Putin Sworn in for Fourth Term as Russian President
Keeps Medvedev as PM
Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia’s president for a fourth term on Monday, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years at a time of high tension with his Western rivals, according to Agence France-Presse.
The 65-year-old, in power since 1999, is on course to become the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin after his victory in March elections.
Putin won nearly 77 percent of the vote in polls in which his most vocal opponent, Alexei Navalny, was banned from running.
He has promised to use his fourth term to revitalise the country’s economy. But he also faces a host of thorny international disputes.
“I consider it my duty and my life’s aim to do everything possible for Russia, for its present and for its future,” Putin said at Monday’s swearing-in ceremony, with his hand on the Russian constitution.
Several thousand guests lined the red carpet and filmed Putin on their smartphones as he arrived for the ceremony in the ornate Andreyev Hall, part of the Kremlin palace complex.
Among them were US action star Steven Seagal, who has taken Russian citizenship, as well as former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Naina Yeltsina, the widow of Putin’s late predecessor Boris Yeltsin.
Putin was driven to the inauguration in a black Russianmade limousine -- a change from previous ceremonies when he used a German Mercedes.
“I feel strongly conscious of my colossal responsibility,” he said, thanking Russians for their “sincere support” and “cohesiveness”.
“We have revived pride in our fatherland,” Putin said. “As head of state I will do all I can to multiply the strength, prosperity and fame of Russia.”
Shortly after the ceremony, Putin asked parliament to back a new mandate for outgoing prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, his longtime ally.
Medvedev, a loyal Putin lieutenant, has held the job since 2012.
Some Kremlin-watchers, according to Reuters, had speculated Putin might bring in a fresh face as prime minister to kick-start reforms of the sluggish economy and revive foreign investment curtailed by stand-offs with the West.