown on the political opposition and the failure of the authorities to vigorously pursue and bring to justice criminals who have murdered journalists.Freedom House ranks Russian media as "not free", indicating that basic safeguards and guarantees for journalists and media enterprises are absent.[172] About two-thirds of Russians use television as their primary source of daily news,[173] while around 85% of Russians get most of their information from Russian state media.[174]
In the early 2000s, Putin and his circle began promoting the idea in Russian media that they are the modern-day version of the 17th-centuryRomanov tsars who ended Russia's "Time of Troubles", meaning they claim to be the peacemakers and stabilizers after the fall of the Soviet Union.[175] Since the 2022 Ukraine invasion, Putin hasonly once granted an interview to a Western journalist, namelyTucker Carlson in February 2024.[176]
Putin has promoted explicitly conservative policies in social, cultural, and political matters, both at home and abroad. Putin has attackedglobalism andneoliberalism and is identified by scholars withRussian conservatism.[177] Putin has promoted new think tanks that bring together like-minded intellectuals and writers. For example, the Izborsky Club, founded in 2012 by the conservative right-wing journalistAlexander Prokhanov, stresses (i) Russian nationalism, (ii) the restoration of Russia's historical greatness, and (iii) systematic opposition to liberal ideas and policies.[178]Vladislav Surkov, a senior government official, has been one of the key economic consultants during Putin's presidency.[179]
In cultural and social affairs, Putin has collaborated closely with theRussian Orthodox Church.Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Church, endorsed his election in 2012 stating Putin's terms were like "a miracle of God".[180] Steven Myers reports, "The church, once heavily repressed, had emerged from the Soviet collapse as one of the most respected institutions... Now Kiril led the faithful directly into an alliance with the state".[181]
Mark Woods, aBaptist Union of Great Britain minister and contributing editor toChristian Today, provides specific examples of how the Church has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea and eastern Ukraine.[182] Some Russian Orthodox believers consider Putin a corrupt and brutal strongman or even a tyrant. Others do not admire him but appreciate that he aggravates their political opponents. Still others appreciate that Putin defends some although not all Orthodox teachings, whether or not he believes in them himself.[183]
On abortion, Putin stated: "In the modern world, the decision is up to the woman herself".[184] This put him at odds with theRussian Orthodox Church.[185] In 2020, he supported efforts to reduce the number of abortions instead of prohibiting it.[186] On 28 November 2023, during a speech to theWorld Russian People's Council, Putin urged Russian women to have "seven, eight, or even more children" and said "large families must become the norm, a way of life for all of Russia's people".[187]
Generally, Putin's tenure experienced tensions with the West.[193][194] Anna Borshchevskaya, in her 2022 book, summarizes Putin's main foreign policy objectives as originating in his 30 December 1999 document, which appeared on the government's website, "Russia at the Turn of the Millennium".[195] She presents Putin as orienting himself to the plan that "Russia is a country with unique values in danger of losing its unity – which... is a historic Russian fear. This again points to the fundamental issue of Russia's identity issues – and how the state had manipulated these to drive anti-Western security narratives to erode the US-led global order... Moreover, a look at Russia's distribution of forces over the years under Putin has been heavily weighted towards the south (Syria, Ukraine, Middle East), another indicator of the Kremlin's threat perceptions".[196][197]
Leonid Bershidsky analyzed Putin's interview with theFinancial Times and concluded, "Putin is an imperialist of the old Soviet school, rather than a nationalist or a racist, and he has cooperated with, and promoted, people who are known to be gay".[198] Putin spoke favorably ofartificial intelligence regarding foreign policy, "Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world".[199]
Putin with Indian prime ministerNarendra Modi in Moscow, 9 July 2024
In 2012, Putin wrote an article in Indian newspaperThe Hindu, saying: "The Declaration on Strategic Partnership between India and Russia signed in October 2000 became a truly historic step".[200][201] India remains the largest customer of Russian military equipment, and the two countries share a historically strongstrategic and diplomatic relationship.[202] In October 2022, Putin described India and China as "close allies and partners".[203]
Putin and Prime MinisterShinzo Abe frequently met each other to discuss the Japan–Russia territorial disputes. Putin also voiced his willingness to construct a rail bridge between the two countries.[207] Despite numerous meetings, no agreement was signed before Abe's resignation in 2020.[208][209]
Putin made three visits to Mongolia and has enjoyed good relations with its neighbor. Putin and his Mongolian counterpart signed a permanent treaty on friendship between the two states in September 2019, further enhancing trade and cultural exchanges.[210][211] Putin became the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit Indonesia in half a century in 2007, resulting in the signing of an arms deal.[212] In another visit, Putin commented on long-standing ties and friendship between Russia and Indonesia.[213] Russia has also boosted relations with Vietnam after 2011,[214] and with Afghanistan in the 2010s, giving military and economic aid.[215][216] The relations between Russia and the Philippines received a boost in 2016 as Putin forged closer bilateral ties with his Filipino counterpart,Rodrigo Duterte.[217][218] Putin has good relations with Malaysia and its then Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad.[219] Putin also made the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit North Korea, meetingKim Jong Il in July 2000, shortly after a visit to South Korea.[220]
Putin criticized violence in Myanmar against the Rohingya minorities in 2017.[221] Following the2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Russia has pledged to boost ties with the Myanmar military regime.[222]
Under Putin, the Kremlin has consistently stated that Russia has asphere of influence and "privileged interests" over otherPost-Soviet states, which are referred to as the "near abroad" in Russia. It has also been stated that the post-Soviet states are strategically vital toRussian interests.[223] Some Russia experts have compared this concept to theMonroe Doctrine.[224]
A series of so-calledcolour revolutions in thepost-Soviet states, namely theRose Revolution in Georgia in 2003, theOrange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004, and theTulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan in 2005, led to frictions in the relations of those countries with Russia. In December 2004, Putin criticized the Rose and Orange revolutions, saying: "If you have permanent revolutions you risk plunging the post-Soviet space into endless conflict".[225]
After the Russian annexation of Crimea, he said that Ukraine includes "regions of Russia's historic south" and "was created on a whim by theBolsheviks".[232] He went on to declare that theFebruary 2014 ousting ofUkrainian PresidentViktor Yanukovych had been orchestrated by the West as an attempt to weaken Russia. "Our Western partners have crossed a line. They behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally", he said, adding that the people who had come to power in Ukraine were "nationalists,neo-Nazis,Russophobes andanti-Semites".[232]
In a July 2014 speech during a Russian-supportedarmed insurgency inEastern Ukraine, Putin stated he would use Russia's "entire arsenal of available means" up to "operations under international humanitarian law and the right of self-defense" to protectRussian speakers outside Russia.[233][234] With the attainment of autocephaly by theUkrainian Orthodox Church in December 2018 and subsequentschism of theRussian Orthodox Church from Constantinople, a number of experts came to the conclusion that Putin's policy of forceful engagement in post-Soviet republics significantly backfired on him, leading to a situation where he "annexed Crimea, but lost Ukraine", and provoked a much more cautious approach to Russia among other post-Soviet countries.[235][236]
