Vladimir Putin has revealed that he commanded an artillery battalion during the Soviet period, a detail of his shadowy biography that was previously unknown. Putin’s official biography makes no mention of his military rank of lieutenant or of his position as commanding officer of an artillery battalion. According to the Kremlin, Putin joined the KGB immediately after graduating from the law faculty at Leningrad State University in 1975. He spent 16 years in the Soviet security service, rising to the rank of KGB lieutenant colonel before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Putin served as a KGB officer in Dresden in the 1980s.

Source: The Guardian January 08, 2019 12:21 UTC