PUTIN SWORN IN FOR 6 MORE YEARS
Russian president starts fourth term by nominating Medvedev as PM
VLADIMIR Putin was sworn in for another six years as Russian president yesterday, buoyed by popular support, but weighed down too by a costly confrontation with the West, a fragile economy and uncertainty about what happens when his term ends.
Standing in the ornately-decorated Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, with his hand on a gold-embossed copy of the constitution, Putin swore to serve the Russian people, to safeguard rights and freedoms, and protect Russian sovereignty.
His inauguration for a fourth term as Russian president came two months after more than 70 per cent of voters backed him in an election in which he had no serious challengers.
In a speech after the swearingin ceremony, Putin said in the next six years, Russia would prove to be a strong, muscular player on the world stage, backed by a powerful military, while pushing hard to improve life for its citizens at home.
For the short journey from his office to the inauguration ceremony, Putin travelled in a new Russian-made limousine.
The limousine would replace the fleet of imported vehicles Putin used, state television reported.
He yesterday asked parliament to back a new mandate for outgoing prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, his longtime ally.
“Putin submitted Dmitry Medvedev’s candidacy to receive the agreement of the State Duma to appoint him prime minister,” the Kremlin said in a statement shortly after Putin was inaugurated.