President Putin suddenly reveals personal information never before published by Russia
President Vladimir Putin has surprisingly revealed that in the past, he commanded a Soviet artillery battalion. This is a detail that has never been made public by the Russian government.
Vladimir Putin as a KGB officer in 1980. Photo: SCMP.
According to SCMP, President Putin revealed his past during a visit to the Peter & Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg (Russia) on Monday (January 7).
“I received the rank of artillery lieutenant, commanding a 122mm howitzer battalion,” Putin said in a video posted by the Kremlin.
It is known that in the official biography of the leader, there is no information about the rank of lieutenant or the rank of commander of an artillery battalion. According to the Kremlin, immediately after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University in 1975, Mr. Putin immediately joined the KGB. During his 16 years in the KGB, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russian President Vladimir Putin fires a cannon at the Peter & Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. Photo: EPA.
However, according to SCMP, in the former Soviet Union, all university students had to undergo military training. After that, they would receive the rank of reserve officer and it is very likely that Mr. Putin also received his rank and rank through this process.
It is known that the German press previously discovered an East German Stasi secret police card bearing the name and photo of Vladimir Putin himself. Up to now, the Kremlin has not confirmed or denied the above information.
