The Fourth

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

as the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

took place on Monday, 7 May 2018, in the Hall of the Order of St. Andrew of the

Grand Kremlin Palace The Grand Kremlin Palace (russian: Большой Кремлёвский дворец - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovit ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The inauguration marked the commencement of the new six-year term of Vladimir Putin as President of Russia. The presidential oath of office was administered to Putin by Chairman of the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

Valery Zorkin Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin (russian: Вале́рий Дми́триевич Зо́рькин) is the first and the current Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Zorkin was born on 18 February 1943 in Konstantinovka, ...

. In addition, in the Presidium of the ceremony, according to tradition, was the leaders of the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

Chairwoman of the Federation Council The Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (russian: Председатель Совета Федерации Федерального собрания Российской Федерации), also c ...

Valentina Matvienko Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (russian: Валентина Ивановна Матвиенко, p=vəlʲɪnˈtʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə mətvʲɪˈjɛnkə, ukr, Валентина Іванівна Матвієнко; née Tyutina (Тютина; , ...

and

Chairman of the State Duma The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (russian: Председатель Государственной Думы Федерального собрания Российской Федерации), also c ...

Vyacheslav Volodin Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin (russian: Вячеслав Викторович Володин; born 4 February 1964) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the 10th Chairman of the State Duma (since 5 October 2016). He is a former ai ...

Background

Presidential election were held on 18 March 2018. Eight candidates participated in the election. Vladimir Putin won the election in the first round, gaining more than 76% of the votes. Vladimir Putin, who was elected as President in 2012, was eligible to run, which he declared his intent to do so on 6 December 2017, being widely expected to win. This came following several months of speculation, throughout the second half of 2017, as although he was widely expected to run for another term, Putin made evasive comments including that he had still not decided whether he would like to "step down" from the post of president, that he would "think about running", and that he "hadn't yet decided whether to run for another term". Different sources predicted that he would run as an independent to capitalize more support from the population, and although he could also have been nominated by the

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Russian conservative political party. As the largest party in Russia, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the State Duma , havin ...

party as in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Putin chose to run as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Planning

Place of the ceremony

On 19 April it became known that Vladimir Putin was offered two options for the inauguration ceremony. The first, the traditional option, was to hold the event as before in the

. The second option assumed that for the first time in history the inauguration would take place outdoors on one of the Central squares of

. In particular, it was proposed to hold a ceremony on

Ivanovskaya Square Ivanovskaya Square (russian: Ивановская площадь) is the largest Kremlin square. Its name comes from the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. In the 16th and 17th centuries, many government bodies were situated in the Ivanovskaya Square. It ...

, which is located inside the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

, or on

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

. However, according to the presidential press secretary

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.1996 inauguration of Boris Yeltsin. Then it was supposed to hold a ceremony on Cathedral Square, but then this idea was abandoned in order to save money, and the ceremony was held in the

State Kremlin Palace The State Kremlin Palace (russian: Государственный Кремлёвский Дворец), formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (Кремлёвский Дворец съездов), is a ...

Presidential car

The inauguration used the publicly presented at first time new Russian-made "

Aurus Senat The Aurus Senat (russian: Сенат) is a luxury full-size sedan by Russian automaker Aurus Motors and developed by NAMI in Moscow, Russia. The armoured limousine is powered by a 4.4 litre V8 engine developed by NAMI, with a 6.6 litre V12 (6 ...

" limousine, instead of the current Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard Pullman. Although, before the inauguration, it was reported that this car will not be used during the ceremony, as did not like the Director of the ceremony. Instead, it was supposed to use the old Mercedes Pullman.

Pre-inaugural events

Presentation of the certificate of the President of Russia

Vladimir Putin with Ella Pamfilova 2018-04-03

On 3 April 2018, the Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission

Ella Pamfilova Ella Aleksandrovna Pamfilova (; born 12 September 1953) is a Russian politician, former deputy of the State Duma, candidate for president in 2000 and former chairman (2004 - 2010) of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. O ...

handed Vladimir Putin the certificate of the President of Russia for the next term. Presenting the certificate in early April, Ella Pamfilova violated the tradition by which the certificate was always handed when the President took office (not earlier than 6 May). In addition, Pamfilova also congratulated Putin on a confident victory. The President-elect responded by thanking her and her colleagues who worked during the election campaign. He noted that it was a great national work, very important for the country, it was carried out at the highest technical and organizational level. And these elections were the most transparent and clean in the history of the country.

