Russian President Vladimir Putin was yesterday sworn into office at a lavish ceremony at the Kremlin, embarking on a record-breaking fifth term with more power than ever before.
The 71-year-old Kremlin chief has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition.
The inauguration was broadcast live on most major Russian television channels from midday, when a luxury motorcade drove Putin to Moscow’s Grand Kremlin Palace.
Photo: AFP
After arriving, he walked through the palace corridors to the ornate Saint Andrew Hall, where he took the presidential oath and make a brief address to Russians.
Government officials and foreign diplomats in Moscow had been invited to the ceremony, but European nations including Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic signaled that they would not send representatives amid soured tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin’s 87 percent landslide victory in the presidential election was panned by most international observers, and dismissed as rigged by opposition and rights groups.
The inauguration came two days before Russia marks Victory Day on May 9, an event that has taken on renewed symbolism as Putin compares his offensive in Ukraine to Russia’s fight against Nazi Germany in World War II.
Authorities erected barriers throughout Moscow’s city center ahead of both events.
Putin began his six-year term emboldened by advances on the battlefield in Ukraine and sustained economic growth, despite a barrage of Western sanctions.
On the domestic front, he saw off a rebellion in June last year by paramilitary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — who later died in a plane crash — and in February his main political rival Alexei Navalny died in prison.
His victory in March means that he is likely to become the longest-serving ruler of Russia in a century, beating Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Russia’s army held off a much-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive last year, and it has since made gains on the front lines as Kyiv struggles with shortages of ammunition and troops.
However, as the conflict stretches into a third year without an obvious resolution and the economy teeters toward overheating, Putin faces significant challenges in his fifth term.
Inflation — a historic source of angst amongst the Russian population — remains persistent as Moscow adopts what analysts have called a “military Keynesianism,” pouring billions of resources into the war effort.
The Kremlin has also failed to quell fears it would announce a new round of unpopular mobilization in Putin’s new term, and discontent among the wives of men who have been drafted continues to simmer.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS