Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh | Strange Military Stories

What Indian Air Force was in 1947 and to what glory it has reached in 2017 is all because of Marshal of Indian Air Force Arjan Singh.A fighter pilot, a war hero, reformist, a philanthropist and a legend, Arjan Singh died a  hero on 16 September in Research and Referral Army Hospital. A five star general, who always glad to his uniform. 

Marshal Arjan Singh was born on 15 April 1919 in Lyallpur, Punjab now Faisalabad in Pakistan in a distinguished military family. His father was a Lance Daffadar in the Hodson's Horse at the time of his birth, and retired as a full Risaldar of the Cavalry, serving for a time as ADC to a Division Commander.Arjan Singh was commissioned in the nascent India Air Force as a pilot officer in December1939 at the age of just 19 years.

 On 15 August 1947 Arjan Singh led the first fly-past of independent India over the Red Fort. He proved his leadership qualities in the two operational tenures on the Burma Front during the Second World War, first as a Pilot officer with Tigers Squadron and subsequently as the Commander of the same Squadron.As a consummate Squadron Commander, flying Hurricane fighters in defence of Imphal in1944, beseiged by the Japanese, he had displayed masterly leadership. In an unprecedented step,the then Supreme Allied Commander of the South East Asian Command, Lord Mountbatten, had personally awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross on the battlefield for his leadership and performance in defeating the Japanese. Arjan Singh held many important posts in the IAF before taking over as Air Marshal in August 1964. 

The Pakistan Air Force was led by his batchmate from Cranwell, Air Marshal Asghar Khan, at the time. During the skirmish at Kutch in early 1965, the two chiefs had established contact and agreed on keeping the two airforces out, to prevent any inadvertent escalation. But once Pakistan had launched Operation Grandslamto cut off Jammu and Kashmir from the rest of India by launching a military attack inAkhnoor in September 1965, the then army chief, General J N Chaudhuri, had met him at VayuBhawan and suggested that the Pakistani assault would best be stopped by the IAF.

Arjan Singh and Chaudhuri had then gone to meet the defence minister, Y B Chavan, whofamously gave them the go ahead. As Arjan Singh later recounted, Pakistan had a qualitativelysuperior force that included modern fighters such as F-86 Sabres and F-104 Starfighters.The Indian Air Force had Mysteres, Vampires, Ouragans, Hunters, and Gnats in its inventory.We were fighting against all odds as they had air-to-air missiles and we just had afew Russian MiGs that were not used much in the war.In the subsequent weeks though, the IAF had established its air superiority, with deep-penetrationattacks against enemy targets, including the farthest Pakistani airfields like Peshawarand Mauripur. Arjan Singh continued to believe that the1965 War ended in a stalemate despite India being in an advantageous position. 

When the talk about cease-fire started, I had advised Shastriji (Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri),who was under enormous international pressure, against accepting it, he later recounted.On the other hand, Pakistan was losing its aircraft at a fast rate and was keen on accepting the ceasefire. However, because of international pressure and other considerations,India agreed to the ceasefire. For his meritorious services during the 1965Indo-Pak War, Arjan Singh was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan. On January 15, 1966,he became the first officer of the IAF to be promoted to the rank of Air Chief Marshal,at par with a General. 

In 2002, on the occasion of Republic Day,Arjan Singh was granted the honorary rank of Marshal, the highest military rank attainable.Before him only two Army chiefs, K M Carriappa and Sam Manekshaw, were the only five stargenerals of same rank. He continued to serve the country in various capacities even after retirement in July 1969. In 1971, he was made India's Ambassadorto Switzerland and in 1974, the High Commissioner to Kenya. He also served as a member of theMinorities Commission and as the Lt Governor of Delhi.Arjan Singh in a true sense not only modernized Indian Air Force but also lived for the welfareof air warriors. He is a legend and legend live forever even in death. May his soul rest in peace. Jai hind! 

Top amazing facts about RAW Agent

History of Research And Analysis Wing (RAW)

Research And Analysis Wing (RAW) is an external intelligence agency that protects India from external security threats. The primary function of the RAW is collecting information about security threats to India from other countries, to guide Indian policy-makers to counteract terrorism and proliferation of weapons in India and it is also involved in the security of nuclear programs of India. The Intelligence Bureau of India is one of the oldest organizations in the world, this organization used to handle both internally telling everyone and external intelligence until 1968. They used to warn and protect India from all the internal and external threats. But after the 1962 border war with China, India officials decided to have a separate external agency because of the failure of the Intelligence bureau in supporting India during china border war. This failure initiated the officials to creates crucial step and that step is Research and Analysis Wing (raw). 

Foundation of Research And Analysis Wing (RAW)

The failure of Intelligence Bureau as an external intelligence agency resulted in establishment of new External intelligence agency called as RAW in the year of 1968. When founded raw was led by Rameshwar Nath Kao until his retirement which was in the year of 1977. Many operations were handled by RAW under his Guidance. Many say the credits for initial success of RAW goes to him. The organization started with 250 people with a budget of 20 million. As of now the agent numbers are in 1000ds and the budget announced remains unofficial. RAW directly reports to Prime minister of India, whereas other countries secret agencies reports to defense ministers. 

The Chief of raw will be appointed in Cabinet Secretariat, which is a part of Prime Minister Office. Reports say few RAW officers’ works in specialized departments such as research and Analysis department and few works in Police department. 

Joining of Research And Analysis Wing (RAW)

Nobody can join RAW directly, there is nothing like selections for this service. They select candidates from other departments such as Armed Forces, Intelligence Agencies, Police Services, Administrative Services and the majority of the personnel are from the Intelligence Bureau. Raw is not only about spying other countries; there are many jobs departments in the RAW. Such as,Recruitment department: This department deals with selection of candidates of RAW from departments like Indian police services and other first grade services like Armed forces and intelligence bureau. 

Department in Research And Analysis Wing (RAW)

1. Field Officer jobs:This department people are the one who will spy on various countries to save India from threats. 
2. Analyst Level:This department deals with analyzing the secret data and all the profiles of agents. 
3. Experts in Various fields: Like Handwriting analyst, Computer hacker or any other expert in a field which contributes to RAW.

RAW agents are trained for all the situations in the academy. If they are assigned as a spy to any other countries then there complete Id in India will be destroyed. And at the same time new profile will be created on them in the respected countries, they are going as a spy. They have to live there with this new id and should serve for India as a normal citizen of that country. There won’t be any support from Indian government to them in those countries. So they live every second counting. If the other country officers finds out about the spy work then the agent will be tortured to maximum extent in their countries and finally death sentence will be given. This service will not give any name and fameto agents unlike military and police services. 

