Russia: Vladimir Putin Elected Leader of the All-Russia People's Front

Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

When it came time to elect a leader at Wednesday's conference of the All-Russia People's Front, there was no need for formalities: The ecstatic crowd was already chanting "Putin, Putin, Putin!"

"So are we going to vote? Are there any other nominees? Vladimir Vladimirovich, I congratulate and sympathize with you," said Stanislav Govorukhin, a famous film director and staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin.

Formally, Putin has not been a member of any political organization since the collapse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1991.

But now he is going to lead a completely different kind of organization — one that seeks to unite people across the ideological spectrum to build a better, more direct link with the country's leader and people of diverse occupations: engineers, teachers, veterans and pensioners.

"The goal of the People's Front is to give everyone a way to create, create a great country, a great Russia. And we are ready to work with everybody who shares our goals and values and who is ready to share common responsibility for the historic success of our Motherland," Putin said.

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