This is a bonus episode, from English Learning For Curious Minds.<br /><br />Part 2 and 3 will be released on the following two Saturdays.<br /><br />--------<br /><br />In this episode, we will explore Vladimir Putin’s unlikely journey from a rat-catching streetfighter to the modern-day tsar of Russia.<br /><br />We’ll look at his rise to power, some of the accusations about what it took to get there, the key decisions that have defined his 25-year rule, and question how history will remember his legacy.<br /><br />• Vladimir Putin’s early life and rise to power<br />• Siege of Leningrad during World War Two<br />• Putin’s upbringing in poverty and street life<br />• Putin’s early interest in the KGB<br />• Putin’s political career and rise in St Petersburg<br />• Connections and corruption allegations in early political life<br />• Putin becomes Russia’s Prime Minister in 1999<br />• Controversy surrounding the 1999 apartment bombings<br />• Consolidation of power and suppression of opposition<br />• Putin’s use of poison to eliminate opponents<br /><br />Transcript : <a href="https://bit.ly/ELFCMPutin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://bit.ly/ELFCMPutin</a><br /><br />English Learning for Curios Minds website :  <a href="https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/putin-modern-tsar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.leonardoenglish.com</a>