(NEWSnet/AP) – Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office.

At the ceremony inside the Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the Russian Constitution and vowed to defend it. The Russian leader was greeted with applause when he entered the hall with more than 2,500 people who, his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, had been invited to the ceremony. 

“We are a united and great people and together we will overcome all obstacles, realize all our plans, together we will win,” Putin said after being sworn in. Russia's presidential election took place in March.

Since succeeding President Boris Yeltsin in late  1999, Putin has transformed Russia from a country emerging from economic collapse to a pariah state that threatens global security. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, Russia has been heavily sanctioned by the West and is turning to other regimes like China, Iran and North Korea for support.

At home, Putin's popularity is closely tied to improving living standards for ordinary Russians.

Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin’s new term doesn’t expire until 2030, when he will be constitutionally eligible to run again.

The heavily choreographed performance included Putin pictured in his office looking at his papers before walking along the Kremlin’s long corridors, pausing at one point to look at a painting, on the way to his inauguration.

His guard of honor waited in the sleet and rain for hours, in temperatures hovering just above freezing, while Putin made the brief journey to the Grand Kremlin Palace in his Auras limousine.

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