Putin's Rise to Power
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A discussion about Vladimir Putin's surprising rise from an unremarkable early career to becoming Russia's leader.
"Up until 30, he basically had a very average life. There was nothing remarkable that would tell you this guy was about to become what Putin ended up becoming. There were little hints, little signs, but by and large he was a mediocre student, a low-level spy, not at the highest level.
He was a mid-level operative in Saint Petersburg, and when the guy he worked for lost an election, he was out of a job. He was actually going to go start a judo gym in Saint Petersburg because he was pretty good at it.
It's like if Dwight from The Office, who's just assistant to the regional manager in Scranton, somehow becomes Elon Musk. That's sort of what happened with Putin - mid-level officer to president."
[Note: Story combines Shaan Puri and Ben Wilson's telling of Putin's early career from the transcript]
Shaan Puri
Host of MFM
Shaan Puri is the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Milk Road. He previously worked at Twitch as a Senior Director of Product, Mobile Gaming, and Emerging Markets. He also attended Duke University.