Putin Sworn-In For Fifth Six-Year Term As President

The Associated Press reports:

Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands. At the ceremony inside the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the Russian Constitution and vowed to defend it as a crowd of hand-picked dignitaries looked on.

Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin’s new term doesn’t expire until 2030, when he will be constitutionally eligible to run again. In a heavily choreographed performance, Putin was pictured in his office looking at his papers before walking along the Kremlin’s long corridors, pausing at one point to look at a painting, on the way to his inauguration.

Read the full article. US and most European diplomats boycotted the ceremony.

Vladimir Putin begins a fifth term as president of Russia in an opulent inauguration ceremony in the Kremlin. https://t.co/44fpJr9BPd

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 7, 2024