Inaugural events

Ceremony

The ceremony began at a quarter to 12 Moscow time, when in St Andrew's hall was made a

Russian Flag The national flag of Russia (russian: Флаг России, Flag Rossii), also known as the ''State Flag of the Russian Federation'' (russian: Государственный флаг Российской Федерации, Gosudarstvenny fla ...

and the Presidential Standard. Following them, the

chain of office A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. One of the oldest and best-known livery collars is the C ...

and a special copy of the Russian Constitution were introduced. After the introduction of the Flag and Symbols of the President, the Chairwoman of the Federation Council

, Chairman of the state Duma

and Chairman of the constitutional Court

were invited to the stage. At that time, Vladimir Putin left his office in the

Kremlin Senate The Kremlin Senate (The Senate Palace, russian: Сенатский дворец) is a building within the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. Initially constructed from 1776 to 1787, it originally housed the Moscow branch of the Governing S ...

and went to the

. When moving, the Cortege automobile was first used. At noon Vladimir Putin arrived at The Grand Kremlin Palace, where he went through the Alexander and St. George Halls and climbed the stage in the St. Andrew's Hall. After Vladimir Putin took the stage, Chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin urged Putin to take the oath. According to Article 82 of the Russian Constitution, Vladimir Putin took the oath to the people of Russia in the presence of Federation Council members, members of the State Duma and judges of the Russian Constitutional Court. Vladimir Putin took the oath of office, traditionally with his right hand on the Constitution. After Putin took the oath, Zorkin said that Vladimir Putin had officially taken office as President of Russia. After the swearing-in, orchestra performed

Anthem of Russia The "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" is the national anthem of Russia. It uses the same melody as the "State Anthem of the Soviet Union", composed by Alexander Alexandrov, and new lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov, who had collaborated with ...

, the presidential standard rose above the Senate Palace and Putin received the traditional 30-gun salute in his honor.

Inaugural address

Vladimir Putin then delivered his 12-minute inaugural address of 1,246 words. This speech was the longest in history, the previous record was the inaugural speech of

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

in 1991, that speech consisted of 748 words. In his speech, Vladimir Putin thanked Russian citizens for the trust and support they had given him in the election. Putin spoke about the tasks that need to be solved, as they will determine the fate of Russia for decades to come. Also, Putin called the priority tasks of the state, namely improving the quality of education and health care, as well as the protection of motherhood and childhood. In his speech, Putin told about plans for a new term, he promised to do everything to increase the strength, prosperity and glory of Russia. In the speech, Putin noted that for more than thousand years of history, Russia has repeatedly faced periods of turmoil and trials, comparing Russia with the Phoenix: "For more than a thousand years the history of Russia repeatedly faced periods of turmoil and trials and always, always reborn, like a Phoenix, has reached such heights that others had not, were considered inaccessible, and for our country, on the contrary, become a new springboard, a new historic milestone for the future, a strong push forward."

Parade

After the main part of the inauguration ceremony, Vladimir Putin went to Cathedral square, where he conducted a review of the troops of the

Kremlin Regiment The Kremlin Regiment (russian: Кремлёвский полк, Kremlyovskiy polk), also called the Presidential Regiment (russian: Президентский полк, Prezidentskiy polk), is a unique military regiment and part of the Russian F ...

. The review of troops will mark the inauguration of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Russia. During the parade, Putin congratulated the regiment on the 82nd anniversary, as on the same day, 7 May, the regiment celebrates the anniversary of its foundation. After the parade, Vladimir Putin spoke with volunteers and representatives of youth organisations who were invited to the inauguration.

Post-ceremony events

Prayer service

After the inauguration ceremony, Putin went to the Cathedral of the Annunciation, at the entrance to which

Patriarch Kirill Kirill or Cyril (russian: link=Russian, Кирилл, chu, , secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, russian: link=no, Владимир Михайлович Гундяев; born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became ...

was waiting for him. They went inside together for worship. The prayer contains a request that God give entrants the President the strength and wisdom to run the country, creating it the world and a good organization. At the end of the prayer, Patriarch Kirill read a prayer that always sounds at this service. After that, the Patriarch addressed Putin on behalf of the clergy, monastics and faithful. He noted that all these people supported Putin, seeing him as a leader, not only successfully managing the state, but also a person devoted to the Fatherland, for which the spiritual tradition is his own tradition, for which both material and spiritual well-being of people is the task of fulfilling the presidential term." The Patriarch wished the President good health and strength to fulfil all the promises made in his inaugural speech.

