Vladimir Putin is one of the most controversial world leaders of the 21st century.
But his notorious reputation has led to several attempts on his life.
How did he survive them?
Keep watching to learn how Vladimir Putin escaped multiple assassination attempts.
Vladimir Putin has made plenty of enemies throughout his long political career.
After a 15-year stint with the KGB, Putin held various other jobs before former President
Boris Yeltsin appointed him Prime Minister in 1999.
Later that same year, he became President of Russia after Yeltsin stepped down, a position
he held from 1999 to 2008.
After that, he spent another four-year stretch as Prime Minister.
Then he assumed the presidential position once again in 2012, where he's been ever since.
Putin even changed the rules so that he can run for president multiple times which means
he could be in power until 2036.
Being in the top political office for that length of time can mean that there are plenty
of opportunities to have a target on your back.
It doesn't help that Putin's critics have a long history of disappearing under suspicious
or mysterious circumstances.
For example, investigative journalist Natalya Estemirova was looking into murder cases and
kidnappings in Chechnya.
She was later shot dead in the woods near her house.
Or the case of Boris Berezovsky, a leader who had a falling out with Putin and vowed
to "bring him down."
He was later found dead by suspected suicide, but the findings of his death were ruled as
inconclusive.
Putin has denied all involvement.
Nevertheless, Putin himself has been the target of numerous politically motivated attacks
over his decades in power.
The first attacks
During a 2017 interview, filmmaker Oliver Stone made the observation that Putin was:
"…three times president.
Five assassination attempts, I'm told."
Five years and another appointment to the presidency later, Putin has had even more
attempts against his life.
But it all started on February 24th, 2000, while attending the funeral of Anatoly Sobchak
in St. Petersburg.
It’s believed that this was the first known attempt to assassinate the Russian president,
but the Federal Guard Service was there to protect him.
The press secretary for the Federal Guard Service commented on the matter, saying that
it was
"not a psychopath but a certain organization was behind the attempt."
The same year, there was another attempted assassination that was prevented by security
forces.
A group of former Russian leaders met with world leaders at the Yalta summit of the Commonwealth
of Independent States.
During the summit, which took place on August 18th and 19th, 2000, a person was halted from
killing Putin, who had been targeted specifically among the international leaders.
He was among presidents from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, and several other countries who
also attended, but the would-be assassin was only focused on taking out Putin.
The Security Service chief at the time announced they had successfully stopped the assassination
attempt after the summit had concluded.
Although the documents about this remain classified, several people including four Chechens and
an unspecified number of Middle Eastern nationals were arrested in connection with the assassination
attempt.
In 2002, Putin was once again in danger.
Three months before Putin was set to visit Baku , Azeri security members were given information
on an attempt set for January 2002.
An Iraqi citizen with links to Afghanistan and Chechen rebel forces planned to deliver
explosives to a co-conspirator.
The man was arrested, along with his accomplice.
They were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
One month later, there was another threat.
This time, it was up close and personal.
A man drove into the Kremlin complex and jumped out of his car to talk to security members.
He claimed to be the president of Russia and demanded to be taken to Putin.
The surprised security team checked his documents and then sent him to receive an evaluation
at a nearby hospital.
Vengence and roadside bombs
Doctors reported back that the mentally ill assassin had attempted the same thing in 2001,
and both times had enthusiastically told people that he wanted to kill Putin.
He told his psychiatrists that Putin was bringing Nazism to Russia and that he was an undercover
spy.
In his diary, he wrote that he needed to cut off Putin’s head.
He was convinced that he was avenging his brother, who had died by beheading some years
before.
The next attempt came in November 2002, when Putin was supposed to be driving along a highway
near the Kremlin.
There were a group of people who claimed they were installing new signboards along the way.
Just hours later, a media outlet reported that they had found 40 kilos of explosives
set to detonate along the road.
But the devices then disappeared.
Vladimir Putin's car was rerouted.
To this day, officials refuse to comment on the matter and deny that it ever took place.
Something very similar happened the next year.
In June of 2003, a highway near St. Petersburg was targeted while President Putin's car was
supposed to be on it.
This time, police found a poorly made bomb hidden in a bag.
Once again, no one was harmed, and Russian officials denied that the situation ever happened.
In 2008, a sniper took aim at Putin, who was leaving the office of the president with Dmitry
Medvedev, who was the incoming president.
The two were reportedly taking a walk after Medvedev won the 2008 presidential election.
They were strolling in the area surrounding the Kremlin, which is known to be heavily
guarded and have top-notch security.
Which is fortunate for the two leaders.
The sniper was spotted, and the assassination attempt was a failure.
The next attempt to kill Vladimir Putin was in 2012.
A group of Chechens intended to detonate a roadside bomb.
But again, the plan was foiled before Putin was harmed.
Although it is difficult to determine the exact number, Putin has escaped at least seven
assassination attempts.
This is partially due to the tight security for Russian officials.
Security is very strong in the Kremlin complex, where many official government meetings take
place.
The Presidential Regiment, a highly-trained security force, guards the Kremlin.
The complex has guard towers to keep an eye on the premises.
Security teams members must be constantly vigilant and be able to hear a whisper from
20 feet away and are required to adhere to specific weight requirements as well as fit
within a certain standard of height.
In the 2017 interview with Oliver Stone, Putin discussed the attempts on his life, estimating
at that time that there had been five prior attempts to assassinate him.
Putin admitted he had gone so far as to ask for advice from another leader who had way
more experience in this area.
Putin asked Cuba's president, Fidel Castro, about the Cuban's security detail.
NBC News reported in 2016, that Castro had been the target of more than 600 assassination
attempts.
Putin asked how the Cuban leader had survived them.
Putin recalls what Castro said to him:
"And he said to me, 'Do you know why I'm still alive?'
I asked him, 'Why?'
'Because I was always the one to deal with my security personally.'"
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