MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin won 76.6 percent of ballots after 99.83 percent of votes had been counted in the presidential election Sunday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) confirmed Monday.
The following is a brief introduction to the Russian leader:
Born in Leningrad (today's St. Petersburg) on Oct. 7, 1952, Putin graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1975 and was commissioned to work in the former Soviet Union's State Security Committee (KGB).
From 1985 to 1990, Putin worked in East Germany as a KGB agent.
After the collapse of East Germany in 1990, he returned to the Soviet Union and worked as an assistant to the rector of Leningrad State University, Anatoly Sobchak.
Starting in June 1991, Putin began to work as chairman of the Committee for International Relations at the St. Petersburg City Hall and from 1994, concurrently held the position of deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg City Government.
In 1996, he moved his family to Moscow, where he was offered the post of deputy chief of the Presidential Property Management Directorate.
In March 1997, he was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Presidential Executive Office and chief of Main Control Directorate.
In May 1998, he was made first deputy chief of staff of the Presidential Executive Office. In July 1998, then Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed him director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB's successor.
In March 1999, while still heading the FSB, Putin was appointed secretary of the State Security Council. In August 1999, Yeltsin appointed him prime minister. Upon Yeltsin's resignation on Dec. 31, 1999, Putin became acting president of Russia.
Riding a wave of popularity for his bold military actions against Chechen rebels, his no-nonsense incorruptible image and his promise to rejuvenate the Russian nation, Putin won the presidential election in 2000. He was re-elected president in 2004 by a landslide victory.
In the 2008 presidential election, Putin endorsed then first Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as he himself was barred from seeking a third consecutive term under the Russian Constitution.
After Medvedev's election as president, Putin became prime minister in the new government.
In September 2011, after presidential terms were increased to six years, Putin announced he would run for presidency again and won a resounding victory in the March 2012 election.
In December 2017, he announced he would seek a new term, which will end in 2024.
