Vladimir Putin

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**FILE** Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (left) and his wife, Lyudmila, leave a polling station in Moscow on March 4, 2012. Mr. Putin was running for his previous job of president. (Associated Press)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks at an award presentation ceremony for achievements in culture in Moscow, Saturday, March 3, 2012. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Yana Lapikova, Government Press Service)

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expressing certainty that he will return to the presidency of his country after Sunday's election. Mass rallies held in support of his candidacy include some in the crowds who feel forced to attend. (Associated Press)

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Vladimir Zhirinovsky, an ultraright nationalist, is one of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's three main foes in Sunday's presidential election. (Associated Press)

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Posters with a picture of Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, reading "Another 12 years? No, thank you!" lie on the pavement after an unsanctioned opposition rally Tuesday in downtown Moscow. Mr. Putin faces four rivals Sunday in a presidential election. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Vladimir Putin stalks the Tuva region of Siberia in this photo from August 2007. (Associated Press)

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Mikhail Prokhorov, a majority owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets, is one of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's three main foes in Sunday's presidential election. (Associated Press)

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Gennedy Zyuganov, the Communist Party leader, is Vladimir Putin's closest rival in Sunday's presidential election. (Associated Press)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addresses a rally in his campaign for president at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on Thursday. Tens of thousands marched along the Moscow River and then packed the stadium for the rally. Many appeared to be state employees who attended at the behest of their employers. (Associated Press)

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Russian protesters hold hands as part of a 10-mile-long human chain along the Garden Ring in Moscow during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, during a meeting with Canadian and Russian ice hockey stars and veterans at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. (Associated Press)

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In this image taken by a citizen journalist and provided by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, anti-Syrian-regime protesters hold a banner against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a demonstration in Dael village in Syria's Daraa province on Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria)

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Demonstrators in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, hold a poster depicting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a rally in support of Mr. Putin's candidacy for the presidency in the March 4 elections. The sign reads: "Will provide continuation of Russia's development!" (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)