If anyone gets popular with their service then we can assume either he is retired or sacrificed his life to India. This job is not permanent, according to few sources their salary will be around 80 thousand to 1.5 lakhs per month. 

Research And Analysis Wing (RAW) and ISI (inter services Intelligence)

RAW was created at 1968 to protect India from external threats. Every country will have their own secret agency to protect them from the other countries. We all know about India and Pakistan Wars and missions, Like how India created RAW, Pakistan also created their own secret agency called ISI (inter services Intelligence) in the yearof 1948 that is two decades before then the creation of RAW. Their primary function is gathering, processing and analyzing the national security of Pakistan. When we compare this both agencies, they both play significant role in protecting their countries. Comparing them is actually bit difficult because of lack of information about both secret agencies. With the available information we can compare RAW and ISI in this Ways MAN power:• Collecting information depends on how effective the agents are and what technologyt got. • With a 4 times larger effective espionage manpower RAW can choose from a much larger pool of spies and hence can command a better efficiency Budget & technology.

Comparison of Research And Analysis Wing (RAW) and ISI (inter services Intelligence)

The budget for RAW agency is 55 Billion dollars but Pakistan ISI budget is only 7 billion dollars. This difference in the budget shows how India was capable of affording more than 15 satellites to effective surveillance, telephonic interception .etc. Whereas Pakistan ISI has zero Level of Secrecy: Since the agents of Raw are selected from the most high level defense services, the agents are more eligible and capable for their job. Because clearing the government exams in India for defense system is not easy task. The information Of Raw never reaches the media and the officials working in it are not suppose to share anything with their family or friends for their safety. 

The headquarters of Raw still remains as amystery, that much protective the information is. Whereas few sources say the ISI information is more vulnerable and available in public domains itself. Overall the RAW works as an External intelligence agency of India to detect and analyze external threats. And to work internally India has Intelligence Bureau of India. But Pakistan ISI deals both Internal and External agencies and so the operations involve many hands in it which makes information more valunareble. There are many points that support both agencies,since the operations and their work remains as a secret it is difficult to finalize which agency is better. There are many fake news out about both the agencies. They all are doing their jobs to protect their countries and so Great respect towards them.

Mysterious facts about Indian RAW Agents

The spies who are real heroes we have seen in movies about the Raw agents and the secret agents for country's protection they stay in other countries and live in some harmful and dangerous places if have seen the movie of Krishna's Goodaand some spie movies in hindi you will have the idea of spies the stunts performed by the heroes in the movie as a spy attracts the audience expect the higher officials no body about those spies no one can identify them, these spies perform their duty for every country, every country has spies. ordinary man can't know the details or information of those spies. they are trained as such Intelligence sector only appoints the persons who is very brave and have expert in handling all the situations. even there are spies in our olden epics also like Ramayanam ,Mahabharatam. 

There are many indian Army spies who worked in British army during the independence war even now there are indian spies who are working in foreign countries. no one know who are they and they are named as Raw agents. these Raw agents work under the Research And Analysis Wing. now we will know about the indian raw agents who worked in Foreign countries.

1. Ajit Doval

Ajit Dovel presently he is current National Security Adviser of India only some of us know he is a spy. some of us know that only after his retirement.  he is a IPS officer but no will change as a spy but he changes as field agents and as a  spy performed his duties in Pakistan for 7 years. he lived in Kashmir for some years and he talked to the commanders and stopped the rally of them and made them surunder to Army. some days he turned as a Muslim and stayed in Lahore in Pakistan and stopped the attempts of Pakistan in India. 

Ajit Doval was deputed to this region when insurgency erupted in Mizoram and became a friend to the chief at some situations. he only follows Doval ideas six out of 7 of his top commanders were Doval’s friends and made them to surunder them to Army. Ajit Doval is the most famous spy and a protective agent. so government honored him as National Security Adviser of India ,after his retiremenmt. Recently surgical strikes against the Pakistan are also held in his premises.

Ajit Dovel

2. Ravindra Kaushik

Ravindra Kaushik is also named as Black Tiger and he is a powerful Raw agent. being as a raw agent in Pakistan he was caught by the Pakistan army and left his last breathe in Pakistan jail. At the age of 23 he joined as a Indian  Intelligency agent and he came in front to go to Pakistan as a spy. while others refused it he changes his name as Nabi Ahmed Shakir and learned Urdu and turned as a  Muslim and went to Pakistan.

Ravindra Kaushik did Law course in university in Pakistan and joined in the Pakistan army and changed into Islamic religion. He also married a Pakistani girl and gives the information to Indian Army from 1979 to 1983. He gave the information to India as a Raw agent every time when Pakistan made the attempt plans on India. he used to send the information to India unfortunately, 

Ravindra Kaushik was caught to the Pakistan army by the mistake of other secret agent. Even his wife don't know he is a Indian raw agent. After Ravindra Kaushik was caught, he was kept in jail for 16 years and forced him for Indian secrets. even he didn't say any secrets of India and honored as a Indian Black tiger Up to his death he believed that Indian government will save him but he died with Tuberculosis.

Ravindra Kaushik

Read the full biography of Ravindra Kaushik

3. Rabinder Singh

Rabinder Singh is the another spy from Indian army he is joint secretary in RAW, after joining as a Raw agent. there is a rule that they should not contact their family but Rabinder crossed the rule and used to for America. for her sister by RAW gave a punishment to him. he didn't come back after going on a RAW investigation.

Rabinder Singh

4. Saraswathy Rajamani

Saraswathy Rajamani joined in Subhash Chandra Bose at the age of 16 and asl gave her jewelry to INA. later along with five woman she dressed as a man and joined in British army and send the information to INA she remained as the woman worked in British army by Indian INA. 

Saraswathy Rajamani

5.Kashmir Singh 

This Punjabi man worked as a contract spy agent to RAW. He changed his name and religion and went to Pakistan and settled there and gives the information to India. He was caught by Pakistan intelligence and is kept in jail for 35 years. In that he was tied up with heavy chains for 17 years in all his jail period. He was kept in a dark room even can't see the sky .

Kashmir Singh

6. Raazi

Raazi changed her religion and went to Pakistan and joined Pakistan army and married a Pakistan officer and worked as a Indian spy, because her husband is a officer in Army, she gathered the information and said them to India. Most of her life is spent in Pakistan and at old age. she came to India and settled here. Even her husband and children still don't know, she is a spy.