In late August 2014, Putin stated: "People who have their own views on history and thehistory of our country may argue with me, but it seems to me that the Russian andUkrainian peoples are practically one people".[237] After making a similar statement, in late December 2015 he stated: "theUkrainian culture, as well asUkrainian literature, surely has a source of its own".[238] In July 2021, he published a lengthy articleOn the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians[239] revisiting these themes, and saying the formation of a Ukrainian state hostile to Moscow was "comparable in its consequences to the use of weapons of mass destruction against us"[240][241]—it was made mandatory reading for military-political training in the Russian Armed Forces.[242]
In August 2008,Georgian presidentMikheil Saakashvili attempted to restore control over the breakaway South Ossetia. However, the Georgian military was soon defeated in the resulting2008 South Ossetia War after regular Russian forces entered South Ossetia and then other parts of Georgia, also opening a second front in the other Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia with Abkhazian forces.[243]
Despite existing or past tensions between Russia and most of the post-Soviet states, Putin has followed the policy of Eurasian integration. Putin endorsed the idea of aEurasian Union in 2011;[244][245] the concept was proposed by thepresident of Kazakhstan in 1994.[246] On 18 November 2011, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Union by 2015.[247] The Eurasian Union was established on 1 January 2015.[248]
Under Putin, Russia's relations have improved significantly with Uzbekistan, the second-largest post-Soviet republic after Ukraine. This was demonstrated in Putin's visit toTashkent in May 2000, after lukewarm relations under Yeltsin andIslam Karimov who had long distanced itself from Moscow.[249] In another meeting in 2014, Russia agreed to write off Uzbek debt.[250] A theme of a greater Soviet region, including the former USSR and many of its neighbors or imperial-era states—rather than just post-Soviet Russia—has been consistent in Putin's May Day speeches.[251][252][253]
On 22 December 2022, Putin addressed the Security Council in a speech where he did not use the term "Special Military Operation" but instead called the fighting in Ukraine a "war". Anti-Putin activists have called for Putin to be prosecuted for breaking a law passed to stop people from calling the Special Military Operation a war. This law carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail.[254] On 25 December, he openly declared in a TV interview that the goal of the invasion is "to unite the Russian people".[255]
On 14 December 2023, President Putin held a press conference where he indicated that Russia would only negotiate with Ukraine "when we achieve our objectives". He stated that another mobilization wasn't required as "617,000" Russian soldiers were fighting in Ukraine.[256]
During the 2024 Year-End Review, President Putin was asked if there were regrets from the "Special Military Operation". President Putin said that he regretted not launching it at the same time as the annexation of Crimea and with more "preparation". Saying "This decision, which was made at the beginning of 2022, should have been made earlier. That's the first thing. Secondly, we should have started preparing, including for the SMO. The events in Crimea were spontaneous. The events of 2022 also began without preparation. But why did we start? Because it was impossible to stand still and endure any longer".[257]
Under Putin, Russia's relationships with NATO and the U.S. have passed through several stages. When he first became president, relations were cautious, but after the9/11 attacks, Putin quickly supported the U.S. in theWar on Terror, and the opportunity for partnership appeared.[258] According toStephen F. Cohen, the U.S. "repaid by further expansion ofNATO to Russia's borders and by unilateral withdrawal from the 1972Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty",[258] but others pointed out the applications fromnew countries willing to join NATO was driven primarily by Russian's behavior inChechnya,Transnistria,Abkhazia,Yanayev putsch as well as calls to restore USSR in its previous borders by prominent Russian politicians.[259][260]
From 2003, when Russia strongly opposed the U.S. when it waged theIraq War, Putin became ever more distant from the West, and relations steadily deteriorated. According to a Russian scholarStephen F. Cohen, the narrative of the mainstream U.S. media, following that of theWhite House, became anti-Putin.[258] In an interview withMichael Stürmer, Putin said there were three questions which most concerned Russia and Eastern Europe: namely, the status of Kosovo, theTreaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and American plans to build missile defence sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, and suggested that all three were linked.[261] His view was that concessions by the West on one of the questions might be met with concessions from Russia on another.[261]
One single center of power. One single center of force. One single center of decision-making. This is the world of one master, one sovereign. ... Primarily the United States has overstepped its national borders, and in every area.
In a January 2007 interview, Putin said Russia was in favor of a democraticmultipolar world and strengthening the systems ofinternational law.[263] In February 2007, Putin criticized what he called the United States' monopolistic dominance in global relations, and "almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations". He said the result of it is that "no one feels safe! Because no one can feel thatinternational law is like a stone wall that will protect them. Of course such a policy stimulates an arms race."[264] This came to be known as theMunich Speech, and NATO secretaryJaap de Hoop Scheffer called the speech "disappointing and not helpful".[265]
The months following Putin's Munich Speech[264] were marked by tension and a surge in rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic. Both Russian and American officials, however, denied the idea of anew Cold War.[266] Putin publicly opposed plans for theU.S. missile shield in Europe and presented PresidentGeorge W. Bush with a counterproposal on 7 June 2007 which was declined.[267] Russia suspended its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty on 11 December 2007.[268]
Putin opposed Kosovo's unilateraldeclaration of independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008, warning that it would destabilize the whole system of international relations.[269] He described therecognition of Kosovo's independence by several major world powers as "a terrible precedent, which will de facto blow apart the whole system of international relations, developed not over decades, but over centuries", and that "they have not thought through the results of what they are doing. At the end of the day it is a two-ended stick and the second end will come back and hit them in the face".[270] In March 2014, Putin used Kosovo's declaration of independence as a justification for recognizingthe independence of Crimea, citing the so-called "Kosovo independence precedent".[271][272]
After the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. in 2001, Putin had good relations with the American PresidentGeorge W. Bush, and many Western European leaders. His "cooler" and "more business-like" relationship with German chancellor,Angela Merkel is often attributed to Merkel's upbringing in the formerDDR, where Putin was stationed as a KGB agent.[273] He had a very friendly and warm relationship with Prime Minister of ItalySilvio Berlusconi;[274] the two leaders often described their relationship as a close friendship, continuing to organize bilateral meetings even after Berlusconi'sresignation in November 2011.[275] When Berlusconidied in 2023, Putin described him as an "extraordinary man" and a "true friend".[276][277]
