Putin writes of his father during the war,
{{quotebox-float|"he works in a military enterprise, where the so-called "armor" exempts from conscription. But he wrote a statement about joining the party, and then another statement - that he wanted to go to the front. They sent him to a sabotage detachment of the [[NKVD]]. It was a small detachment. He said that there were 28 people there, they were thrown into the near rear to carry out sabotage acts. Blowing up bridges, railway tracks... But they were ambushed almost immediately. Someone betrayed them. They came to one village, then left there, and when they returned after a while, the [[fascist]]s were already waiting for them there. They chased him through the woods, and he survived because he climbed into the swamp and sat in the swamp for several hours and breathed through the reeds.... he told me that a German was at the head of their group. At the same time, a Soviet citizen. But he's German....a couple of years ago, a file was brought to me from the archives of the Ministry of Defense on this group....List of groups, surnames, first names, patronymics and brief characteristics. Yes, 28 people. And led by a German. All as my father said. Of the 28 men, four crossed the front line back to ours. 24 died.<ref>https://ruspioner.ru/cool/m/single/4655</ref>}}
Putin is fluent in the German language and is widely recognized as a Germanphile and admirer of German culture.
According to a made-for-television documentary entitled, ''The second baptism of Rus'', Putin told a personal story how his mother had him secretly baptized in the Russian Orthodox church as his father, who was a member of the Communist Party organization in the factory where he worked, would have faced serious problems.<ref>https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2013/07/23/putin-christened-in-secret-from-his-father-a26057</ref> Putin was a [[judo]] champion in his youth.<ref>http://nypost.com/2013/11/13/vladimir-putin-is-tougher-than-chuck-norris/</ref> He was educated in law and economics at Leningrad State University before being assigned to work in the [[KGB]].<ref>[http://en.putin.kremlin.ru/ Webpage of Vladimir Putin]</ref> After five years in [[East Germany]], he took up various political positions before becoming [[prime minister]] in 1999.