There is a film directed by her story in B-Town recently starring Alia Bhatt named Raazi he her real name is not Raazi. she is a Punjabi woman still now. she don't introduce herself and shows her Devotion towards the countrty just like in movies. There are many real Spies in IAC as Raw agents but many don't there is a agency called Raw and many spies work under it and live in dangerous places.

RAW appoints the spies to save the country from many threats they live along with us in our surroundings but no one know about them. even there are some spies in Naxalite groups and some federal groups sometimes we listen about the news on them no one know that some news who are secretly hidden are revealed by them.

Raazi

Top 5 Indian army Heroes and their Extra Ordinary Tales of Bravery

Far from home and loved ones, these heroes sacrifice their own lives so the entire nation can sleep in peace. The stories of their courage and passion are larger than life. They are legends whose tales will not just make your chests swell with pride, but whose sacrifices will leave your eyes a little moist. They are all heroes, each and every one of them. But there are a few whose stories have become the stuff of legends, stories that deserve to be shared and told over and over again before. 

 Indian army Heroes 

5.RIFLEMAN JASWANT SINGH RAWAT 

A Hero Of the Indo-China war, Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat of the 4th Garhwal Rifles Infantry Regiment is the only soldier in the history of the Indian Army who has risen through the ranks after his death. He was ‘promoted’ to the rank of Major General 40 years after his death, and is still believed to ‘command’ troops guarding India’s eastern frontiers with China. 

During the 1962 war, soldiers were orderedto vacate their posts as soon as possible due to heavy casualties against the Chinese at the Battle of Nuranang. But Jaswant did not leave his position and continued to fight even after the other soldiers had left. Rawat was helped by two Monpa tribal girls named Sela and Nura. 

The trio set up weapons at separate points and maintained a volume of fire to make the Chinese believe they were facing a huge battalion. Rawat successfully managed to fool them for three days. But the Chinese found out about the set up through a man who used to supply rations to Rawat and the two girls. At this point, Rawat chose to shoot himself rather than be captured by the Chinese forces. 

The Chinese were so furious on learning that they had been fighting a single soldier all this time that they cut off Rawat’s head and carried it back to China. The post that Rawat held to repulse the Chinese troops has been renamed Jaswant Garh in recognition of his courage.

4.SUBEDAR YOGENDRA SINGH YADAV 

SUBEDAR YOGENDRA SINGH YADAV

This brave soldier has the high honor of being the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra. He received this award at the age of 19 for his actions on July 4,1999, during the Kargil war. Born in 1980 in Aurangabad Ahir village, UttarPradesh. 

SUBEDAR YOGENDRA SINGH YADAV volunteered for the task of capturing three strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill, which were situated at the top of a vertical, snow-covered,16,500 feet high cliff face. He was climbing the high cliff with the help of a rope when the enemy bunker started rocket fire. Yadav was hit by three bullets in his groin and shoulder. Despite being severely injured, Yadav kept climbing and finished the remaining 6 0 feet to reach the top of the cliff. Though in immense pain, Yadav crawled to the first enemy bunker and lobbed a grenade, which killed four Pakistani soldiers and set back the enemy fire. 

This gave the rest of the Indian platoon the opportunity to climb up the cliff face. However, this was not it. Yadav continued to fight and destroyed the second bunker too with the help of two fellow soldiers. 

In fact, he also engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy and killed four more Pakistani soldiers. By the time the rest of the Indian platoon arrived, Yadav had already neutralized the enemy attack. This gave Indian soldiers the upper hand and they managed to accomplish one of the toughest missions of the Kargil war – the capture of Tiger Hill. During the second part of the fight, a few more bullets hit Yadav. Some say he was hit by 16 bullets, some sayless, but he survived it all. Yadav’s heroic actions were portrayed in the film, Lakshya, by actor Hrithik Roshan. 

 3.BRIGADIER MOHAMMAD USMAN 

BRIGADIER MOHAMMAD USMAN

Brigadier Mohammad Usman was Born in Bibipur, Uttar Pradesh, this man of steel joined the Indian army in 1934. During the Indo-Pakistan war of 1947/48, Brigadier Usman repulsed a fierce attack on Naushera and Jhangar, two highly strategic locations in Jammu and Kashmir, and was named by his fellow soldiers ‘The Lion of Naushera.’ At the time of the Partition, he was made the offer of becoming the Chief of the Pakistani Army but he chose to stay in India. 

He left the Baloch regiment of Pakistan and was inducted into the Dogra regiment in India. After the Battle of Naushera, where the Pakistani suffered heavy casualties at his hands, the same country that had courted him to become the chief of the army, now went ahead and placed prize money of Rs. 50,000 on his head. 

Brigadier Usman was not just a fierce soldier but also a compassionate man. He never got married and used to donate a large part of his salary to support poor children and pay for their education. This inspiring and exemplary officer of the Indian Army died on July 3, 1948, defending Jhangar. His last words were, “I am dying but let not the territory we were fighting for fall to the enemy.” He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for his great courage and leadership. 

2.MAJOR GENERAL IAN CARDOZO

Major General Ian Cardozo, who has many achievements to his name, will always be known for his immense courage in the 1971 war with Pakistan. He was, at the time, a young major with 5 Gorkha Rifles. During the war, he stepped on a landmine and severely injured his leg. 

When even the doctor could not cut his leg,Cardozo asked for a khukri and cut his own leg off, saying, “Now go and bury it!” The incident did not deter Cardozo from going on to serve his country. Through sheer will power and determination, he continued to perform his duties as a soldier and became the first disabled officer in the indian Army to command an infantry battalion and a brigade. 

In spite of not being physically at par with  officers, he defeated many ‘two-legged’ soldiers to come first in many fitness tests during his stint in the army. 

1.CAPTAIN VIKRAM BATRA 

Captain Vikram Batra was Born in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, Captain Vikram Batra of 13 J&K Rifles, is known as the hero of the Kargil war. He led one of the toughest war operations in Kashmir and was also called Sher Shah. 

He was instrumental in recapturing Peak 5140, which is located at an altitude of 17,000 feet. During this mission, Batra was seriously injured but still managed to kill three enemy soldiers in close combat. After capturing Peak 5140, he went on yet another difficult mission to recapture Peak 4875.

On July 7, 1999. Batra made a call to his father before he left and told him about the crucial mission. Hardly did he know that this would be his last call home. It was one of the most difficult missions the Indian army attempted because the Pakistani forces were sitting above the peak at 16,000 feet and the climb gradient was 80 degrees. 

On their way up, one of Batra’s fellow officers was severely injured. Batra set out to save him. When a subedar tried to help him save the officer, Batra pushed him aside, saying, “You have children, step aside.” He saved his fellow soldier but was killed while clearing enemy positions. Batra’s last words were “Jai Mata Di.” 

