Putin takes oath as Russian president for fourth term

MOSCOW, May 07 (Agencies): Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia's president for a fourth term at a ceremony in the Kremlin on Monday, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years.

"I consider it my duty and my life's aim to do everything possible for Russia, for its present and for its future," Putin said, with his hand on the Russian constitution. Putin, in power since 1999, was predictably re-elected in Russia's March presidential election with 76.7 per cent of the vote.

"I strongly feel conscious of my colossal responsibility," Putin said at the ceremony before thanking Russians for their "sincere support" and "cohesiveness".

"We have revived pride in our fatherland," Putin said.

"As head of state I will do all I can to multiply the strength and prosperity of Russia."

Earlier Russian state television showed Putin walking to his new Russian-made presidential limousine that drove him to the lavish ceremony.

Standing in the ornately-decorated Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, with his hand on a gold-embossed copy of the constitution, Putin swore to serve the Russian people, to safeguard rights and freedoms, and protect Russian sovereignty

Putin's inauguration for a fourth term as Russian president came two months after more than 70 per cent of voters backed him in an election in which he had no serious challengers.

His most dangerous opponent, Alexei Navalny, was barred from running and on Saturday Navalny and hundreds of his supporters were detained by police while protesting over Putin's new term under the slogan: "Putin is not our tsar."

In a speech after the swearing-in ceremony, Putin said that in the next six years Russia would prove a strong, muscular player on the world stage, backed by a powerful military, while pushing hard to improve life for its citizens at home.

"Taking up this post, I feel a colossal sense of responsibility," Putin told his audience of Russian officials and foreign dignitaries, among them former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

"The object of my life and my work will be to serve the people and the fatherland," he said.

For the short journey from his office to the inauguration ceremony, Putin travelled in a new Russian-made limousine. From now on, the limousine will replace the fleet of imported vehicles Putin uses, state television reported.

With Putin sworn in, immediate attention will turn to whom Putin will nominate as his prime minister. If he asks the current holder of the post, his loyal lieutenant Dmitry Medvedev, to stay on, that will signal continuity.

If he chooses someone new, that could presage a fresh approach on policy and will also trigger speculation that Putin is grooming a successor. Once this term ends in 2024, the constitution bars him from running again.

Foreign diplomats see little prospect that Russia's standoffs with the West that have dominated the past four years will ease during Putin's new term.

Clashes in the past few weeks over US sanctions on Russia, the conflict in Syria, and the poisoning in England of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal have left some diplomats worried that the confrontation could spiral out of control.