Moscow — President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia’s worst kept political secret on Wednesday, saying he would run for re-election in March 2018 — a contest he seems sure to win comfortably and extend his grip on power into a third decade. Putin, 65, has been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 2000, longer than veteran Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and outstripped only by dictator Josef Stalin. If he wins what would be a fourth presidential term, he will be eligible to serve another six years until 2024, when he turns 72. Backed by state TV, Putin regularly enjoys approval ratings of around 80%, and his decision to run for re-election — which he announced at a car-making factory in the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod — was widely expected. "I will put forward my candidacy for the post of president of the Russian Federation," Putin said, in answer to a question from a factory worker who told the Russian leader that "everyone without exception" in the hall supp...
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