So, these were our picks for Top 5 Indian army Heroes and Their Extra Ordinary Tales of Bravery. Did we miss any ? Comment down below. 

Saddam Hussein Biography | Son, daughter, family

Saddam Hussein was one of the world’s most notorious and ruthless leaders. Since coming to power in 1979, Saddam used any means necessary to hold into Iraq including killing anyone who stood in his way. At a young age he was brutalized at home,ran away to his uncles, and quickly became a thug for an extremist political party. As he raised through the ranks and took over,he modernized the country -- and ruled through fear. Eventually his greed, defiance, and murderous ways led to the gallows.

Early Life

On April 28, 1937, Saddam Hussein was born to a peasant woman in a mud and straw village called Al-Awja near Tikrit, on the banks of the Tigris River. Saddam bore the physical mark of his tribe on the wrist of his right hand; a tattoo of three dark blue dots. Most people in his village lived in severe poverty and life was difficult. Saddam’s father, a sheepherder, disappeared before he was born. Then, a few months later, Saddam’s 12-year-old brother died from cancer. This sent Saddam’s mother Subha into a crippling depression and she attempted to abort her unborn baby and kill herself. She failed and when her infant son was bornshe named him Saddam, which means in Arabic the “one who confronts,” or “the stubbornone.” Without a husband, Subha didn’t have themeans to support her baby. She sent Saddam to live with her brother KhairallahTalfah, a retired army officer and Arab nationalist in Tikrit. Saddam lived with him for only three years,until Talfah was imprisoned due to his part in a coup to overthrow the pro-British governmentin Iraq. 

By this time, Saddam’s mother had remarried a man named Ibrahim Hassan. Villagers knew him as “Hassan the liar.” Back at his mother’s home, the young Saddam endured regular beatings and maltreatment at the hands of his stepfather. Neighbors and early friends of Saddam recall Hassan beating him to wake in the morning and regularly shouting things like, “Youson of a dog, I don't want you!” He was forbidden from going to school, and instead was made to be useful by stealing goats and chickens for the family. If Saddam was caught stealing -- it has been said -- he would rather poison the animals than return them to their owners. 

At the age of 10, Saddam heard his uncle had been released from prison and he fled to Tikrit to be with him. Talfah filled the boy with dreams of glory,saying he would be a great leader of Iraq someday. He gave Saddam his first real possession -- a handgun. Saddam reportedly used the weapon to threatens his primary school teachers and he may have murdered a man when he was not yet a teenager. According to the story, after the killing police showed up at Talfah’s house and found Saddam sleeping with the gun, still warm,under his pillow. Under his uncle’s care, Saddam was finally able to go to school but he learned much more than how to read and write. 

Through the years he was deeply influenced by Talfa’s politics and after leaving the al-Karh Secondary School in 1957, at the age of 20, Saddam joined the Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party as a low-level thug and gunman. The party was formed in Syria in 1947 with the ultimate goal of unifying the various Arab states in the Middle East. At the time, it was the most radical, nationalist party in Iraq and it had become an underground revolutionary force. When he was 22, Saddam played a major role in the Ba’ath Party’s assassination attempt of the then-Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim. During the attack on October 7, 1959, Saddam and other assassins ambushed Qassim’s car on Baghdad’s busiest street. The Prime Minister’s chauffeur was killed but Qassim was spared, surviving gunshot wounds in the arm and shoulder. Saddam escaped with a bullet in his leg. 

The official version of the story portrays Saddam as a hero who dug the bullet out with a penknife. Another version suggests that the plot failed because Saddam opened fire prematurely. Several of the would-be assassins were caught, tried and executed but not Saddam. He managed to flee to Syria before eventually seeking refuge in Egypt. While in Egypt, Saddam studied law at the University of Cairo. Saddam returned to Iraq in 1963 after a successful military overthrow of Qassim's government. After his return, Saddam was recruited for yet another assassination. The Ba’ath Party suffered from infightingand a coup was planned to overthrow the leader. The plan was ultimately betrayed however and Saddam became a wanted man. He was forced into hiding but was caught and imprisoned in 1964. While in captivity, he remained active inparty politics and read up on his role models -- tyrants Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Saddam Hussein

In 1966, Saddam escaped prison thanks to the help of sympathetic prison guards. Afterwards, he was appointed deputy secretary of the Regional Command, and became a rising star in the Baa'th organization. Rise to Power in 1968, another successful coup in Iraq put Saddam’s Ba’ath party in power and President American Hassan al-Bakr (Saddam’s cousin) named him deputy and head of the secret police. Saddam proved to be a ruthless, but effective politician. Within government, he either eliminated orco-opted individuals who stood in his way. Eventually, he clawed his way to become the vice president of Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), the core group that held Iraq’s Ba’athist government together. Although not the official president of Iraq until 1979, Saddam truly held the reins from the early 1970s onward. When the Ba’ath Party seized control, it did not enjoy wide-spread support across the country. That changed after Saddam nationalized Iraq’ soil industry in the early 1970s before the energy crisis of 1973. 

As a result, the nation enjoyed a boom tothe economy and the massive earnings allowed the Ba’athist government to fund the health, education, and public works sectors and expand social programs. In an attempt to wipe out illiteracy, Saddam required all children to attend school and made it free through high school. He also provided free hospitalization to all Iraqis and full economic support to the families of Iraqis soldiers. Such reforms were unheard of in any other middle Eastern country. In the years before the Iran-Iraq War construction became one of the prized occupations of Iraq’s middle class. It is also important to note, 40 percent of the increased revenue from oil went to buying armaments from Western and Soviet suppliers. That figure increased at the onset of the war with Iran. 

In 1979, when al-Bakr attempted to unite Iraq and Syria, in a move that would have left Saddam effectively powerless, Saddam forcedal-Bakr to resign, and on July 16, 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq. Five days later, he called an assembly ofthe Ba'ath Party -- consisting of roughly 250 people. At the meeting, party officials sat mystified as Saddam made the announcement he had uncovered a plot against him -- and he claimed the conspirators were in the room. An alleged informant then read a list of 68 names out loud, and each person was promptly arrested and removed. All the individuals were eventually tried and found guilty of treason. Twenty-two were sentenced to death. The whole ordeal was filmed and circulated around Iraq. This was an intentional, well-scripted display of Saddam’s power and a clear message of who was in charge. Three months later, Saddam declared 14 people(up to 13 of them Jews), part of a “Zionist spy ring.” He made a very public, carnival-like display out of their execution by stringing them up before a crowd of thousands in downtown Baghdad. Over the next several months, Saddam had more“plotters” murdered live on television and he hung them up on city lampposts. To guard against coups and ensure loyalty,Saddam surrounded himself with kin -- putting his fellow clansmen in government positions. He regularly used informants and the secret police to route out suspected conspirators. If anyone so much as made a joke about Saddam,they could have their tongue cut out or pay with their life. He believed it was better to murder a person of suspicion and be wrong -- than it is was to not, and be killed by them. 

