Reining as Tsar, Valdimir Putin sworn in as the President of Russia for the fourth time

Moscow, May 7: Being in power for almost 18 years as President or Prime Minsiter, Valdimir Putin has been liked by the people of Russia. Owing to their likeness and support, Valdimir Putin on Monday has once again sworn in as the President for the fourth time renewing another six-year term in office.

Putin's fourth presidential term comes after he easily won the elections in March, receiving 76% of the votes. Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin came in second with 11.8 percent, followed by nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky with 5.6 percent.

Putin has spelled out a raft of domestic goals for his new term, including slashing Russia’s poverty rate, modernizing infrastructure, boosting health care and life expectancy, and a technological drive to transform the economy and improve living standards.

Amid the wide range of protest on Saturday where police detained some 1,600 people, including opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, at protests in dozens of cities where demonstrators came out to voice dismay at Putin's long rule and the prospect of six more years. People came out for protest under the slogan: ‘He is not our Tsar’.

The approach to the ceremony was less elaborate than in 2012, when opponents said his parade rode down deserted central streets while protesters were kept away underscored a gulf between Putin and the people.

Putin, who is 65, embarks on his fourth term in office buoyed by widespread popular support but weighed down by a costly confrontation with the West, a fragile economy and uncertainty about what happens when his term ends.

The Russian constitution bars him from running again when his new terms ends in 2024.