In late 2013, Russian-American relations deteriorated further when the United States canceled a summit for the first time since 1960 after Putin gave asylum to the AmericanEdward Snowden, who had leaked massive amounts of classified information from the NSA.[279][280] In 2014, Russia was suspended from theG8 group as a result of itsannexation of Crimea.[281][282] Putin gave a speech highly critical of the United States, accusing them of destabilizing world order and trying to "reshape the world" to its own benefit.[283] In June 2015, Putin said that Russia has no intention of attacking NATO.[284]
On 9 November 2016, Putin congratulatedDonald Trump on becoming the 45th president of the United States.[285] In December 2016, US intelligence officials (headed byJames Clapper) quoted byCBS News stated that Putin approved theemail hacking and cyber attacks during the U.S. election, against the Democratic presidential nomineeHillary Clinton. A spokesman for Putin denied the reports.[286] Putin has repeatedly accused Hillary Clinton, who served as U.S. secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 of interfering inRussia's internal affairs,[287] and in December 2016, Clinton accused Putin of having a personal grudge against her.[288][289]
With the election of Trump, Putin's favorability in the U.S. increased. A Gallup poll in February 2017 revealed a positive view of Putin among 22% of Americans, the highest since 2003.[290] Putin has stated that U.S.–Russian relations, already at the lowest level since the end of theCold War,[291] have continued to deteriorate after Trump took office in January 2017.[292]
On 18 June 2020,The National Interest published a nine-thousand-word essay by Putin, titled "The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II".[293] In the essay, Putin criticizes the Western historical view of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact as the start ofWorld War II, stating that theMunich Agreement was the beginning.[294]
On 21 February 2023, Putin suspended Russia's participation in theNew STARTnuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States.[295] On 25 March, President Putin announced the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Russia would maintain control of the weapons. President Putin told Russian TV: "There is nothing unusual here either. Firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries".[296]
In 2003,relations between Russia and the United Kingdom deteriorated when the United Kingdom granted political asylum to Putin's former patron,oligarchBoris Berezovsky.[298] This deterioration was intensified by allegations that the British were spying and making secret payments to pro-democracy and human rights groups.[299] A survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2022 found Putin to be among the least popular foreign leaders, with 8% of British respondents holding a positive opinion.[300]
The end of 2006 brought more strained relations in the wake of the death bypolonium poisoning in London of former KGB andFSB officerAlexander Litvinenko, who became anMI6 agent in 2003. In 2007, the crisis in relations continued with the expulsion of four Russianenvoys over Russia's refusal to extradite former KGB bodyguardAndrei Lugovoi to face charges in the murder.[298] Mirroring the British actions, Russia expelled UK diplomats and took other retaliatory steps.[298]
In 2015, the British Government launched apublic inquiry into Litvinenko's death, presided over byRobert Owen, a former British High Court judge.[301] The Owen report, published on 21 January 2016, stated, "The FSB operation to kill Mr. Litvinenko was probably approved by MrPatrushev and also by President Putin".[302] The report outlined some possible motives for the murder, including Litvinenko's public statements andbooks aboutthe alleged involvement of the FSB in mass murder, and what was "undoubtedly a personal dimension to the antagonism" between Putin and Litvinenko.[303]
On 4 March 2018, former double agentSergei Skripal was poisoned with aNovichok nerve agent inSalisbury.[304] Ten days later, the British government formally accused the Russian state of attempted murder, a charge which Russia denied.[305] After the UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats (an action which would later be responded to with a Russian expulsion of 23 British diplomats),[306] BritishForeign SecretaryBoris Johnson said on 16 March that it was "overwhelmingly likely" Putin had personally ordered the poisoning of Skripal. Putin's spokesmanDmitry Peskov called the allegation "shocking and unpardonable diplomatic misconduct".[307]
Putin and Venezuelan PresidentNicolás Maduro on 10 October 2019
Putin and his successor, Medvedev, enjoyed warm relations withHugo Chávez of Venezuela. Much of this has been through the sale of military equipment; since 2005, Venezuela has purchased more than $4 billion worth of arms from Russia.[308] In September 2008, Russia sentTupolev Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela to carry out training flights.[309] In November 2008, both countries held a joint naval exercise in theCaribbean. Earlier in 2000, Putin had re-established stronger ties withFidel Castro's Cuba.[310]
"You express the best masculine qualities", Putin toldJair Bolsonaro in 2020. "You look for solutions in all matters, always putting above all the interests of your people, your country, leaving out your own personal issues". Political scientistOliver Stuenkel noted, "Among Brazil's right-wing populists, Putin is seen as someone who is anti-woke, and that is seen as something that is definitely appealing to Bolsonaro. He is a strongman, and that is very inspiring to Bolsonaro. He would like to be someone who concentrates as much power".[311]
In September 2007, Putin visited Indonesia, the first Russian leader to do so in over 50 years.[312] In the same month, Putin also attended theAPEC meetingheld in Sydney, Australia, where he met with Prime MinisterJohn Howard and signed a uranium trade deal for Australia to sell uranium to Russia. This was the first visit by a Russian president to Australia.[313] Putin again visited Australia for2014 G20 Brisbane summit. TheAbbott government denounced Putin's use of military force in Ukraine in 2014 as "bullying" and "utterly unacceptable".[314]
Amid calls to ban Putin from attending the 2014 G20 Summit, Prime MinisterTony Abbott said he would "shirtfront" (challenge) the Russian leader over theshooting down of MH17 by Russian-backed rebels, which had killed 38 Australians.[315] Putin denied responsibility for the killings.[316]
Following theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australian prime ministerScott Morrison said the invasion was "unprovoked, unjust and illegal" and labeled Putin a "thug".[317] New Zealand Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern denounced Putin as a "bully".[318] Fijian prime ministerFrank Bainimarama tweeted, "Fiji and our fellow Pacific Island Countries have united as nations of peace-loving people to condemn the conflict in Ukraine", while the Solomon Islands UN ambassador called the invasion a "violation of the rule of law".[319]
On 16 October 2007, Putin visited Iran to participate in the Second Caspian Summit inTehran,[320][321] where he met with Iranian presidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad.[322][323] This was the first visit of a Soviet or Russian leader[324] to Iran sinceJoseph Stalin's participation in theTehran Conference in 1943, and marked a significant event inIran–Russia relations.[325] At a press conference after the summit Putin said that "all our (Caspian) states have the right to develop their peaceful nuclear programmes without any restrictions".[326] Putin was quoted as describing Iran as a "partner",[261] although he expressed concerns over theIranian nuclear programme.[261]
In April 2008, Putin became the first Russian president to visit Libya.[327] Putin condemned the2011 foreign military intervention in Libya, referring to theUN resolution as "defective and flawed", and added, "It allows everything. It resembles medieval calls for crusades".[328] Uponthe death ofMuammar Gaddafi, Putin called it as "planned murder" by the US, saying: "They showed to the whole world how he (Gaddafi) was killed", and "There was blood all over. Is that what they call a democracy?"[329][330]
From 2000 to 2010, Russia sold around $1.5 billion worth of arms to Syria, makingDamascus Russia's seventh-largest client.[331] During theSyrian civil war, Russia threatened to veto any sanctions against the Syrian government,[332] and continued to supply arms to its regime.
