Vladimir Putin (22 images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves after a presentation to the International Olympic Committee of the country's bid to elect Sochi as the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, during the IOC's meeting in Guatemala City on July 4, 2007. Sochi is running against Austrian, Salzburg and Pyeongchang, South Korea. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, visit Father Frost's palace in the ancient Russian town of Veliky Ustyug, in the Vologda region, about 300 miles (500 km) north of Moscow on January 7, 2008. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches aircrafts perform during MAKS-2007 international air show in Zhukovsky military airfield outside of Moscow on August 21, 2007. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin wave for media during a departure ceremony for Putin in Tehran, Iran on October 16, 2007. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah).