Vladimir Putin was sworn in on Monday for a fourth term as Russian president.
Standing in the ornately-decorated Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, with his hand on a gold-embossed copy of the constitution, Putin swore to serve the Russian people, to safeguard rights and freedoms, and protect Russian sovereignty.
"I consider it my duty and my life's aim to do everything possible for Russia, for its present and for its future," Putin said.
"I strongly feel conscious of my colossal responsibility," Putin said at the ceremony before thanking Russians for their "sincere support" and "cohesiveness".
"We have revived pride in our fatherland," Putin said.
"As head of state I will do all I can to multiply the strength and prosperity of Russia."
Putin, in power since 1999, was predictably re-elected in Russia's March presidential election with 76.7 percent of the vote – a race he competed in with no serious challengers.
His most dangerous opponent, Alexei Navalny, was barred from running and on Saturday Navalny and hundreds of his supporters were detained by police while protesting over Putin’s new term under the slogan: “Putin is not our tsar.”
In a speech after the swearing-in ceremony, Putin said that in the next six years Russia would prove a strong, muscular player on the world stage, backed by a powerful military, while pushing hard to improve life for its citizens at home.
"Now, we must use all existing possibilities, first of all for resolving internal urgent tasks of development, for economic and technological breakthroughs, for raising competitiveness in those spheres that determine the future," he said.
"A new quality of life, well-being, security and people's health — that's what's primary today," he added.
For the short journey from his office to the inauguration ceremony, Putin traveled in a new Russian-made limousine. From now on, the limousine will replace the fleet of imported vehicles Putin uses, state television reported.
Soon after, Putin put forward Dmitry Medvedev for the post of prime minister, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.
Medvedev, who had been prime minister since 2012, resigned earlier on Monday along with the rest of the government in line with procedure. Putin was on Monday sworn in for a fourth term.
His candidacy still has to be approved by the State Duma, or the lower house of parliament.
Foreign diplomats see little prospect that Russia’s standoffs with the West that have dominated the past four years will ease during Putin’s new term.
Clashes in the past few weeks over US sanctions on Russia, the conflict in Syria, and the poisoning in England of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal have left some diplomats worried that the confrontation could spiral out of control.
Opinion polls show Putin has high levels of support among Russian citizens, and Navalny has not been able to inspire a nationwide upsurge of protests.
But the Russian economy is a potential weakness for Putin.
Buffeted by lower oil prices, falls in the rouble, inflation and the impact of sanctions, average monthly wages have fallen from the equivalent of $867 in 2013 to $553 last year.
Russia’s economy, the world’s eleventh largest, returned to growth of 1.5 percent last year, helped by a recovery in oil prices. But that fell short of the government’s 2 percent target and was far from the 8.5 percent growth achieved in 2007, the highest level achieved during Putin’s rule.
Officials and analysts say bold policies with the best chance of reviving growth have been mired in disagreements among Putin’s policy-makers.