Putin opposed any foreign intervention in the Syrian civil war. In June 2012, in Paris, he rejected the statement of French presidentFrançois Hollande who called onBashar al-Assad to step down. Putin echoed Assad's argument that anti-regimemilitants were responsible for much of the bloodshed. He also talked about previous NATO interventions and their results, and asked, "What is happening in Libya, in Iraq? Did they become safer? Where are they heading? Nobody has an answer".[333]
In October 2019, Putin visited the United Arab Emirates, where six agreements were struck withAbu Dhabi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Zayed. One of them included shared investments betweenRussian sovereign wealth fund and the Emirati investment fundMubadala. The two nations signed deals worth over $1.3bn in the energy, health, and advanced technology sectors.[348] On 22 October 2021, Putin highlighted the "unique bond" between Russia and Israel during a meeting with Israeli prime ministerNaftali Bennett.[349]
Putin with African leaders at theRussia–Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, on 24 October 2019
Putin met with the president of theAfrican Union,Macky Sall, to discuss grain deliveries from Russia and Ukraine to Africa on 3 June 2022. The war in Ukraine contributed to the2022–2023 food crises.[350]
In a June 2007 public opinion survey, Putin's approval rating was 81%, the second-highest of any leader in the world that year.[351] In January 2013, at the time of the2011–2013 Russian protests, Putin's rating fell to 62%, the lowest since 2000.[352] In a context of increased diplomatic isolation and international sanctions on Russian officials prompted by theRusso-Ukrainian war, Putin's approval rating reached 87% in August 2014.[353] In February 2015, based on domestic polling, Putin was ranked the world's most popular politician.[354] In June 2015, Putin's approval rating climbed to 89%, an all-time high.[355][356][357] Observers saw Putin's high approval ratings in 2010s as a consequence of improvements in living standards, and Russia's reassertion on the world scene during his presidency.[358][359] Putin was also highly popular in somenon-Western countries, such asVietnam, where his approval rating was 89% in 2017.[360]
Despite high approval for Putin, public confidence in the Russian economy was low, dropping to levels in 2016 that rivaled the lows in 2009 at the height of the global economic crisis.[361] Putin's performance in reining in corruption is unpopular among Russians.Newsweek reported in 2017 that a poll "indicated that 67% held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption".[362] Corruptionis a significant problem in Russia.[363][364]
In October 2018, two-thirds of Russians surveyed agreed that "Putin bears full responsibility for the problems of the country", which has been attributed[365] to a decline in a popular belief in "good tsar and bad boyars", a traditional attitude towards justifying failures at the top of the ruling hierarchy in Russia.[366] In January 2019, the percentage of Russians trusting Putin hit a then-historic low—33%.[367] In April 2019Gallup poll showed a record number of Russians, 20%, willing to permanently emigrate from Russia.[368] The decline was even larger in the 17–25 age group, "who find themselves largely disconnected from the country's aging leadership, nostalgic Soviet rhetoric and nepotistic agenda". Putin's approval rating among young Russians was 32% in January 2019. The percentage willing to emigrate permanently in this group was 41%. 60% had favorable views of the US (three times more than in the 55+ age group).[369] Decline in support for the president and government is visible in other polls, such as a rapidly growing readiness to protest against poor living conditions.
In May 2020, amid the COVID crisis, Putin's approval rating was 68%, when respondents were presented a list of names (closed question),[370] and 27% when respondents were expected to name politicians they trust (open question).[371] This has been attributed to continued post-Crimea economic stagnation but also an apathetic response to the pandemic crisis in Russia.[372] Polls conducted in November 2021 after the failure of aRussian COVID-19 vaccination campaign indicated distrust of Putin was a major contributing factor forvaccine hesitancy, with regional polls indicating numbers as low as 20–30% in the Volga Federal District.[373]
In May 2021, 33% indicated Putin in response to "who would you vote for this weekend?" among Moscow respondents and 40% outside Moscow.[374] A survey released in October 2021 found 53% of respondents saying they trusted Putin.[375]
Observers see agenerational struggle among Russians over perception of Putin's rule, with younger Russians more probably to be against Putin and older Russians more likely to accept the narrative presented by state-controlledmedia in Russia.[376] Putin's support among Russians aged 18–24 was only 20% in December 2020.[377]
Following theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, state-controlled TV, where most Russians get their news, presented the invasion as a "special military operation" and liberation mission, in line with the government's narrative.[378][379][380] The Russian censorship apparatusRoskomnadzor ordered the country's media to employ information only from state sources or face fines and blocks.[381] The Russian media was banned from using the words "war", "invasion" or "aggression" to describe the invasion,[379] with media outlets being blocked as a result.[382]
In late February 2022, a survey conducted by the independent research group Russian Field found that 59% of respondents supported the "special military operation" in Ukraine.[383] According to the poll, in the group of 18-to-24-year-olds, only 29% supported the "special military operation".[384] In late February and mid-March 2022 two polls surveyed Russians' sentiments about the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The results were obtained byRadio Liberty.[385] 71% of Russians polled said that they supported the "special military operation" in Ukraine.[386][385]
When asked how they were affected by the actions of Putin, a third said they strongly believed Putin was working in their interests. Another 26% said he was working in their interests to some extent. In general, most Russians believe that it would be better if Putin remained president for as long as possible.[386][385] Similarly, a survey conducted in early March found 58% of Russian respondents approved of the operation.[387][388]
In March 2022, 97% of Ukrainians said they had an unfavorable view of Putin, and 98% of Ukrainians—including 82% ofethnic Russians living in Ukraine—said they did not believe any part of Ukraine was rightfully part of Russia.[389] A poll published on 30 March in Russia saw Putin's approval rating jump, from 71% in February, to 83%.[390][391] However, experts warned that the figures may not accurately reflect the public mood, as the public tends to rally around leaders during war and some may be hiding their true opinions,[392] especially with theRussian 2022 war censorship laws prohibiting dissemination of "fake information" about the military.[393] Many respondents do not want to answer pollsters' questions for fear of negative consequences.[383] When researchers commissioned a survey on Russians' attitudes to the war, 29,400 out of 31,000 refused to answer.[394] The Levada Center's director stated that early feelings of "shock and confusion" were being replaced with the belief that Russia was being besieged and that Russians must rally around their leader.[382] The Kremlin's analysis concluded that public support for the war was broad but not deep, and that most Russians would accept anything Putin labeled a victory. In September 2023, the head of theVTsIOM state pollster Valery Fyodorov said in an interview that only 10–15% of Russians actively supported the war, and that "most Russians are not demanding the conquest of Kyiv or Odesa".[395]