Personal Life 

Saddam married his first cousin, Sajida -- his uncle Talfah’s daughter. They had five children including two sons,Uday and Qusay, and three daughters, Raghad, Rana and Hala. He took on mistresses but did not parade them around publically. Later on, when his sons grew up, he gave them high-ranking positions within Iraq’s government. Saddam’s public image was meticulously crafted-- he dyed his hair black, sported a mustache, and refused to wear his reading glasses unless in private. He had a slight limp due to a slipped discso he was never filmed walking for more than a few steps. He was 6’ tall, and his weight fluctuated from trim to chubby but his well-tailored suits were made to disguise his protruding belly. Each of his 20 palaces was kept fully staffed,with meals prepared daily as if he were in residence to disguise his wherea bouts. He moved around frequently and used body doubles to thwart assassination attempts. 

His meals, such delicacies like imported lobster,were first tested for radiation and poison. His wine of choice was Portuguese, MateusRose, but he never drank in public to maintain the conceit that he was a strict Muslim. Saddam was particularly phobic about germs and even top generals summoned to meet him were often ordered to strip to their underwear and their clothes were then washed, ironed and X-rayed before they could get dressed to meet him. They had to wash their hands in disinfectant. During his imprisonment, it is said he would try to maintain this cleanliness by wiping his utensils and food tray with baby wipes before eating. Throughout his rule, he maintained a limited world-view and possessed little knowledge of Western culture, laws, and advancements in technology. He was once shocked to learn there was no such law in the U.S. that prevented citizens from complaining about the President. 

Saddam Hussein family

Saddam Hussein daughter

Decades of Conflict The same year that Saddam anointed himself President of Iraq, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini led a successful Islamic revolution. Saddam’s political power rested in part upon the support of Iraq's minority Sunni population and he worried that developments in Shi-ite majority Iran could lead to a similar uprising in Iraq. In response, on September 22, 1980, Saddam ordered Iraqi forces to invade the oil-rich region of Khuzestan in Iran -- a clear violation of international law. The conflict soon turned into an all-out war;one Saddam foolishly expected would be over in a matter of weeks. Saddam had no prior military experience and he grossly underestimated his enemy. Iran was three times the size of Iraq and a formidable opponent. A stalemate ensued, with both sides engagedin a bloody trench war. At the same time ground troops were deadlocked,Saddam sunk millions of dollars into developing nuclear weapons. In 1981, Israel took this matter seriously-- believing if Saddam had the ability, there would be no preventing him from dropping anatomic bomb on their cities. 

In June, the Israeli Air Force destroyed Iraq’s research center at Osirik. At least 25 pounds of enriched uranium were reported to have been on the site. The plant was near completion and scheduled to begin operations within a matter of months. The destruction of Iraq’s nuclear plantwas humiliating and with no end in sight to the war, Saddam consulted his cabinet. At the meeting, Saddam’s health minister suggested that he step down in order to gain the ceasefire with Iran. As the story goes, Saddam thanked him forhis candor and had him arrested on the spot. The minister’s wife pleaded with Saddam to release her husband and he promised he would. When he sent him home the next day, he was delivered in a black canvas body bag, cut up into tiny pieces. In the closing days of the war with Iran,Saddam’s murderous ways reached new heights. In his most savage act, he poisoned thousands of civilian Kurds using chemical gases, killing upwards of 5,000 people and injuring 10,000 more. The genocide became known as the Halabja Massacreor Bloody Friday. Iranian photographer Kaveh Golestan witnessed the gas attacks from a helicopter. “It was life frozen. Life had stopped, like watching a film and suddenly it hangs on one frame. It was a new kind of death to me. (…) The aftermath was worse. Victims were still being brought in. Some villagers came to our chopper. They had 15 or 16 beautiful children, beggingus to take them to hospital. So all the press sat there and we were eachhanded a child to carry. As we took off, fluid came out of my little girl's mouth and she died in my arms.” One decade after the attack, at least 700 people were still being treated for severe after effects of the Halabja Massacre. Surveys have concluded the Kurdish populationin this region suffer from a higher percentage of medical disorders, birth defects, and variousdiseases including cancers and heart disease. 

On August 20, 1988, after years of intense conflict that left one half million casualties on each side, a ceasefire agreement was finally reached. The eight year war ravaged Iraq’s economy and infrastructure. One million Iraqi soldiers were out of work. At the end of the 1980s, Saddam turned his attention toward Iraq's wealthy neighbor, Kuwait. Saddam believed the Kuwaitis had 200 billion dollars in various banks around the world. And, a takeover of this small country would yield him all the riches he needed to pay back Iraq’s war debt and stabilize his country. Using the justification that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq, Saddam ordered the invasion on August 2, 1990. It took only six hours for Saddam’s armies to the occupy the country -- a move greatly condemned around the world. A UN Security Council resolution was promptly passed, imposing sanctions and setting a deadline of January 15, 1991, for the Iraqis to leave Kuwait. 

During the occupation, Saddam staged a number of bizarre televised interviews with citizens of Kuwait in which he asked them if they were happy with the Iraqis invasion. Of course, they said yes...they didn’t have a choice! When Saddam ignored the January 15 deadline,a coalition force headed by U.S. President George H.W. Bush confronted Iraqi forces. Saddam was no match for America’s firepower and modern warfare technology. Within six weeks Saddam’s troops were out of Kuwait. A ceasefire agreement was signed, the terms of which included Iraq dismantling its germ and chemical weapons programs. The previously imposed economic sanctions levied against Iraq remained in place. 

