Russian President Vladimir Putin with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in November. Pool/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin (far left) looks on Monday in Hanover, Germany, as one of three women who stripped off their tops protests his appearance at a trade fair. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in the green jacket. Jochen Luebke /EPA /LANDOV hide caption
French actor Gerard Depardieu (left) and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in December 2010. Ria Novosti /Reuters /Landov hide caption
Children at an orphanage in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don earlier this month. Vladimir Konstantinov/Reuters /Landov hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alexi Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A Russian Army officer walks past Defence Ministry offices in Moscow, on Tuesday. Putin fired defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov over a corruption scandal, the most dramatic change to the government since he returned to the Kremlin for a third term. Andrey Smirnov /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Yekaterina Samutsevich of Pussy Riot after her release from prison today in Moscow. Natalia Kolesnikova /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin, dressed to ... lead wild cranes as they migrate. Alexey Druzhinin/pool/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Members of the all-girl punk band Pussy Riot: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (right), Maria Alyokhina (center) and Yekaterina Samutsevich (left) in a glass-walled cage during a court hearing in Moscow earlier today. Andrey Smirnov /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezha Tolokonnikova (left), Yekaterina Samutsevich (center) and Maria Alyokhina, at a hearing in Moscow court on Monday. Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images hide caption
Feminist Punk Band, Imprisoned For Five Months, Gets Next Gig: Russian Courtroom
Protesters gather for a demonstration in central Moscow against President Vladimir Putin. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP hide caption
A protester wearing a costume bearing the words Robocop walks among Russian riot police officers after a rally in Moscow on Saturday. Ivan Sekretarev/AP hide caption
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a rally in Moscow on Sunday. He won election to the post he previously held: president. Alexei Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Alexey Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images hide caption