The transition from a boy whose pastime was to chase away rodents to becoming one of the world’s most powerful leaders would appear dramatic but that may not be the case. Born on October 7, 1952, he grew up in the ruins of Leningrad (now St Petersburg), which endured a brutal 900-day siege during the Second World War.

Putin had a very difficult childhood; his father was away fighting the war while his mother almost died of starvation. His neighbourhood in the war-torn city was infested with insects and rats. He was lean, short and was reportedly bullied, which inspired him to learn judo for self-defence. After school, he went on to study law at Leningrad State University and later did another course on economics.

From his early childhood, he aspired to a career in intelligence and the university degrees earned him a job at KGB. After training, he was sent to Dresden in East Germany in 1985. There, he honed his German language skills.

However, his job was not as glamorous as he imagined as his duty was limited to liaisoning between the KGB headquarters in Moscow and the Stasi, the intelligence service of East Germany. Though he did not get a ‘field agent’ role, his job involved constantly interacting with people, which shaped his introvert personality.

But things changed in 1989 as revolutions toppled many foreign governments with ties to the USSR, which would also disintegrate later. Putin returned to St Petersburg and managed to find a job in the mayor’s office, where he rose to the rank of deputy mayor.