A poll by the independent organizationLevada, which was conducted on 22–28 June 2023, showed that 42% of respondents would vote for Putin in the2024 presidential election.[396] A public opinion poll by the state-owned institutionVCIOM, which was conducted in November 2023, found that 37.3% of respondents would vote for Putin.[397] According to a VCIOM poll conducted in early March 2024, 56.2% of respondents would vote for Putin.[398]
The director of theLevada Center stated in 2015 that drawing conclusions from Russian poll results or comparing them to polls in democratic states was irrelevant, as there is no real political competition in Russia, where, unlike in democratic states, Russian voters are not offered any credible alternatives and public opinion is primarily formed by state-controlled media, which promotes those in power and discredits alternative candidates.[399]
Putin speaking at the Russia-Africa parliamentary conference in Moscow on 20 March 2023. According to theEconomist Intelligence Unit, two-thirds of theworld's population live in countries that are neutral or leaning towards Russia.[174]
Putin has cultivated acult of personality for himself[402][403][404] with an outdoorsy, athletic,tough guypublic image, demonstrating his physical prowess and taking part in unusual or dangerous acts, such as extreme sports and interaction with wild animals,[405] part of a public relations approach that, according toWired, "deliberately cultivates the macho, take-chargesuperhero image".[406] In 2007, the tabloidKomsomolskaya Pravda published a huge photograph of a shirtless Putin vacationing in the Siberian mountains under the headline "Be Like Putin".[407] Tatiana Mikhailova opines that virility is an aspect of the image of theFather of the Nation, which Putin wants to create. She refers to, as an example of the success of this image building attempt, a 2006 incident in which Putin lifted the shirt of a boy to kiss his stomach without permission – which did not cause much reaction in Russia even though, according to Mikhailova, it was unprecedented and transgressive by Russian standards and would have caused outrage in any other country (media reports note that there was widespread reaction in Russia and abroad though).[408][409][410]
NumerousKremlinologists have accused Putin of seeking to create a cult of personality around himself, an accusation that the Kremlin has denied.[411] Some of Putin's activities have been criticised for being staged;[412][413] outside of Russia, his macho image has been the subject of parody.[414][415][416] Putin's height has been estimated by Kremlin insiders to be between 155 and 165 centimetres (5 feet 1 inch and 5 feet 5 inches) tall but is usually given at 170 centimetres (5 feet 7 inches).[417][418]
There are many songs about Putin,[419] and Putin's name and image are widely used in advertisements and product branding.[406] Among the Putin-branded products arePutinka vodka, thePuTin brand of canned food, theGorbusha Putinacaviar, and a collection of T-shirts with his image.[420]
In Germany, the word "Putinversteher" (female form "Putinversteherin") is aneologism and a political buzzword (Putin +verstehen), which literally translates "Putin understander", i.e., "one who understands Putin".[427] It is a pejorative reference to politicians and pundits who expressempathy to Putin and may also be translated as "Putin-empathizer".[428]
Putinisms
Putin has produced many aphorisms and catch-phrases known asputinisms.[429] Many of them were first made during his annual Q&A conferences, where Putin answered questions from journalists and other people in the studio, as well as from Russians throughout the country, who either phoned in or spoke from studios and outdoor sites across Russia. Putin is known for his often tough and sharp language, often alluding toRussian jokes and folk sayings.[429] Putin sometimes uses Russian criminal jargon (known as "fenya" in Russian), albeit not always correctly.[430]
Assessments of Putin's character as a leader have evolved during his long presidency. His shifting of Russia towards autocracy and weakening of the system of representative government advocated byBoris Yeltsin has met with criticism.[431] Russian dissidents and western leaders now frequently characterise him as a "dictator". Others have offered favourable assessments of his impact on Russia.
Putin was described in 2015 as a "dictator" by political opponentGarry Kasparov,[435] and as the "Tsar of corruption" in 2016 by opposition activist and bloggerAlexei Navalny.[436] He was described as a "bully" and "arrogant" by former U.S. secretary of stateHillary Clinton,[437][438][439] and as "self-centered" by theDalai Lama.[440] In 2015, opposition politicianBoris Nemtsov said that Putin was turning Russia into a "raw materials colony" of China.[441]
Former U.S. secretary of stateHenry Kissinger wrote in 2014 that the West has demonized Putin.[442]Egon Krenz, former leader of East Germany, said the Cold War never ended, adding: "After weak presidents likeGorbachev andYeltsin, it is a great fortune for Russia that it has Putin".[443]
Many Russians credit Putin for reviving Russia's fortunes.[444] Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, while acknowledging the flawed democratic procedures and restrictions on media freedom during the Putin presidency, said that Putin had pulled Russia out of chaos at the end of the Yeltsin years, and that Russians "must remember that Putin saved Russia from the beginning of a collapse".[444][445]Chechen Republic head and Putin supporter,Ramzan Kadyrov, stated prior to 2011 that Putin saved both the Chechen people and Russia.[446]
Russia has suffereddemocratic backsliding during Putin's tenure.[447]Freedom House has listed Russia as being "not free" since 2005.[448] Experts do not generally consider Russia to be a democracy,[449][450][451] citing purges and jailing of political opponents,[452][453] curtailed press freedom,[454][455][456] and the lack of free and fair elections.[457][458][459] In 2004, Freedom House warned that Russia's "retreat from freedom marks a low point not registered since 1989, when the country was part of the Soviet Union".[460]
TheEconomist Intelligence Unit has rated Russia as "authoritarian" since 2011,[461][462] whereas it had previously been considered a "hybrid regime" (with "some form of democratic government" in place).[463] According to political scientist Larry Diamond, writing in 2015, "no serious scholar would consider Russia today a democracy".[464]
Following the jailing of the anti-corruption blogger and activistAlexei Navalny in 2018,Forbes wrote: "Putin's actions are those of a dictator... As a leader with failing public support, he can only remain in power by using force and repression that gets worse by the day".[465] In November 2021,The Economist also noted that Putin had "shifted from autocracy to dictatorship".[466]
Western nations must start the turnaround by emphatically refuting one of Mr. Putin's favorite claims: that the West abrogated the promise of democratic partnership with Russia in the 1990Paris Charter, a document produced by a summit that included European governments, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, convened as Communism crumbled across Eastern Europe... The U.S. and its allies didn't rush in after 1990 to exploit a proud but collapsing Soviet Union – a tale that Mr. Putin now spins. I took part in nearly every major negotiation of that era. Never was the idea of humbling Russia considered even for a moment. The Russian leaders we encountered were not angry Prussian-styleJunkers who railed against a strategic stab in the back. Many if not all viewed the fall of the Soviet Union as liberation rather than defeat... Contrary to Mr. Putin's fictions about NATO's illegal enlargement, the West has honored the agreements worked out with Russia two decades ago.
