The president confirms that he will participate in the three-day presidential election to be held on March 17. Under current law, he could remain in office until 2036
Exclusive footage shows Vladimir Putin playing table tennis, fishing, throwing darts and feasting when the former KGB spy was a St Petersburg city official.
Anyone who has met Putin will tell you he has had more than one persona in his life and that indeed his rise to power involved trying on each one in turn
<p>The details of Vladimir Putin's personal and family life are surprisingly (and by design) difficult to pin down. A historian suggests that his grandfather was more powerful, and more influential on the future Russian leader's fortunes, than Putin's common man mythology suggests. </p>
<p>The details of Vladimir Putin's personal and family life are surprisingly (and by design) difficult to pin down. A historian suggests that his grandfather was more powerful, and more influential on the future Russian leader's fortunes, than Putin's common man mythology suggests. </p>