Putin to run for presidency in 2012
Vladimir Putin has said he will run for Russia's presidency in 2012, almost certainly ensuring a return to the office he previously held and foreshadowing years more of a strongman rule that many in the West have called a retreat from democracy.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, who is likely to win a third presidential term on Sunday, revealed on Friday that he might run for president for a fourth time in 2018, making him Russia's paramount leader for 24 years.