Currently serving his third term as the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin is the most controversial man on the planet. Throughout the past decade of his regime, he has successfully transformed Russia and increased national GDP by 72%. From a saviour to a dogmatic political madman, the world views him under so many different lights. Regardless of what type of a person the Russian leader is, with his control over the world’s strongest nuclear arsenal, he is the most powerful person alive.

We have prepared 15 of the creepiest and most disturbing facts about him. Is Putin a friendly internet meme or a dangerous dictator? We will let you decide.

15. Humiliation of the German Chancellor

Putin doesn’t like the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel (who is now also the de facto leader of the UN), and he isn’t shy about it. The Russian leader keeps a number of dogs as pets and it has been claimed that in 2007, he strategically used one to scare Merkel during their meeting. Perhaps Putin knew of the Chancellor’s phobia of his massive four legged friends and used them as a diplomatic device. Who knows! Nevertheless, it surely did raise a few eyebrows when an extremely frightened Merkel commented “…the dog is going to eat the journalists.” Humiliating the most powerful woman in Europe and also decriminalizing domestic violence as of late? We can all join the dots here.

14. Ended his 30 Year Marriage After Multiple Affairs

Behind this successful man is an abandoned wife and multiple affairs. Putin allegedly announced his divorce during an interval at a ballet. Divorcing his wife is one thing, but announcing it to the public in a half-arsed manner is another. As he was approached by unsuspecting journalists leaving the performance, they asked him why he and his wife, Lyudmila, rarely appeared in public. His response? Something along the lines of “Oh, I divorced her. Did I not tell you?” The Russian leader also allegedly had many infidelities. His list includes the infamous Russian spy Anna Chapman and Russian gymnast Alina Kabayeva. There are even rumours that he also dated Wendy Deng, the ex-wife of the American media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

13. Filled Russia with Alternative Truths

The Russian President surely wants you to know that the facts are very different in Russia. He has filled his country with Russian propaganda, giving every civilian and tourist a friendly reminder (or a tap on the shoulder) that everything the West says about Russia is utter bullshit. No, Russia isn’t 20 to 30 years behind the West in technology. No, the glorious Russian government isn’t corrupted. No, it is the filthy capitalist Americans who are trying to invade the glorious motherland. Everywhere you go in Russia, Putin will make sure that you know one thing – Russia is good, and the West is bad, very bad.

12. Turned a Blind Eye and Encouraged Corruption

Under Putin, corruption continues to thrive in Russia, and he has recklessly turned a blind eye from it. Despite its position in the global status quo, Russia embarrassingly ranked 131^th out of 176 countries in the 2016 Corruption Perception Index. Bribery is a severe issue as many locals have alleged that paying government officials in return for political favours is standard business practice. This was best demonstrated during the Sochi Olympics, where it was estimated that more than $20 billion was absorbed by Russian officials. So long as you are a part of the wealthy elite, you can pay your way in or out of anything. Some even argue that Putin strategically encouraged corruption by bringing his ex-KGB friends into the Kremlin.

11. Authoritarian Dictatorship and KGB Playground

Putin certainly can’t become an authoritarian leader without the support of his ex-KGB (now FSB) buddies. Since he first came to power in 2000, ex-KGB leaders have been introduced to the Kremlin. In 2003, it was estimated that three quarters of all senior statesmen have military or secret service backgrounds. Infiltrating every single department, this group now effectively controls all aspects of the Russian government.

Putin strengthened his grip on control by rigging the political system. He amended the Constitution to increase presidential terms to 6 years, cancelled regional elections, and exploited a legal loophole to run for a third and potentially fourth presidency. He was accused of election fraud in 2016, where he received a total of 1,478 votes in an area with only 1,389 eligible voters. That’s 89 imaginary voters.

10. Putinism

The Russian president has found his own political ideology – Putinism. Okay, perhaps it means little more than “Russia very good” and “Putin gets what Putin wants.” However, he is definitely very vocal about his beliefs. Our favourite quotes by Putin include:

“I have a feeling that I will get everything I want.”

“It’s like shearing a pig – lots of squeal but little wool.”

“Russia needs a strong state power and must have it.”

“You can swim any way you like in the Dead Sea, actually.”

“You must obey the law, not only when they grab you in your special place.”

Proactive statesman or playground bully? You decide.

9. Ruthless Destruction of Terrorists…and Hostages

Putin has a heavy hand towards terrorists (and alleged terrorists) and likewise no soft spot for innocent Russian hostages. In fact, he explicitly stated that, “Russia doesn’t negotiate with terrorist. It destroys them.” Indeed, he demonstrated in the 2002 Moscow Theatre Siege and the 2004 Beslan School Siege that Russia has a highly effective way of ensuring that all terrorists are killed…by wiping out everyone on site. More than 100 and 300 hostages died in these events, respectively. Alarmingly, in the 2002 event, the FSB released poison gas into the theatre without apprehending its impact upon civilians. Were any senior officials dismissed as a result of these tragedies? No silly, not in Russia.