In her 2017 bookRed Hangover: Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism,Kristen Ghodsee argued that the triumphalist attitudes of Western powers at the end of theCold War, and the fixation with linking all leftist andsocialist political ideals with the horrors ofStalinism, allowed neoliberalism to fill the void, undermined democratic institutions and reforms, left a trail of economic misery, unemployment, hopelessness and rising inequality throughout the formerEastern Bloc. This includes Russia, helping fuel the rise of Putin's extremist right-wing nationalism.[468]
After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine
Protest sign in front of the Russian embassy in Finland. Putin has been labeled awar criminal by international law experts.[469]
Lithuania's foreign ministerGabrielius Landsbergis said, "The battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe. If Putin is not stopped there, he will go further".[477] PresidentEmmanuel Macron of France said Putin was "deluding himself".[478] French foreign ministerJean-Yves Le Drian denounced him as "a cynic and a dictator".[479] Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau called Putin "a lying, murderous dictator."[480] UK prime ministerBoris Johnson also labelled Putin a "dictator" who had authorised "a tidal wave of violence against a fellow Slavic people".[481] Some authors, such asMichael Hirsh, described Putin as a "messianic"Russian nationalist andEurasianist.[482][483][484]
In March 2025,Franklin Foer ofThe Atlantic said that the 21st century was the "Age of Vladimir Putin".[485] Foer wrote that:
Over the past 25 years, the world has bent to the vision of one man. In the course of a generation, he not only short-circuited the transition to democracy in his own country, and in neighboring countries, but set in motion a chain of events that has shattered the transatlantic order that prevailed after World War II. In the global turn against democracy, he has played, at times, the role of figurehead, impish provocateur, and field marshal. We are living in the Age of Vladimir Putin.
Putin andLyudmila Putina during their wedding on 28 July 1983
On 28 July 1983, Putin marriedLyudmila Shkrebneva, and they lived together in East Germany from 1985 to 1990. They have two daughters,Maria Putina, born on 28 April 1985 inLeningrad (now Saint Petersburg), andYekaterina Putina, born on 31 August 1986 inDresden, East Germany (now Germany).[492]
An investigation byProekt published in November 2020 alleged that Putin has another daughter, Elizaveta, also known as Luiza Rozova,[493] (born in March 2003),[494] withSvetlana Krivonogikh.[4][495] Elizaveta studied inParis under the name Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova.[496] In April 2008, theMoskovsky Korrespondent reported that Putin had divorced Lyudmila and was engaged to marry Olympic gold medalistAlina Kabaeva, a former rhythmic gymnast and Russian politician.[2] The story was denied,[2] and the newspaper was shut down shortly thereafter.[3] Putin and Lyudmila continued to make public appearances together as spouses,[497][498] while the status of his relationship with Kabaeva became a topic of speculation.[499]
On 6 June 2013, Putin and Lyudmila announced that their marriage was over; on 1 April 2014, the Kremlin confirmed that the divorce had been finalised.[500][501][502] Kabaeva reportedly gave birth to a daughter by Putin in 2015;[503][504] this report was denied.[503] Kabaeva reportedly gave birth to twin sons by Putin in 2019.[5][505] However, in 2022, Swiss media, citing the couple's Swiss gynecologist, wrote that on both occasions Kabaeva gave birth to a boy.[6]
Putin has two grandsons, born in 2012 and 2017,[506][507] through Maria.[508] He reportedly also has a granddaughter, born in 2017, through Katerina.[509][510] His cousin,Igor Putin, was a director at Moscow-basedMaster Bank and was accused in a number of money-laundering scandals.[511][512]
Official figures released during thelegislative election of 2007 put Putin's wealth at approximately 3.7 millionrubles (US$280,000) in bank accounts, a private 77.4-square-meter (833 sq ft) apartment in Saint Petersburg, and miscellaneous other assets.[513][514] Putin's reported 2006 income totaled 2 million rubles (approximately $152,000). In 2012, Putin reported an income of 3.6 million rubles ($270,000).[515][516] Putin has been photographed wearing several expensive wristwatches, collectively valued at $700,000, nearly six times his annual salary.[517][518] Putin has been known on occasion to give watches valued at thousands of dollars as gifts, for example a watch identified as aBlancpain to a Siberian boy he met while on vacation in 2009, and another similar watch to a factory worker the same year.[519]
According to Russian opposition politicians and journalists,[520][521] Putin secretly possesses a multi-billion-dollar fortune via successive ownership of stakes in several Russian companies.[522][523] According to one editorial inThe Washington Post, "Putin might not technically own these 43 aircraft, but, as the sole political power in Russia, he can act like they're his".[524] AnRIA Novosti journalist argued that "[Western] intelligence agencies ... could not find anything". These contradictory claims were analyzed byPolygraph.info,[525] which looked at several reports by Western (Anders Åslund estimate of $100–160 billion) and Russian (Stanislav Belkovsky estimated of $40 billion) analysts,CIA (estimate of $40 billion in 2007) as well as counterarguments of Russian media. Polygraph concluded:
There is uncertainty on the precise sum of Putin's wealth, and the assessment by the Director of U.S. National Intelligence apparently is not yet complete. However, with the pile of evidence and documents in the Panama Papers and in the hands of independent investigators such as those cited by Dawisha, Polygraph.info finds that Danilov's claim that Western intelligence agencies have not been able to find evidence of Putin's wealth to be misleading
— Polygraph.info, "Are 'Putin's Billions' a Myth?"
