Vladimir Putin

Famous People
PRE-READING

A. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. veteran a. to maintain a balance; to stop going up and down

_____ 2. federal b. finish working (around 65 years old)
_____ 3. expert c. assistant
_____ 4. security d. person who was once a soldier
_____ 5. spy e. to exchange
_____ 6. deputy f. from another country
_____ 7. mayor g. boss, chief, leader
_____ 8. foreign h. related to a national or central government
_____ 9. head i. leader of a city government
_____ 10. retire j. someone who gathers secret information
_____ 11. stabilize k. someone who is excellent at doing something
_____ 12. swap l. safety

QUICK FACTS

B. WARM-UP QUESTIONS ☀ Name:

________________________________
1. What were some of the countries in the former Nickname: ”Russia’s Hard Man”
U.S.S.R.? Nationality:
2. Have you ever heard of the KGB? What is it? _________________________________
Birthdate: Oct. 7, 1952
3. When did the Communist system start to change in
Job:
Russia?
_________________________________
4. How many terms has Vladimir Putin held as Quote: “Whoever does not miss the
President in Russia?
Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever
wants it back has no brain.”

Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 1
 Vladimir Putin
Famous People
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin is known as Russia’s “Hard Man”. He was the
second man to serve as President of Russia. During his long
political career, Putin has helped his nation’s economy
stabilize and grow.

Putin was born in 1952 in Leningrad, Russia. His mother

worked in a factory and his father was a war veteran. Putin
studied martial arts and became an expert. In 1975, he
graduated from law school at Leningrad State University.

After university, Putin went to work for the KGB, the Soviet
Union’s national security group. He learned how to be a spy
and how to speak German. In 1985, he was sent to Dresden,
East Germany to spy for his country.

In 1990, East Germany was not a Communist country any

more. Many things were changing in the Soviet Union. Putin
quit working for the KGB and became the deputy mayor of
St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg was the new name for
Leningrad. Putin got many foreign companies, such as Coca-
Cola, to do business in St. Petersburg. COMPREHENSION ✍

A. QUIZ YOUR PARTNER

In 1997, Putin went to work for the Russian government. He
became the head of the Federal Security Service. In 1999, Student A asks questions 1–3. Student B asks questions
4–6. Don’t look at the reading as you answer.
President Yeltsin appointed Putin as prime minister. Putin
became very popular with the Russian people. When President 1. When and where was Vladimir Putin born?
Yeltsin retired early, Putin acted as president for 6 months. ________________________________________

Putin became the president of Russia in March 2000, and was 2. What did his parents do?
reelected in 2004. In 2008, the law prevented him from ________________________________________
serving a third term. Instead, he became prime minister again. 3. What did he study at university?
Though Dmitry Medvedev was the president, much of the ________________________________________
power remained in Putin’s hands.
4. What was the KGB?
In 2011, Putin announced his plan to swap roles with ________________________________________
President Medvedev. Many protestors filled the streets. They 5. What did Putin do for the KGB?
accused Putin of being an undemocratic dictator. Others were _______________________________________
happy. They felt Putin was the best leader for Russia.
6. What did Putin do to help the economy of St.
Most Russians knew Putin would win the 2012 election. Putin Petersburg when he worked as deputy mayor?
received most of the media coverage during the campaign. ________________________________________
Monitors called it an unfair win.

Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 2
 Vladimir Putin
Famous People
B. TIMELINE
Place the following in chronological order (1–8). One item is not
mentioned in the reading. Guess where it belongs. Add an additional C. TRUE OR FALSE?
important event to the timeline.

____ As a child, Putin studied martial arts. Some of the answers are from the
reading. Others you will need to guess
____ Putin began working for the Russian government.
or research. Use a mobile device, a
____ Dmitry Medvedev announced he would not run for a second term. library, or the Internet to find the right
____ The KGB hired Vladimir Putin. answers.
____ Putin went to university to study law. 1. Vladimir Putin grew up in East
____ Putin went to Germany as a spy for Russia. Germany. _____
____ Vladimir Putin was elected for a third term as President. 2. Putin did well at university. ____ Putin
____ Dmitry Medvedev appointed Putin as Russia’s prime minister. was mayor of St. Petersburg.
3. Putin became head of the KGB. _____
VOCABULARY REVIEW
Complete the sentences using vocabulary from Page 1. 4. St. Petersburg used to be called
Leningrad. ______
1. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have many hobbies. They will have lots of
things to do when they ___________________________ . 5. Putin was named Time magazine’s
Person of the Year in 2007.______
2. The doctor ________________________ the patient’s heartbeat.
6. Putin addressed the Olympic
3. James Bond is a very famous Hollywood ______________. committee in English. This helped Sochi
win the bid for the 2014 winter Olympics.
4. Let’s _____________ books. You read mine and I’ll read yours.
______
5. Marie speaks English, French, Spanish and German fluently. She is
an _________________ at languages.

6. Now that Russia is no longer a communist country, many

_________________companies are opening there.
A Popular Idiom in Politics
7. The leader of the American government is called the president. The
___________of the British government is called the Prime Minister.
•pulling the strings

Despite being Prime Minister rather than

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS President, Vladimir Putin was still
1.Do you like spy movies? What are the pulling the strings from 2008-2011.
characteristics of a good spy? Nothing will change now that he’s
2.In what ways has Russia changed in the President.
last number of years?
Write a definition for this idiom.
3.What is the meaning of the “cold
war”? _________________________________
4.How have relations between the U. S. and Russia Do you agree with this statement or not?
changed over the past decade?
5.How do you feel about Putin serving a third term as President?

Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 3
 Vladimir Putin
Famous People

ANSWER KEY

Lesson Description: Students read a brief bio about Vladimir Putin and his reelection. This lesson includes vocabulary
review, comprehension questions, and discussion questions. Students learn the idiom “pulling the strings”.

VOCABULARY PREVIEW

1. d 2. h 3. k 4. l 5. j 6. c 7. i 8. f
9. g 10. b 11. a 12. e
C. True or False?
COMPREHENSION
A. QUIZ YOUR PARTNER 1. False
2. True
1. Vladimir Putin was born in 1952 in Leningrad, Russia.
3. False
2. Putin’s mother worked in a factory and his father was a war veteran. 4. True
3. At university, Putin studied law.
5. True
4. The KGB was the Soviet Union’s national security group.
6. True
5. While he worked for the KGB, Putin learned to be a spy. In 1985, he was
sent to Dresden, East Germany to spy and send information back to Moscow.
6. While working as deputy mayor, Putin helped St. Petersburg’s economy by encouraging foreign companies to do busi-
ness there.

B. TIMELINE VOCABULARY REVIEW

1 As a child, Putin studied martial arts. 1. retire
5 Putin began working for the Russian government. 2. stabilized
6 Dmitry Medvedev announced he would not run for a second term. * 3. spy
3 The KGB hired Vladimir Putin. 4. swap
2 Putin went to university to study law. 5. expert
4 Putin went to Germany as a spy for Russia. 6. foreign
8 Vladimir Putin was elected for a third term as President. 7. head
7 Dmitry Medvedev appointed Putin as Russia’s Prime Minister.
*Not mentioned in reading.
Additional event (many possible options): Putin became President of

Russia in 2000.

Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 4