The full name of Putin’s dog Konni is Connie Paulgrave, and rumor has it that she was named after the former U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. Putin is quite fond of his dog, and is seen quite often with her in public, even taking the dog to meetings with staff or world leaders visiting Russia. During such meetings, his dog likes to enjoy the snacks that some journalists often share, and once when she wasn’t invited to a meeting, she made her way to the room and ate all the biscuits and jellied desserts meant for the dignitaries.
Putin has also used his dog politically, once bragging to George W. Bush that Konni is bigger and meaner than his dogs. He even took his dog to a meeting with German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who has a fear of dogs because she was severely bitten by one when she was young.(source)
12 In 2010, Putin took a test drive of a Renault Formula One car a racing track in Leningrad. He reached the maximum speed of 240 km per hour.
In one of his displays of machismo, Putin drove a bright yellow Renault Formula One car while wearing a helmet with Russian flag and Russia’s national symbol, a double-headed eagle. It wasn’t his only display of vehicular expertise. He has also previously piloted a strategic bomber aircraft, drove four-wheeled Lada military jeeps and Harley-Davidson motorcycles with biker gangs.(source)
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13 Many of the people who have publicly criticized Vladimir Putin’s government have ended up in exile, under house arrest, in prison, or have died under mysterious or unexplainable circumstances.
A former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was recently poisoned by a lethal dose of radioactive polonium, with his tea spiked with it during a meeting with two former Russian security servicemen. He has said that the Russian Federal Security Service orchestrated a series of bombings in 1999 that left hundreds dead and led to Russia’s invasion of Chechnya a year later. It is the opinion of many Putin opponents that it isn’t a coincidence that critics of the leader and his government have been killed, exiled, under house arrest or put in jail, even though the Kremlin has denied those accusations.(source)
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14 Although no one knows for sure, it has been alleged that Putin has a huge personal wealth estimated to be a whopping $40 billion.
Though Putin has denied these claims, it is estimated that the lower approximation of his net worth is $40 billion, which still makes him one of the richest people on earth. In February 2015, a Russia’s former largest investor, Bill Browder, told the CNN that he believes Putin to be worth $200 billion. Whichever the case, even considering the lowest estimate, it’s quite a lot for someone whose salary is less than Obama’s.(source)
15 There is an all-female sect in Russian called Chapel of Russia’s Resurrection that believes Putin is the reincarnation of Paul the Apostle.
The sect founded in 2007 by Mother Fotina, believes that Putin was sent to Russia to prepare its people for the Second Coming of Christ. They also believe that he joined the seven other reborn apostles to fight the antichrists and that there are similarities between the careers of Putin and Paul. They claim to have a picture of Putin that appeared miraculously one day together traditional Russian Orthodox figures. He is also believed to be the reincarnation of Vladimir the Great and the first Russian leader to be worshiped while still alive.(source)