8. Aggression on Neighbouring States

Publicly calling himself a “successful product of Soviet education”, Putin believes that Russia is only safe through controlling its neighbours as buffer states. Following this ideology ever since when he was the prime minister in 1999, Putin has launched a series of expansions. He started this aggression by invading Chechnya in 1999. Then, he invaded Georgia in 2008 and effectively obtained control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Most recently in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and pushed into Ukraine.

7. War Crimes and Trampling Upon Civilians

Reports have claimed that the Russian statesman had committed war crimes in Chechnya in a manner similar to those under Stalin’s USSR and Nazi Germany. They allegedly observed crowds of civilians being mercilessly mauled down by arrays of Russian tanks and artillery.

Undisciplined Russian soldiers attacked and robbed civilian homes and raped civilians. Whether these claims are substantiated is up to debate. Nonetheless, there is evidence to suggest that all Chechen males between the age 12 and 64 were sent away to Russian “filtration camps”. Fifteen years later in 2015, Putin also ordered an indiscriminate bombing campaign in Syria, which killed more than 1,000 civilians.

6. Macho Man Demi-God

Through using all kinds of propaganda (even memes), Putin has made himself a living demo-god in the eyes of Russians. A demi-god of what, specifically? The demi-god of undoubtable, limitless masculinity. Russia’s chauvinistic propaganda has moulded the President as the commander of all living creatures. He triumphs as the champion of the land, as he tracks polar bears, frees Asian leopards, and saves some television personnel from a Siberian tiger. He conquers the bottomless depths, by shooting down grey whales, catching the world’s biggest pike fish, and saves ancient artefacts from the bottom of the Black Sea. He even rules the high skies, as he soars in the sky following white cranes and putting out forest fires using a helicopter. Is there anything the topless Russian Hercules cannot achieve with his sheer strength? Don’t even get us started on his “12 Labours” and superhero identity.

5. War Against Free Press and Media

As clearly illustrated in the prosecution of the band Pussy Riot, freedom of speech is not sanctioned in Putin’s Russia. Oppression of the media is nothing new to the authoritarian state. As a matter of fact, when he first became president in 2000, he seized control of all television networks, radio networks and newspaper. Using any legal justification, he could find, he made them direct subjects of the Russian government. Ironically, the ultraconservative statesman also ventured into the world of social media. Rumour has it that the Kremlin employs an internet army to spread propaganda on various platforms and even to create glorious Putin memes.

4. Rise to Power through Atrocities

There are many questions surrounding how Putin came to power in the first place. Many investigators claim that Putin orchestrated the nightmarish event known as the 1999 Apartment Bombings. Witnesses have reported that two days prior to the incident, they saw FGB agents planting bomb-like objects near the site. Over 300 lives were taken by the incident, and more than 1000 others were injured. The tragedy made the Russian people lose confidence in the Yeltsin government. Putin announced vengeance on the Chechen terrorists and rode the public’s patriotic anger to winning his first presidential election.

3. Human Rights Not His Thing

As you can already tell, Putin isn’t the biggest supporter of human rights. Aside from restricting the freedom of speech and anti-homosexuality laws, he even enacted laws to specifically target human rights organisations. He labelled many not-for-profit organisations as “foreign organisations” and rigorously investigated their operations. There are also claims that the Kremlin deliberately exploited migrant workers, forcing them to build infrastructure for the Sochi Olympics without pay and in inhumane working conditions. Moreover, on numerous occasions, Russian police also performed “preventive raids” to arrest and detain immigrants. In Putin’s own words – “Russia does not need minorities. Minorities need Russia.”

2. Assassination of Journalists and Political Opponents

A number of sources have made the controversial allegations that Putin is responsible for numerous political assassinations. Specifically, they allege that a total of 34 journalists have been assassinated by Putin’s order since 2000. The most infamous of these is reporter, Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot after her exposure of Russian atrocities in the Second Chechen War. Another high profile was the assassination of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who investigated corruption inside of the Kremlin. More recently in 2015, Boris Nemtsov, the Russian bureaucrat who openly opposed Russian aggression in the Ukraine was also murdered. Others on this list include ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, and activist Natalya Estemirova. If these allegations are true, then Putin wants to tell you a very clear message – there can be no dissent in Russia.

1. Resurrect the Soviet Union

The boldest and most proactive of Putin’s traits is his open desire to revive the Soviet Union. He once declared to leaders of the Kremlin that “the breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest political tragedy of the 20^th Century.” Whether he genuinely yearns for Soviet glory or he’s only playing along as a populist, his actions surely speak louder than his words as he marched Russian military into ongoing conflicts in Eastern Europe. Wait, what did the Soviet Union do again? They committed countless Nazi-like war crimes in Germany, they were responsible for deaths in excess of 50 million, and they were also the main perpetuator of the Cold War. Ahh…That Soviet Union.

Sources: theguardian.com, time.com, therichest.com, mentalfloss.com, nationalreview.com