...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...has sent a congratulatory Fourth of July message to President B.O. and expressed confidence that their respective countries can work together on global issues including terror threats, according to news agencies.
"In his message of congratulations, the Russian President noted that, despite the differences between the two countries, Russian-American relations remain the most important factor of international stability and security," the Kremlin said in a statement, according to NBC.
The two countries, world powers and frequent rivals, have been at particular odds since the uprising in Ukraine that resulted in Russia last year annexing the country's eastern Crimea region and continuing to provide military support to government-opposition forces.