![](images/putinblofeld.jpg" title="Vladimir Putin" valign=top style=)
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. 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 him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances..., in a news conference Monday said that the country would not be "intimidated" by anyone, the Daily Star reported.
Following the presidential elections in Russia, Putin hailed a victory that paves the way for the former spy to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years.
All of the 71-year-old's main opponents, according to AFP, are either dead, imprisoned or exiled, while he has overseen an unremitting crackdown on anyone who openly criticises his authority or his military offensive on Ukraine.
Early Monday, in a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow hours after polls closed, Putin said: "I want to thank all of you and all citizens of the country for your support and this trust.
"No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness — no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never."
Putin received 87.2% of the total votes cast, according to official election data, with more than 80% of polling places.