Despite this and the fact that his militarynhad suffered a crushing defeat (an estimated 150,000 Iraqis died), Saddam claimed victory in the conflict. He called “The Mother of All Battles”his biggest victory and maintained that Iraq had actually repulsed an attack by “America and its criminal gang.” He said, “Iraq has punched a hole in themyth of American superiority and rubbed the nose of the United States in the dust.” During the 1990s, various Shi-ite and Kurdishuprisings in Iraq occurred, but the rest of the world, fearing another war, did littleor nothing to support these rebellions and they were ultimately crushed by Saddam's forces. At the same time, Iraq remained under intense international scrutiny. Saddam violated the terms of the UN’s peacedeal -- when inspectors were sent into Iraq they found and destroyed stockpiles of weapons including chemical and biological warheads and a “super gun” with missiles capable of reaching Israel. The inspectors also alleged Saddam was stillat work developing nuclear weapons. In 1993, when Iraqi forces violated a no-flyzone imposed by the UN, the U.S. launched a damaging missile attack on Baghdad. Further strikes occurred in 1998. With economic sanctions still in place inthe years following the Gulf War, Saddam continued to maintain his personal wealth, and his family’s,through selling oil and medical supplies meant for his people on the black market. While the citizens of Iraq were in dire straits,he built opulent palaces and maintained his lifestyle. 

Fall of Saddam Hussein government

Saddam's Fall after the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in September 11, 2001, President George W. Bushand members of his administration suspected Saddam’s government of having a relationship with Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda organization. And, of possessing “weapons of mass destruction.” In his January 2002 State of the Union address,President Bush named Iraq part of his so-called "Axis of Evil," along with Iran and NorthKorea. Later that year, UN inspections of suspected weapons sites began, but little or no evidence that such programs existed was ultimately found. Despite this, on March 20, 2003, under the pretext that Iraq did in fact have a covert weapons program and that it was planning attacks,a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq. Within weeks, the government and military had been toppled, and on April 9, 2003, Baghdad fell. Saddam, however, managed to elude capture. In the months that followed, an intensive search for Saddam began. 

While in hiding, Saddam released several audio recordings, in which he denounced Iraq's invaders and called for resistance. Finally, on December 13, 2003, Saddam was found hiding in a hole in the ground, a bunker near a farm house in ad-Dawr, near Tikrit. The once well-dressed and groomed leader looked disheveled, unshaven and bewildered when he was arrested. Saddam was moved to a U.S. base in Baghdad,where he would remain until June 30, 2004, when he was officially handed over to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial for crimes against humanity. With his days numbered, Saddam showed no accountability or remorse for his crimes. In 2003, when asked by Iraqi politicians about his brutal acts, Saddam called the Halabja attack Iran’s handiwork; said that Kuwait was rightfully part of Iraq and that the mass graves were filled with thieves who fled the battlefield. Saddam declared that he had been “just butfirm” because Iraqis needed a tough ruler. During his trial, Saddam would prove to bea belligerent defendant, often boisterously challenging the court's authority and making bizarre statements. On November 5, 2006, Saddam was found guilty and sentenced to death. The sentencing was appealed, but was ultimately upheld by a court of appeals. On December 30, 2006, at Camp Justice, an Iraqi base in Baghdad, Saddam was executed. He was then buried in Al-Awja, his birthplace,on December 31, 2006. This closed the chapter on one of modern history’s most tyrannical and brutal dictators. 

Vladimir Putin Biography | KGB to President

Vladimir Putin Biography 

We all fall being photographed shirtless and alongside wild animals (perhaps at the same time), Vladimir Putin has cultivated an image as an intimidating and fearless figure on the world stage. He’s a martial arts expert, a fearless political actor, and a former spy... His resume holds a certain cachet in the West... As a former KGB agent he’s automatically associated with secrecy, intimidation, and the old fears Americans had of the Soviet Union for much of the 21st Century. 

Putin has said of himself that he lived for a long time as an ordinary person, and ordinary is all he wishes to be. For decades though, he has been anything but ordinary, as he has spent his life climbing the ranks of the Russian government, moving farther and farther away from his “ordinary” roots. 

 Early Life

He was born in St. Petersburg in 1952, in the midst of the Cold War. Putin had two older brothers, but both died during childhood, so Putin was raised essentially as an only child. He was an atheist as a child but now is an Eastern Orthodox Christian. During Putin’s childhood, his mother stayed at home, and his father, a veteran of World War II, worked in a factory. As an interesting aside, his grandfather was a cook who worked for Vladimir Lenin and even prepared meals for Stalin a few times! 

The Putin family lived in a communal apartment shared by three families, a home where Putin says he used to hunt rats in the stairwell, perhaps a precursor to his later fascination with hunting (and with wild animals in general). Growing up, Putin didn’t prove himself to be anything special in his early years. 

But then, at the age of 12, he discovered athletic competition… It was in the midst of a competition that Putin began to set himself apart. Martial arts was his chosen sport - particularly Sambo and Judo. Though his mother did not initially approve of his participation in these sports, Putin proved himself to be a worthy and skilled competitor in both. At one point, his coach even showed up at the Putin home to speak with his mother about how many promises he showed. 

Well, that did the trick, and his parents began to support his athletic pursuits. Putin now holds a black belt in Judo and has continued to compete in both Sambo and Judo, establishing himself as the first world leader to be at an advanced level in these sports. He also remains the President of the same dojo he practiced while growing up. Though he established himself as athletically talented, Putin did not excel academically during his childhood. 

He attended a local school for his early years, and then attended a magnet school focused on chemistry. He didn’t push himself, but his teachers saw that he had potential and encouraged him to focus as much on his school work as he did on his martial arts practice. In the sixth grade, Putin began to push himself and it showed in his grades. He was welcomed into the Young Pioneers, the youth group run by the Communist Party. This was a mark of honor, as Putin had previously been one of only a few from the class not to be welcomed into the organization… From 1970 to 1975, Putin continued his studies at Saint Petersburg State University. While there he studied law and was required to join the Communist Party. 

He later left the Party, denouncing communism in 1991 when he said of Marxism-Leninism that: “it became more and more obvious for me, more obvious truth that it was nothing more than a beautiful and harmful fairy tale.“ 

At Saint Petersburg State University Putin met Anatoly Sobchak, who would become a key figure in Putin’s political success... Sobchak was an assistant professor at the school, but he actually went on to co-author the Constitution of the Russian Federation and was also the first democratically-elected mayor of St. Petersburg. 

KGB Agent

KGB Agent Putin graduated from Saint Petersburg State University in 1975 and it was then that he joined the KGB. The KGB was the Soviet Union’s security agency for much of the twentieth century. It was created in 1954 and continued to operate until 1991 when the Soviet Union itself was dismantled. Translated to English, KGB stands for State Security Committee. It had a reputation for oppression and monitoring the actions and opinions of Soviet citizens. 

The KGB was a truly frightening organization for democracy and an indication of the dangers of Communism to westerners. The organization quelled rebellions and kept a close eye on anyone suspected to be in opposition to the Soviet regime. Putin started his career with the KGB in Leningrad, but later he was moved to Dresden, Germany. Before his transfer to Germany, Putin married. To this day he keeps his home life very private and information about his family is closely guarded. 

