Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (Russian: Дмитрий Серге́евич Песков (born October 17, 1967) is a Russian diplomat, and since 2012 the press spokesman for the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

Early life and education

Peskov was born in Moscow in 1967. His father, Sergey, headed the Soviet diplomatic mission in Pakistan.

In 1989 he graduated from the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University specializing in history and Eastern studies. In the same year he joined the Soviet Foreign Ministry.

Career

Over the course of ten years, Peskov rose through the ranks to become the first secretary of the Russian embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

In 2000 he returned to Russia to work at the press service of the Russian President, serving a number of positions, including a four-year term as first deputy press secretary of the Russian president from 2004 to 2008. He has served as Putin’s spokesperson since April 2000.

Dmitry Peskov was named as Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov's press secretary on 25 April 2008, putting him in place to lead Vladimir Putin's press operations when he moved to the job of Prime Minister under Dmitry Medvedev's presidency. In May 2012, when Putin again became President, Peskov succeeded Natalya Timakova as the presidential spokesperson.