Grok did its thing for me when I typed in "Vladimir Putin" and it was pretty interesting and informative. It is worth keeping in mind as you hear and read about what a dangerous lunatic he is that he has actually been running things in Russia for 26 years now and doesn't seem to be doing at all badly. YMMV. For those who think war and special military operations define both the man and the country, consider that this country waged war on the far side of the planet for 18 years against countries so far beneath us as to be unnoticeable while also apparently warring in 18 or 19 African countries at the same time under Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden.
Anyway, I'd be curious what your Grok has to say about Vladimir Putin. Mine says this at the outset:
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer serving as President of Russia since 7 May 2012, having previously held the office from 31 December 1999 to 7 May 2008 and the position of Prime Minister from 8 May 2008 to 7 May 2012.[1][2] Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) to working-class parents, Putin graduated from Leningrad State University with a law degree in 1975 before joining the KGB, where he served for 16 years, including as a foreign intelligence officer in Dresden, East Germany, from 1985 to 1990. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution, he entered politics in Saint Petersburg as deputy mayor, then relocated to Moscow, ascending to director of the Federal Security Service in 1998, Prime Minister in August 1999 under Boris Yeltsin, and acting president later that year.
Putin's leadership has focused on Russia's economic recovery from the 1990s crises, consolidation of central authority through federal reforms and oversight of key economic sectors, and assertive foreign policies aimed at safeguarding national interests amid shifting post-Soviet geopolitics and Western institutional expansions. Re-elected in 2024 for a term extending to 2030 following constitutional amendments, his tenure emphasizes sovereignty, strategic partnerships with non-Western powers, and resistance to perceived external pressures.
He has already headed up the Soviet Union Russia for more than twice as long as FDR ruled the United States. The entire story at Grok is worth reading. It shows just how his life and times defined the man who defines Russia in this century. He swims in the most dangerous seas in modern times and is clearly a very large shark when compared to all the tadpoles flailing around in Europe demanding his head for being naughty. It really is a wonder that he takes any of them at all seriously. Well, OK. No. I don't take any of them seriously so I very much doubt that Putin does.
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Linked in the Grok article is a BBC article that includes details on his family life in East Germany in his 30’s. “Their German friends give them a 20-year-old washing machine and with this they drive back to Leningrad," says Putin biographer and critic Masha Gessen. "There's a strong sense that he was serving his country and had nothing to show for it.”
I am 5 years younger than Putin. When I think of where I was I when the wall fell I had a two story house, two cars, three kids and a new washing machine.
Sort of puts things in perspective. Tom
I am 9 years younger. It is interesting to me that his older brother died of disease and starvation in the siege of Leningrad. 872 days of his mother surrounded by nazis and continuing on with life. My older sister and I were born in Germany where my parents were part of the Occupation Force. The idea that a punch of euro-pussies of the EU are going to have any impact at all on this man is laughable.
The houses and family and washers and dryers all came later.....On the other hand, I left Germany with even less than he did. :) Not a dryer to my name....
you define the brilliance of a man by the degree to which he agrees with you.
I've been watching Vladimir Vladimirovich quite some time; also been disagreeing (firmly) with the his analysis by most pundits (those who know everything). I often speculate how much of the GP "knows" (reads in the newspaper or sees on TV for those unable to read) is paid for by the opposition
Personally, I am grateful that Putin is running the show over there. Plenty of his peers that could be in charge most likely have nuked us for the crap we've pulled (looking at Minsk 1 and 2 with Merkel laughing how it was a ruse to rebuild Ukraine's 2nd or 3rd army to fight Russia).
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