Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a new six-year term as Russia’s President today at a ceremony inside the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin’s new term doesn’t expire until 2030, when he will be constitutionally eligible to run again.

Putin in March this year had won a landslide victory in a tightly controlled election. Since succeeding President Boris Yeltsin in the waning hours of 1999, Putin has transformed Russia from a country emerging from economic collapse to a major player in the global stage.

Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, Russia has been heavily sanctioned by the West and is turning to other regimes like China, Iran and North Korea for support.