Gerd Ludwig's recent National Geographic story, The Putin Generation, was published in the December issue of the US edition of the magazine and several of National Geographic's foreign language editions.

Young Russians in their mid twenties were barely 10 years old when Vladimir Putin became prime minister in 1999. By now a whole generation of young Russians has known nothing but his leadership. Their lives have been shaped by economic expansion, autocratic rule, social media and a revived sense of nationalism. They are children of his system, in Russian described as pokolenie Putina, the Putin Generation.

To see images from the story including some unpublished materials, click here.