Vladimir Putin has been inaugurated as the president of Russia for the fourth time, renewing another six-year term in office.
He started out as a KGB agent, before heading Russia's spy agency.
He then became the country's prime minister, and less than five months later, at the age of 47, Putin became the president of Russia.
Al Jazeera's Mereana Hond looks more closely at Putin's rise to the top.
