Claim: Vladimir Putin's birth place is an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.
Evidence: Born in Leningrad -LRB- now Saint Petersburg -RRB- , Putin studied German in high school and speaks the language fluently.
Saint Petersburg -LRB- -LSB- Санкт-Петербу ́рг , a = Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg , r = Sankt-Peterburg , p = ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk -RSB- -RRB- is Russia 's second-largest city after Moscow , with five million inhabitants in 2012 , and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.