In April 2016, 11 million documents belonging to Panamanian law firmMossack Fonseca wereleaked to the German newspaperSüddeutsche Zeitung and theWashington-basedInternational Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The name of Putin does not appear in any of the records, and Putin denied his involvement with the company.[526] However, various media have reported on three of Putin's associates on the list.[527] According to thePanama Papers leak, close trusted associates of Putin own offshore companies worth US$2 billion in total.[528]Süddeutsche Zeitung regards the possibility of Putin's family profiting from this money as plausible.[529][530]
According to the paper, the US$2 billion had been "secretly shuffled through banks and shadow companies linked to Putin's associates", such as construction billionairesArkady andBoris Rotenberg, andBank Rossiya, previously identified by the U.S. State Department as being treated by Putin as his personal bank account, had been central in facilitating this. It concludes that "Putin has shown he is willing to take aggressive steps to maintain secrecy and protect [such] communal assets".[531][532]
A significant proportion of the money trail leads to Putin's best friendSergei Roldugin. Although a musician, and in his own words, not a businessman, it appears he has accumulated assets valued at $100m, and possibly more. It has been suggested he was picked for the role because of his low profile.[527] There have been speculations that Putin, in fact, owns the funds,[533] and Roldugin just acted as a proxy.[534]Garry Kasparov said that "[Putin] controls enough money, probably more than any other individual in the history of human race".[535]
Soon after Putin returned from his KGB service in Dresden, East Germany, he built adacha in Solovyovka on the eastern shore of Lake Komsomolskoye on theKarelian Isthmus inPriozersky District ofLeningrad Oblast, near St. Petersburg. After the dacha burned down in 1996, Putin built a new one identical to the original and was joined by a group of seven friends who built dachas nearby. In 1996, the group formally registered their fraternity as aco-operative society, calling itOzero ("Lake") and turning it into agated community.[539]
A massive Italianate-style mansion costing an alleged US$1 billion[540] and dubbed "Putin's Palace" is under construction near the Black Sea village of Praskoveevka.[when?] In 2012,Sergei Kolesnikov, a former business associate of Putin's, told the BBC'sNewsnight programme that he had been ordered by Deputy Prime MinisterIgor Sechin to oversee the building of the palace.[541] He also said that the mansion, built on government land and sporting three helipads, plus a private road paid for from state funds and guarded by officials wearing uniforms of the official Kremlin guard service, have been built for Putin's private use.[542]
On 19 January 2021, two days afterAlexei Navalny was detained by Russian authorities upon his return to Russia, a video investigation by him and theAnti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was published, accusing Putin of using fraudulently obtained funds to build the estate for himself in what he called "the world's biggest bribe". In the investigation, Navalny said that the estate is 39 times the size of Monaco and costs over 100 billion rubles ($1.35 billion) to construct. It also showed aerial footage of the estate via a drone and a detailed floorplan of the palace that Navalny said was given by a contractor, which he compared to photographs from inside the palace that were leaked onto the Internet in 2011. He also detailed an elaborate corruption scheme allegedly involving Putin's inner circle that allowed Putin to hide billions of dollars to build the estate.[543][544][545] Since theprelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin prefers to travel in an armored train to flying.[546]
Putin's pet, named Verni, was a birthday gift fromGurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, president of Turkmenistan, during a meeting in Sochi in October 2017.
Putin has received five dogs from various national leaders:Konni, Buffy, Yume, Verni and Pasha. Konni died in 2014. When Putin first became president, the family had two poodles, Tosya and Rodeo. They reportedly stayed with his ex-wifeLyudmila after their divorce.[547]
Religion
Putin and wife Lyudmila in New York at a service for victims of theSeptember 11 attacks, 16 November 2001
Putin isRussian Orthodox. His mother was a devout Christian who attended the Russian Orthodox Church; his father was anatheist.[548] Although his mother kept noicons at home, she attended church regularly, despite government persecution of her faith at that time. His mother secretly baptized him as a baby, and she regularly took him to services.[29]
According to Putin, his religious awakening began after a serious car crash involving his wife in 1993, and a life-threatening fire that burned down theirdacha in August 1996.[548] Shortly before an official visit to Israel, Putin's mother gave him his baptismal cross, telling him to get it blessed. Putin has stated, "I did as she said and then put the cross around my neck. I have never taken it off since".[29]
When asked in 2007 whether he believes in God, he replied, "There are things I believe, which should not in my position, at least, be shared with the public at large for everybody's consumption because that would look likeself-advertising or a politicalstriptease".[549] Putin's rumouredconfessor is Russian Orthodox bishopTikhon Shevkunov.[550] The sincerity of his Christianity has been rejected by his former advisorSergei Pugachev.[551]
Sports
Putin practicing judo in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2000
Putin has been practicing judo since he was 11,[555] before switching tosambo at the age of fourteen.[556] He won competitions in both sports inLeningrad (now Saint Petersburg). He was awarded eighthdan of theblack belt in 2012, becoming the first Russian to achieve the status.[557] He was rewarded an eighth-degree karate black belt in 2014.[558]
He co-authored a book titledLearn Judo with Vladimir Putin in Russian (2000),[h] andJudo: History, Theory, Practice in English (2004).[559]Benjamin Wittes, a black belt in taekwondo and aikido and editor ofLawfare, has disputed Putin's martial arts skills, stating that there is no video evidence of Putin displaying any real noteworthy judo skills.[560][561]
In July 2022, the director of the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency,William Burns, stated they had no evidence to suggest Putin was unstable or in bad health. The statement was made because of increasing unconfirmed media speculation about Putin's health. Burns had previously beenU.S. ambassador to Russia, and had personally observed Putin for over two decades, including a personal meeting in November 2021. A Kremlin spokesperson also dismissed rumours of Putin's bad health.[563]
In April 2022, tabloid newspaperThe Sun reported that based on video footage Putin may haveParkinson's disease.[568][569][570] This speculation, which has not been supported by medical professionals, has spread in part due toRussia's invasion of Ukraine, which many saw as an irrational act.[570] TheKremlin[568] rejected the possibility of Parkinson's along with outside medical professionals, who stress that it is impossible to diagnose the condition based on video clips alone.[570]
At least fifteen countries have awarded Vladimir Putin civilian honors since 2001. Putin has been awardedhonorary doctorates and other awards from organizations across the world, but some of these were revoked in 2022 in response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[571]
Explanatory notes
^The Putins officially announced their separation in 2013 and the Kremlin confirmed the divorce had been finalized in 2014; however, it has been alleged that Putin and Lyudmila divorced in 2008.[2][3]
^Putin has two daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila. He is also alleged to have a third daughter, withSvetlana Krivonogikh,[4] and a fourth daughter and twin sons, or just two sons, withAlina Kabaeva,[5][6] although these reports have not been officially confirmed.
^Putin, who took office as prime minister on 9 August 1999, concurrently served as acting president of Russia from 31 December 1999 to 7 May 2000, when he took office as president.
