The Boy Who Would Be President

Young Putin with his mother Maria and grandmother Olga.



On Oct.8, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday. The Moscow Times looked through the President's photo archive to see what Putin looked like many years before being Russia's President.

Young Putin and his mother Maria pose for a photograph in postwar times.

Schoolboy Vladimir Putin, 60s.

Photos of Putin (R, top) and his classmates are seen in this schoolbook collage.

Putin (L) and his comrade Alexander Grigoriyev, around the time he attended the Leningrad State University and the Higher School of the KGB No.1.

Putin (R) with his parents Olga and Vladimir, before working for the KGB in East Germany, 1985.

Vladimir Putin in his KGB uniform while serving in East Germany (German Democratic Republic or GDR).

On July 28, 1983, Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva. After almost 20 years of marriage, they divorced in June, 2003.