Vladimir Putin

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Russian protesters hold hands as part of a 10-mile-long human chain along the Garden Ring in Moscow during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, during a meeting with Canadian and Russian ice hockey stars and veterans at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. (Associated Press)

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In this image taken by a citizen journalist and provided by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, anti-Syrian-regime protesters hold a banner against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a demonstration in Dael village in Syria's Daraa province on Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria)

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Demonstrators in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, hold a poster depicting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a rally in support of Mr. Putin's candidacy for the presidency in the March 4 elections. The sign reads: "Will provide continuation of Russia's development!" (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is running for his former job as president, addresses a conference of the Union of Industrialists in Moscow on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets Feb. 1, 2012, with election monitors in Moscow. (Associated Press/RIA Novosti)

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A car decorated with white balloons is one of hundreds driving around Moscow's Garden Ring road during a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

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In anticipation of a new six-year term as president, Vladimir Putin has made forming a Eurasian Union by 2015 a foreign policy priority. (Associated Press)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wishes Russians a happy New Year during an interview in his residence of Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow, in Russia, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, pool)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appears on a national call-in TV show in Moscow on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Pool)

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Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets, announces his candidacy to run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for Russia's presidency on Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, in Moscow. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

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A protester with the words "no vote" covering her lips is one of more than 10,000 people at a St. Petersburg, Russia, rally Saturday after parliamentary elections that the throng claims were rigged to favor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's Russia United party. (Associated Press)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the United States of spending “hundreds of millions” of dollars to influence Russian politics. (Associated Press)

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Russian opposition members chant anti-government slogans during a rally in Moscow on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, to protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his party. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin looks on as he and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, unseen, meet with their supporters in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011.Russia's main independent election watchdog says prosecutors have opened a probe against the group suspecting it of breaking election laws just three days before the parliamentary vote.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks during a United Russia party congress in Moscow on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, at which he formally was nominated as the party's candidate for president in next March's election. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (right) and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (center) attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 11, 2011. (Associated Press/RIA Novosti)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tells an investment forum in Moscow on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, that Russia is strong enough to withstand economic shocks. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday accepts the United Russia party's nomination for president. If Mr. Putin wins the March 4 election — a near-certainty — he will be eligible to hold his steely command over Russia for two six-year terms. (Associated Press/Ria Novosti)