In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/16
In Pictures: Dazzle like Beckham
Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev (l.) and Russian President Vladimir Putin review honor guard during a welcome ceremony at Bishkek airport, Kyrgyzstan on Sept. 19, 2012. RIA/AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin (r.) and actor Steven Seagal (l.) visit a new sports arena on the territory of the Sambo-70 training sports complex in Moscow, March 13, 2013. /Aleksey Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Reuters
French actor Gerard Depardieu (l.) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin after his arrival late Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, at the president's residence in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Depardieu received a Russian passport after flying to Russia for a late night dinner with Putin. Mikhail Klimentyevo/RIA-Novosti/AP
Vladimir Putin carries a hunting rifle during his trip in Ubsunur Hollow in the Siberian Tyva region, on the border with Mongolia, Russia, in 2010. Putin has become alternately notorious and beloved for an array of adventurous stunts, including posing with a tiger cub and riding a horse bare-chested. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin waits in a motorized hang glider next to a Siberian white crane, on the Yamal Peninsula, in Russia, Wednesday Sept. 5, 2012. Putin took part in a flight as part of a program devised by environmentalists to lead the endangered cranes, which were raised in captivity, on their migration to Asia. Alexei Druzhinin/RIA-Novosti/AP
A men dressed up to resemble Russian Czar Nicholas II sets up a cardboard cutout of Russian President Vladimir Putin and another man, behind the flag, holds a red flag with former Soviet leader Josef Stalin, as they wait for tourists at Manezh Square near Red Square in Moscow on July 13, 2012. Misha Japaridze/AP
Then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (r.), is seen during judo training at a sports school in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2009. President Putin says he plans to come to London Olympics in private capacity and watch the judo competition. Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/AP/File
Russia's current Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin has tears in his eyes as he addresses supporters during a rally in Manezhnaya Square near the Kremlin in central Moscow March 4, 2012. Mikhail Voskresensky/Reuters
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hugs a Bulgarian shepherd dog, after receiving it as a present from Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov (not seen) in Sofia, Bulgaria, November 13, 2010. Oleg Popov/Reuters
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructs a trainee during a judo demonstration at a regional judo center in the city of Kemerovo, Russia, January 24, 2012. Reuters
Putin plays the piano while visiting the Theater of Nations in Moscow, Sept. 15, 2011. Alexei Nikolsky/AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin arm wrestles with local Yulia Beganova during celebrations of the Tatar national holiday Sabantui in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, some 450 miles east of Moscow, June 24, 2000. Putin took part in the Tatarstan national holiday 'Sabantui,' traditionally celebrated as a plough holiday marking the end of sowing. AP
Russian Prime Minister Putin speaks at a meeting of the Russian Popular Front in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 1,850 miles east of Moscow. Alexei Druzhinin/AP
In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/16
In Pictures: Dazzle like Beckham
Vladislav Surkov was once one of the president's most influential and deft advisers. His forced resignation suggests the Kremlin may be pursuing blunter ways of manipulating the political landscape.
Vladislav Surkov, the former theater arts major who took on the job of stage-managing Russian democracy on behalf of Vladimir Putin, was abruptly shown the Kremlin door Wednesday. Most analysts see the move as a sign that an increasingly heavy-handed Mr. Putin has no further use for Mr. Surkov's elaborate and relatively gentle methods of manipulating the political landscape.
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