Putin sworn in for third term as Russia’s president

MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin has been sworn in as Russia’s president in a glittering Kremlin ceremony on Monday, starting a six-year term in which he faces growing dissent, economic problems and bitter political rivalries.

The former KGB spy took his oath on Monday before nearly 2,000 guests in the Kremlin’s St Andrew Hall, the former throne room with sparkling chandeliers, gilded pillars and high Gothic vaults.

Placing his hand on a copy of the constitution, he swore to “respect and protect the rights and freedoms of the people” and defend Russia’s security as he officially took over from outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin was blessed by Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill before he delivered a brief speech at the inaugural hall.

“I will do all I can to justify the faith of millions of our citizens. I consider it to be the meaning of my whole life and my obligation to serve my fatherland and our people,” he said.

Putin will go on to inspect the Kremlin presidential guard and host a lavish reception featuring only Russian food and drink.

Putin is returning with his authority weakened by months of protests that have polarised Russia and left him facing a battle to re-assert himself or risk being sidelined by the powerful business and political elites whose backing is vital.

In the latest mass protests on Sunday, police detained more than 400 people, including three opposition leaders, after tensions increased at a rally attended by about 20,000 people across the Moscow river from the Kremlin.

Police hit protesters with batons as they tried to stop demonstrators advancing towards them, carrying metal crowd barriers and throwing objects. The crowd fought back with flagpoles before the police eventually restored order.

Those arrested on Sunday included Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption activist, liberal leader Boris Nemtsov and ultra-left wing leader Sergei Udaltsov.

The protesters marched shouting “enough lies” while helmeted police, using batons, beat back dozens of mostly young protesters at the event across the river from the Kremlin.

The turnout appeared smaller than most of the winter’s unprecedented wave of protests, some of which attracted crowds estimated at 100,000 or more.

National parliamentary elections were marred by fraud, but Putin won the vote easily and another round in March, returning to the Kremlin seat he held from 2000 to 2008.

Some of the demonstrators acknowledged that Putin’s election win and his inauguration had been a blow to morale.

A few kilometres across Moscow, several thousand people staged a rally supporting Putin, seen by his backers as the only leader capable of defending Russia’s interests on the world stage and the guardian of the economy at home.