Vladimir Putin

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama, center, talk on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014 in Beijing. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Presidential Press Service)

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National Edition News cover for October 24, 2014 - Aggressive Putin puts U.S. on the defense: Russia Federation's President Vladimir Putin attends the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan, Italy, Friday, Oct. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

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Russian President, Vladimir Putin pumping gas.

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currency: Consumer goods prices and inflation are at all-time highs in Russia, but the country's citizens are hesitant to blame their lot on President Vladimir Putin. Some analysts say such unwillingness may be due to fear of state-sponsored persecution. (Associated Press)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a cabinet meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, Oct. 13, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of his country's troops who were posted near the Ukrainian border to return to their permanent bases. A Kremlin spokesman said Putin had ordered approximately 17,600 troops to return home from the southern region of Rostov. The withdrawal may be a sign of goodwill ahead of Putin's trip to Milan on Thursday, where he is set to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Union leaders.(AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the leaders of ex-Soviet states during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Putin lashed out at the European Union for “not considering it necessary to discuss the risks” of political and economic integration with post-Soviet countries. Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the European Union in September provoked complaints from the Kremlin that the deal would hurt Russia’s economy. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a terrestrial globe, with Russian territory colored pink, seemingly including Crimea, presented to him as a gift during his meeting with participants in the youth educational forum at the Seliger youth camp near Lake Seliger, Russia, in this August 2014 file photo. As world leaders gather at the U.N., during the week of Sept. 22, 2014, the U.S. and its European allies are consumed by efforts to blunt the savage advance of the Islamic State group, to end the raging Ebola epidemic and to make progress in nuclear negotiations with Iran. That’s likely just fine with Putin, since these issues distract from Russia’s presence in neighboring Ukraine. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Presidential Press Service, Mikhail Klimentyev, Pool, File)

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Despite popular support for a visa regime with former Soviet republics, Russian President Vladimir Putin has opposed such a move, saying "A visa regime would mean that we are pushing former Soviet republics away, but we need to bring them closer." (Associated Press)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov listens Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. Putin takes part in the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which brings together Russia, China and four former Soviet republics in Central Asia. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Mikhail Klementyev, Presidential Press Service)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (right) prior to a summit to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. "Putin's real plan is the destruction of Ukraine and the re-establishment of the USSR," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said. (Kazakh Presidential Press Service via Associated Press)

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President Obama traveled last year to Estonia, where he tried to reassure NATO members of the alliance's promise to defend against Russian aggression under President Vladimir Putin. (Associated Press)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with participants in the youth educational forum at the Seliger youth camp near Lake Seliger, some 450 kilometres (281 miles) northwest of Moscow, in Tver region, Russia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on pro-Russian separatists to release Ukrainian soldiers who have been surrounded by the rebels in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)