President Putin sworn in for historic fifth term

After securing a new six-year term at rubber-stamp presidential elections in March Putin will overtake Stalin as Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Catherine the Great if he sees out this fifth term. Under Russia’s constitution, which was rewritten in 2020 to extend his term limits, he can remain president until at least May 2036, when he will be 83. With his return to the presidency in 2012 after four years as prime minister, Putin began to think of himself as indispensable, Fiona Hill, a former White House expert on Russia, said. Read the best of our journalism: Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: Find us on Facebook: Find us on Twitter: Find us on Instagram: #russia #putin #kremlin #moscow