 MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin took the oath of office Monday for his fourth term as Russian president, promising to pursue an economic agenda that would boost living standards across the country.
In a ceremony in an ornate Kremlin hall in Moscow, Putin said improving Russia's economy following a recession partly linked to international sanctions would be a primary goal of his next six-year term.
"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 told thousands of guests standing in the elaborate Andreevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace and two adjacent halls.
"A new quality of life, well-being, security and people's health — that's what's primary today," the 65-year-old leader said.
Although Putin has restored Russia's prominence on the world stage through military actions — including intervening in Syria's war to help President Bashar Assad — he has been criticized for inadequate efforts to diversify Russia's economy away from its dependence on oil and gas exports or develop the country's manufacturing sector.
Russia's economy was hit hard by low world oil prices and sanctions connected to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and military involvement in the separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine, with the ruble losing half its value between 2014 and 2016.
The country recorded an anemic improvement in 2017, with gross domestic product rising 1.5 percent and the ruble recovering some of its value.
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