He and his wife Lyudmila were married from1983 until their divorce in 2013. Their divorce was seemingly amicable, with no specific reason given for it, though Lyudmila made reference to Putin’s dedication to his work and the time investment required to serve as a world leader. They have two daughters together, Maria and Yekaterina, both of whose lives remain incredibly secretive. They both used fake names to register for college, and it’s not entirely known in which country either of the Putin daughters currently lives. In 2016, European newspapers even described Maria as a ‘secret’ daughter - noting that she had not been known to be photographed during the entire length of Putin’s time in power. 
Spy to President 

For a former spy and a powerful man with many enemies, it is perhaps sensible that his daughters have maintained this secret life... Putin has stated: “I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.” Putin moved with his family to Dresden, where he served with the KGB for five years. He was fluent in German, and still speaks the language today, and has stated that he feels more comfortable using German than English. Putin served in the Dresden post from 1985to 1990, working as an undercover agent. playing the part of a translator... The work, though not all of what Putin did is known, wasn’t necessarily particularly exciting. Much of it was simply amassing information on people, ensuring they were remained loyal to the Soviets and were not plotting any kind of rebellion... In 1989, the situation became dicier for Soviets stationed in Dresden... 

During one incident, as it became more clear that East Germany was falling out of Soviet control, Putin and his colleagues feared for their lives as crowds stormed the KGB headquarters in Dresden. Putin called in the Soviet military for help, but was told nothing could be done to help them unless Moscow gave the order. Something Moscow never did. While Putin and his colleagues survived that day, it had become increasingly clear that the situation was unstable. 

During this time, Putin and other KGB agents began burning files so that when the day came and their headquarters was overtaken or abandoned, or both, no files would be left in the hands of their enemies. Post-KGB Life The Berlin Wall fell in November of 1989, and soon after Putin and his family returned to Russia. By this point, Putin held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the KGB. However, the KGB was nearing the end of its existence, and Putin was able to find work at the State University of Saint Petersburg. He was no ordinary professor though... he was still working with the KGB. 

Part of his job included keeping an eye out for students who showed promise as potential new KGB recruits. Through this job, Putin was also able to reconnect with his former professor Anatoly Sobchak. Sobchak was elected the Mayor of St. Petersburg in 1991, and Putin joined his team as an adviser. He worked for Sobchak until 1996. When Sobchak lost re-election Putin could have opted to continue working for his successor, but Putin believed that taking a job with Sobchak’s political opponent would be disloyal, and he instead chose to move to Moscow to begin working with the Yeltsin Administration. 

Politics During Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, Putin quickly rose through the ranks, first serving as Deputy Chief Administrator for the Kremlin(Russia’s version of the White House), and by 1999 he was named the Secretary of the Security Council and became Yeltsin’s chief advisor on matters of foreign relations and intelligence. Then, Putin’s career really got a boost… Yeltsin decided he didn’t want to keep his current Prime Minister, so he got rid of him. 

That was in August of 1999 - Putin was the beneficiary of this decision as Yeltsin named Vladimir Putin to the post. Yeltsin offered Putin the position as a “Prime Minister with prospects,” somewhat foreshadowing the next step in Putin’s career... Only months after naming Putin as Prime Minister, Boris Yeltsin himself stepped down and Vladimir Putin became the Acting President of Russian in December 1999. Then, only three months later in March of 2000, Putin was officially elected and became President of Russia in his own right... Presidency Ten opponents ran against him for President, but he won, and for the first time in Russia’s history there was a peaceful transfer of power to a Democratically-elected President. 

Putin used his first term to advocate for certain international policies, including approval of the START II arms treaty, and improving relations with China. Putin was also initially supportive of the United States’ War on Terror that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but he did not support the United States’ invasion of Iraq. During Putin’s first summer in power, tragedy struck Russia when the Kursk submarine sank in the Barents Sea in August. Putin was on vacation when the sinking occurred, and he did not immediately return home to address the sinking and the deaths of all 118 crew members who had been on board. Then, when asked what went wrong for the Kursk, Putin replied starkly that: 'It sank.' Distraught and angry, Russians were attacking their President for his handling, or lack thereof, of the Kursk disaster, with some even accusing him of leaving sailors to die when rescue might still be possible. Despite that, opinion polls showed that overall his image did not sustain much damage from the tragedy. 

Four years later, the Kursk tragedy did not affect his re-election. In 2004, the Russians re-elected Putin to a second term as their President. They were apparently pleased with the job he had been doing, as Putin received over 70% of the vote. The second Term During his first term in office, Putin had focused on economic reforms. Having denounced communism, he instead supported an economic system that was essentially capitalism with very strict regulations and oversight. 

After years of economic struggle, Russia was finally beginning to see a stabilizing and even growing economy under Putin. Some reports put Russia’s growth during his first term at 7% annually. He’s still remembered favorably for this growth, though it came with increased nationalization of industry, and, in part because of the mid-2000’s global financial crash, the growth did not last. But in a country whose economy was in disarray for nearly the entire decade before Putin’s rise to power, an era of growth in which disposable income nearly doubled was the reason for the people to think positively of Putin. Putin continued to work on economic policies in his first term, but also made strides in foreign relations, including making a historic trip to Israel. This trip was the first by a Russian leader to the country. Conversations between Putin and Israeli leaders focused largely on security issues. 

The trip garnered much attention around the world, as it came in the midst of strengthening ties between Russia and Israel, though the two nations disagreed on topics such as the Russian sale of missiles to Syria. The trip was also seen as a move by Put into help secure Russia’s position as a key diplomatic actor in any Mideast peace discussions or agreements. Security issues were present not just abroad though, and homeland security would become a major focus for Putin. Unfortunately, this is something that became all too clear during the horrific tragedy at the Beslan School in 2004... 

In September, terrorists held over 1,000 people hostage at the Beslan School in North Ossetia. Nearly 800 of these hostages were children. For three days, the terrorists, demanding Chechnyan independence from Russia, held these people hostage. The situation ended tragically when tanks, rockets, and other artillery were used by the Russian military to try to clear the school. Special forces entered the school after hearing explosions from inside where the hostages were being kept, but their actions did not save lives. Quite the contrary… in the siege of the school, over 300 people died, nearly two-thirds of whom were children. The tragedy shook the world, and while the government was cleared of wrongdoing initially, the European Court of Human Rights later stated that Russia had used excessive force, and lacked caution, when they stormed the school… Despite anger and discontentment at the government’s handling of the tragedy in general, it did not affect the public’s view of Putin very much at all. Quite the opposite in fact. A poll taken after the Beslan massacre stated that 83% of Russians were still happy with him. The Beslan tragedy did lead to changes in the halls of power of the Russian government though, primarily giving more power to the Russian President. 