Andrew Roth (5 April 2021)."Vladimir Putin passes law that may keep him in office until 2036".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved15 November 2022.After serving his first two terms in office, Putin assumed the post of prime minister in 2008 due to term limits but nonetheless remained the country's de facto leader
"Russia: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report".Freedom House. 2022.Archived from the original on 14 November 2022.He served two four-year presidential terms from 2000 to 2008, then remained the de facto paramount leader while working as prime minister until he returned to the presidency in 2012, violating the spirit if not the letter of the constitution's two-term limit
Sergey Radchenko; Baurzhan Rakhmetov (6 August 2020)."Putin Is Ruling Russia Like a Central Asian Dictator".Foreign Policy. Archived fromthe original on 6 August 2020.In office since 2000, when he was first elected president, Putin has ruled Russia continuously for two decades. (He did step down briefly, taking the position of prime minister from 2008 to 2012, but no one had any illusions as to who actually remained in charge)
^Chris Hutchins (2012).Putin. Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 40.ISBN978-1-78088-114-0.Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved19 January 2019.But these were the honeymoon days and she was already expecting their first child when he was sent to Moscow for further training at the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute in September 1984 ... At Red Banner, students were given a nom de guerre beginning with the same letter as their surname. Thus, Comrade Putin became Comrade Platov.
^Andrew Jack (2005).Inside Putin's Russia: Can There Be Reform without Democracy?. Oxford University Press. p. 66.ISBN978-0-19-029336-9.Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved19 January 2019.He returned to work in Leningrad's First Department for intelligence for four and a half years, and then attended the elite Andropov Red Banner Institute for intelligence training before his posting to the German Democratic Republic in 1985.
^White, Stephen (2010). "Classifying Russia's Politics". In White, Stephen (ed.).Developments in Russian Politics 7. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN978-0-230-22449-0.
^Sharlet, Robert (2005). "In Search of the Rule of Law". In White; Gitelman; Sakwa (eds.).Developments in Russian Politics. Vol. 6. Duke University Press.ISBN978-0-8223-3522-1.
^Main, John. (2009).Russia country study guide : army and national. [Place of publication not identified]: Intl Business Pubns Usa.ISBN978-1-4387-4042-3.OCLC946230798.
^"Списки преследуемых" [Lists of persecuted].Правозащитный центр «Мемориал». 4 October 2017. Retrieved11 October 2021.
^Council, Russian-speaking Community (14 June 2021)."Russia's Political Prisoners Directory".American Russian-Speaking Association for Civil & Human Rights. Retrieved11 October 2021.
^Scott Gehlbach, "Reflections on Putin and the Media".Post-Soviet Affairs 26#1 (2010): 77–87.
^"How Putin Silences Dissent: Inside the Kremlin's Crackdown".Foreign Affairs. Vol. 95#1. 2016. p. 38.
^Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan,The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia's Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries (2015).
^Marian K. Leighton, "Muzzling the Russian Media Again." (2016): 820–826.
^Robert W. Orttung and Christopher Walker, "Putin and Russia's crippled media".Russian Analytical Digest 21.123 (2013): 2–6onlineArchived 16 September 2016 at theWayback Machine
^Sergei Prozorov, "Russian conservatism in the Putin presidency: The dispersion of a hegemonic discourse."Journal of Political Ideologies 10#2 (2005): 121–143.
^Marlene Laruelle, "The Izborsky Club, or the New Conservative Avant‐Garde in Russia."Russian Review 75#4 (2016): 626–644.
^Sirke Mäkinen, "Surkovian narrative on the future of Russia: making Russia a world leader."Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 27#2 (2011): 143–165.
^Совещание послов и постоянных представителей России [Conference of Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives].President of Russia (in Russian). 1 July 2014. Retrieved12 December 2021.И хочу, чтобы все понимали: наша страна будет и впредь энергично отстаивать права русских, наших соотечественников за рубежом, использовать для этого весь арсенал имеющихся средств: от политических и экономических – до предусмотренных в международном праве гуманитарных операций, права на самооборону.
^Putin, Vladimir (15 August 2021)."The Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians".moderndiplomacy.eu. Retrieved17 March 2022.I am confident that true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia. Our spiritual, human and civilizational ties ... have been hardened by common trials, achievements, and victories. Our kinship ... is in the hearts and the memory of people living in modern Russia and Ukraine, in the blood ties that unite millions of our families. Together, we have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful. For we are one people.
^Pedler, John (2015).A Word Before Leaving: A Former Diplomat's Weltanschauung. p. 129.
^Borshchevskaya, Anna (2022).Putin's War in Syria. I. B. Tauris. pp. 70, 71, 80, 81, 157, 169, 171, 174.ISBN978-0-7556-3463-7.Even pro-Kremlin Russian analysts over the years, in private, acknowledged that at least one chief Russian goal in Syria has been anti-American. Anti-Americanism was also behind the Kremlin's chief motivation for supporting Assad
^Geukjian, Ohannes (2022). "5: Russian Diplomacy, War, and Peace Making, 2017–19".The Russian Military Intervention in Syria. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 196.ISBN978-0-2280-0829-3.Russia's overreach aimed at undermining and hollowing out the US-led international order
^"Opinion: The truth about Putin's 86-percent approval rating. How people fail to understand survey data about support for the Kremlin".Meduza. Retrieved10 December 2015.It's wrong to compare directly the ratings of Russian and foreign politicians. In democratic countries, politics is based on competition and the constant contestation between different candidates and platforms. The Russian political system, on the other hand, is based on the absence of a credible alternative. Accordingly, public approval doesn't indicate the country's assessment of concrete political decisions, but a general acceptance of the course chosen by those in power.
^Zavadskaya, Margarita (2023)."Russia: Nations in Transit 2023 Country Report".Freedom House.Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved25 March 2024.In Russia, national governance represents outright authoritarianism, dominated by widespread oppression and large-scale corruption among the top elites. The 2022 invasion of Ukraine has set the Russian regime on a further downward spiral, making it one of the most notorious personalist dictatorships in the world.
^"The World's Most Powerful People 2016".Forbes. 14 December 2016.For the fourth consecutive year, Forbes ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin as the world's most powerful person. From the motherland to Syria to the U.S. presidential elections, Russia's leader continues to get what he wants.
^Gainous, Jason; Wagner, Kevin M.; Ziegler, Charles E. (2018). "Digital media and political opposition in authoritarian systems: Russia's 2011 and 2016 Duma elections".Democratization.25 (2):209–226.doi:10.1080/13510347.2017.1315566.ISSN1351-0347.S2CID152199313.
^Russia: Russia president Vladimir Putin rule: achievements, problems and future strategies. Washington, DC: International Business Publications. 2014. p. 85.ISBN978-1-4330-6774-7.OCLC956347599.
^"Сколько собак у Путина?" [How many dogs does Putin have?].aif.ru (in Russian). 23 October 2017.Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved9 October 2021.
Italics and (*) indicate that a person was convicted by the ICC and that the conviction remains valid; a name in (parentheses) indicates that charges were dropped or a conviction was overturned; † indicates a person confirmed by the ICC as deceased before or during trial; (x) after a name indicates that the case was closed by the ICC because of a national-level trial of the accused
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