Guests

The ceremony was attended by about five thousand guests. In particular, in addition to the Judges of the Constitutional Court and Members of the Federal Assembly, whose presence at the inauguration is required by the Constitution, volunteers and employees of the election headquarters of Vladimir Putin also was attend the ceremony. Along with this, according to tradition, the ceremony was attended by the governors of the

Federal subjects The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...

, religious leaders and other senior Russian politicians, in particular former

Mayor of Moscow The Mayor of Moscow (russian: Мэр Москвы, Mer Moskvy) is the head and the highest-ranking official of Moscow, who leads the Government of Moscow, the main executive body of the city. Moscow is both a city and separate federal subje ...

Yury Luzhkov Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov ( rus, Ю́рий Миха́йлович Лужко́в, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ lʊˈʂkof; 21 September 1936 – 10 December 2019) was a Russian politician who served as mayor of Moscow from 1992 to 2010 ...

and former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Naina Yeltsina Anastasia "Naina" Iosifovna Yeltsina (russian: link=no, Анастасия "Наина" Иосифовна Ельцина, , ; born 14 March 1932) is the widow of the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. Early life and education Naina Yel ...

. According to tradition, outstanding figures of art, science and sports will attend the inauguration. For example, the musician

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (russian: link=no, Юрий Абрамович Башмет; born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of A ...

, hockey player

Ilya Kovalchuk Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian former professional ice hockey winger. He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montrea ...

, actor

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, former Prime Minister

Viktor Zubkov Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov ( rus, Ви́ктор Алексе́евич Зубко́в, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ zʊpˈkof; born 15 September 1941) is a Russian civil servant, politician and businessman who served as the 36th Pr ...

, Director General of

Gazprom Neft Gazprom Neft (russian: Газпром Нефть; formerly Sibneft, russian: Сибнефть, link=no), is the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about ...

Alexander Dyukov. In addition, the ceremony was attended by former Federal Chancellor of Germany

Gerhard Schroeder Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–19 ...

International response

A number of foreign leaders congratulated President Vladimir Putin upon his assumption of office: *

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

President of the People's Republic of China The president of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the president of China, is the head of state and the second-highest political office of the People's Republic of China. The presidency is constitutionally a largely ceremonial off ...

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Vučić serve ...

President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The curr ...

* Ilham Aliyev,

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", ...

* Igor Dodon,

President of Moldova The President of the Republic of Moldova () is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu, who assumed office on 24 December 2020. Duties and functions The office of the presidency in Moldova is largely ceremonial, ...

Anatoly Bibilov Anatoly Ilyich Bibilov ( os, Бибылты Ильяйы фырт Анатолий, Bibylty Iljajy fyrt Anatolij; , russian: Анато́лий Ильи́ч Биби́лов; born 6 February 1970) is a Russian and South Ossetian military office ...

President of South Ossetia The president of the Republic of South Ossetia ( os, Хуссар Ирыстоны президент, russian: Президент Южной Осетии) is the ''de facto'' head of state of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia ...

Raul Khajimba Raul Jumkovich Khajimba ( ab, Рауль Џьумка-иҧа Ҳаџьымба, ka, რაულ ჯუმკას-ძე ჰაჯიმბა; born 21 March 1958) is an Abkhazian politician, and served as President of Abkhazia from 25 September ...

President of Abkhazia The position of president of Abkhazia was created in 1994. Before the office of president was created the head of state position was known as the chairman of Parliament between 1992 and the creation of the 1994 constitution. Before the position ...

Viewership

The broadcast of the inauguration ceremony was watched by more than 5.8 million Russians, according to research company Mediascope. The event was broadcast by five television channels: First Channel,

Russia 1 Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...

Russia 24 Russia-24 (russian: Россия-24) is a state-owned Russian-language news channel from Russia. It covers major national and international events as well as focuses on domestic issues. It is owned by VGTRK. History The broadcast began January 1 ...

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televis ...

, World and PTR.

External links

Vladimir Putin has been sworn in as President of Russia

References

{{Russian presidential inaugurations 2018 in Moscow May 2018 events in Russia Putin 4 Events in Moscow Ceremonies in Russia Vladimir Putin