For instance, instead of electing governors in regions like North Ossetia and Chechnya, the President would have the power to appoint governors. 

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year

In 2007, during his second term, Putin was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. The magazine called the final year of his second term “his most successful yet,” and the cover photo for the issue, a portrait of Putin, won the photographer the World Press Photo Award. During the shoot, the two discussed their mutual admiration for the Beatles... This connection helped Putin become more comfortable, and gave the photographer the chance to get his award-winning shot of the intimidating world leader. No matter how popular Putin was, though, the Russian people could not elect him to a third term. The Russian Constitution forbids it. However, Putin found a way around this rule just when his time in office was about to run out... “Presidency” Presidential terms in Russia had been extended to six years, but this change did not benefit Putin. 

Time magazine person of the year

Dmitri Medvedev was a protege of Putin’s and had benefitted from Putin’s rise to power. Neither he nor Putin wanted Putin to be pushed off the international stage, and so Medvedev named Putin as Russia’s Prime Minister - a position he had previously held under Boris Yeltsin. After thirteen years in leadership, Putin would remain at the highest levels of Russia’s government. He and his supporters were able to keep him in power and stay in line with the law, although perhaps not in line with its exact intent. 

During his third term as Prime Minister from 2008-2012, Putin focused on dealing with the economic crisis that swept the world, as well as Russia’s population problems. Russia’s population was falling by one million people a year - a devastating number for a country whose population is only 150 million. 

In 2010, the trend reversed and Russia’s population began to grow. The reversal is in part credited to Putin’s economic reforms - when people have more money, it is easier to support a larger family. One of Putin’s economic reforms included joining the World Trade Organization in 2012. Negotiations for Russia to join the WTO lasted nearly two decades (as they had started after the fall of the Soviet Union.) Russia was granted entry into the WTO after negotiations reached a point which granted Russia permission to phase in the opening of markets, while it aligned with other WTO trading requirements. Now, while his political party retained dominance, and Putin was again the candidate for President in 2012, he did not escape politically unscathed from his maneuver to hold on to power by sidestepping the term limits law. 

The elections for President in 2012 were heavily protested, with claims of fraud tainting Putin’s election to a third term... 'The task of the government is not only to pour honey into a cup, but sometimes to give bitter medicine.' - Vladimir Putin But, despite those protests, he was inaugurated in May of 2012, and this time his term would be six years. This means that Putin will be President of Russia until at least 2018, and with allegations of his interference in United States elections, his prominence in the world only seems to grow… Controversy Putin has continued to be re-elected and re-appointed to positions at the highest level of the Russian government, but his time in office has not been without questions surrounding his shady actions. 

Among the high points - or low points we should say - of intrigue surrounding Putin are the murders of Russian journalists. Deaths of journalists were a point of concern in Russia long before Putin’s rise to power, but the issue began to get a lot of international attention during Putin’s second term as President when journalist Anna Polit kovskaya was murdered. Politkovskaya had been a strong critic of Putin and the war in Chechnya. Even before her death, she was poisoned but recovered. Her murder remains unsolved, but there is suspicion that Putin and his government targeted her... Politkovskaya is far from the only Putin opponent whose death has occurred in suspicious circumstances. In March 2017 the Washington Post even published a list of ten such deaths. 

Among those deaths were a former Deputy Prime minister and Putin critic who was shot outside the Kremlin, a tycoon whose death was initially called a suicide but now that is unsure, a journalist who was kidnapped and shot in the woods, a former KGB agent who was found to be poisoned by Russian agents, and a journalist who died of a “mystery illness” and whose medical records have been sealed… Certainly, plenty of intrigues… Public ImageThough many of these deaths may never be proven beyond doubt to be the work of Putin’s government, one thing is for certain - Vladimir Putin does not like to be viewed as weak. 

He has done all he can to prove his strength, and to show the world that he is strong and manly. Beyond his active participation in martial arts, he shows his power and dominance by hunting, tracking, and posing with wild animals. He’s caught huge fish - including a 46-pound pike - and shot a crossbow at a whale... only to tranquilize it though! He also once saved a camera crew from a Siberian tiger that was about to attack them during a tour of a wildlife sanctuary. 

Further, he’s gotten close enough to polar bears to attach a tracking device to them to help out with a research project. Polar bears might look cute from afar, but they're actually incredibly vicious creatures. Putin has also attached himself to an experimental flying machine to accompany birds on migration. He always does these things carefully making sure there were photographers present… 

'The more I know about people, the more I like dogs. I simply like animals.' - Vladimir Putin

   

When he’s not hanging out with wild animals, Putin makes time for other adventurous and athletic activities. He dives in the Black Sea, explores shipwrecks, plays hockey, rides snowmobiles and motorcycles, and has driven a Formula One race car. Once, during a visit to a Russian youth came even challenged attendees to arm wrestle with him! Then, not content with arm wrestling as a show of strength, he tried to bend a frying pan with his bare hands. Naturally, photographers caught all of these shows of strength and the photos have been distributed and viewed around the world. 

From his days at school cultivating an athletic reputation to his time as President and Prime Minister, Putin has made it known that he is a man to be reckoned with. Putin Today During his most recent term as President, with two years of a term yet to go, Putin has found himself centered on the world stage. Russia has been involved in the Syrian Civil War, supporting the government of Bashar Al-Assad.

In early July of 2017, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in southwestern Syria, and weeks later Russia announced that it had signed a deal with Syria allowing Russia to keep its airbase in the country for at least fifty more years. In addition to Syria, perhaps Putin’s most talked about involvement has been the alleged interference of Russia in the U.S. elections. From hacking allegations to questions of illicit meetings and deals with members of Trump’s inner circle, the U.S and world media have made Putin and his political dealings a household conversation topic... Vladimir Putin began his life growing up in a communal apartment in the midst of Russia during the Cold War, and has become an internationally polarizing figure. 

He’s been strong and unapologetic in his foreign policy and use of force, and questions swirl around his treatment of political opponents and critical journalists. Putin is unwilling to sit back and be a shrinking violet on the world stage, ensuring Russia remains a world power with a great deal of influence. He has done all that he can to cultivate an image of strength both for Russia as a country and for himself personally, showing no signs of stopping his adventurous and daredevil lifestyle even as he enters his sixties... Vladimir Putin has undoubtedly made a place for himself in world history.