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Things are starting to get a little heated up with the whole Russia invading Crimea and wanting Ukraine but what else is there to know about Russia’s President Vladimir Putin?

Here are 8 facts you probably did not know about Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, featuring small bits of his past and present.

There are not many good things one can say about a leader who tries by any means to accomplish everything he wants, but what if there is more there than meets the eye? In no way is this article about criticizing or praising the Russian leader, it is only a way of making you know a bit more about the man who has been around in the news lately.

1. George W. Bush made a comment about Vladimir Putin

I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.

This is a comment Bush made about Putin. Soon after, the Russian President commented about Bush’s dog on how it was too small for being considered an actual dog. Heartwarming, huh?

2. Leningrad

He wasborn in Leningrad in 1952 as the son of Maria and Vladimir. Maria Ivanovna, his mother survived the Siege of Leningrad between  1941 and 1944, when German and Finnish troops cut off all of the supplies which were set to arrive in the city of Leningrad, Russia.

3. He’s a sports person

Don’t think of Putin as a person who considers attacking other countries as a sport (although he might, who knows?), he actually used to be into boxing, judo and karate. He started taking lesson when he was 12 even though these violent sports where not exactly on his mother’s taste.

4. He announced his divorce on Russian Television

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced during a live broadcast that he and his wife Lyudmila were going to divorce, back in 2014. The couple were married for almost 30 years and the reason behind the divorce seems to be the fact that both of them had busy lives and couldn’t see each other as often anymore.

5. Putin is a father

Vladimir Putin and his now ex-wife Lyudmila have two daughters together, Maria and Yekaterina. Although both of his daughters are now almost 30 years old, almost no one in Russia or outside it knows who they are or how they look like. It is said that Russians respect the privacy of their leader very much and do not want to interfere in it.

6. He is fluent in German

Vladimir Putin spent 5 years in the German city of Dresden while working for the secret Russian intelligence agency, KGB. After the Berlin Wall fell, he was deployed back in Russia but his German remained clear as day.

7. Vladimir Putin is the most powerful person in the world, according to Forbes

Vladimir Putin was named the most powerful man alive by Forbes while US president Barack Obama came second. Although this “assumption” caused a lot of controversy back in November when it was first published, you can see why Forbes chose Putin over Obama.

Vladimir Putin has been Russia’s leader for almost 15 years and in 2014 he not only figured out a way to annex Crimea and start a civil war in Ukraine but he also managed to land a $70 billion worth deal with China by constructing the world’s largest gas pipeline.

8. Putin is a manipulator

During the years he spent as a KGB agent, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was known to be a people manipulator who was actually very good at what he was doing. Given the fact that he spent quite some time undercover and no one figured it out, that sure counts as impressive.

Although Vladimir Putin has gotten closer now than ever on starting the next World War, his decisions are almost never done out of impulse. He is strategic and meticulous and always thinks a lot on his next move. These are only a couple of reasons why the world should start acknowledging his existence if they have not done so yet.