Vladimir Putin turns 63 this Wednesday - as good a reason as any to take stock of where Russia's President currently stands and what lies ahead of him.

But in a time when permission for air strikes is granted within hours, we thought we'd better play it safe. So here, to mark the occasion, is a risk-free account of the presidential life so far, consisting entirely of quotes from Putin's official biography on the Kremlin's website.

Oh, and some GIFs.

Vladimir Putin was born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad. “I come from an ordinary family, and this is how I lived for a long time, nearly my whole life. I lived as an average, normal person and I have always maintained that connection."

His mother did not approve of his decision to do judo. "Every time I went to a practice session, she would grumble, ‘He’s off to his fights again.’” Things changed after Vladimir Putin’s coach visited his home and told his parents about what he did and what he achieved; the family’s attitude toward this sport changed.

His teacher, Vera Gurevich, recalls, “In the fifth grade, he still hadn’t found himself yet, but I could feel the potential, the energy and the character in him. (...) I thought, something good will come of this boy, so I decided to give him more attention, to distract him from the boys on the streets.”

Until the sixth grade, Vladimir Putin was not very interested in studying (...), but Vladimir Putin himself radically changed his attitude toward his studies when he was in the sixth grade. Mr Putin notes, “Other priorities were emerging."

“When I began studying at the university, new goals and new values emerged. I mainly focused on studies, and began seeing sports as secondary. But, of course, I trained on a regular basis and participated in nation-wide competitions, almost out of habit.”

After graduating from Leningrad State University, Putin was assigned to work in the Federal Security Agency. “My perception of the KGB was based on the idealistic stories I heard about intelligence.”

In 1985-1990, Vladimir Putin worked in East Germany. He served at the local intelligence office in Dresden. (...) “My work was going well. It was a normal thing to be promoted just once while working abroad. I was promoted twice.”

Starting in June 1991, Putin began work as Chairman of the Committee for International Relations at the St. Petersburg City Hall, and from 1994, concurrently held the position of Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg City Government.

After starting work at the City Hall, Putin resigned from the KGB.

In 1996, Vladimir Putin moved with his family to Moscow, where he was offered the post of Deputy Chief of the Presidential Property Management Directorate. “I would not say that I did not like Moscow, but simply that I liked St. Petersburg more."

In August 1999, Putin was appointed Prime Minister of the Russian Government. The post was offered to him by then-President Boris Yeltsin. (...) “I thought then, if I can get through a year that will already be a good start. If I can do something to help save Russia from falling apart then this would be something to be proud of.”

Shortly before the New Year of 2000 rolled in, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin proposed that Vladimir Putin become Acting President. (...)

“Fate was offering me the chance to work for the country at the very highest level and it would have been foolish to say, no, I’m going to go and sell sunflower seeds instead, or go into private legal practice. I could do all those other things later (...)."