Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Putin's 67th Birthday: You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Jamie Dettmer

   MOSCOW - It was by Vladimir Putin's swashbuckling standards all rather
   low-key. There was no riding horses bare-chested or allegedly saving a
   television crew by shooting a tranquilizer dart at a wild tiger which
   obligingly appeared from out of nowhere in the woods.

   No stripping to the waist to wade deep in the waters of mountain rivers
   to catch fish. Nor was there was any flying on an ultralight alongside
   endangered Siberian white cranes supposedly nudging them on to their
   migration path.

   The Russian leader's hike Monday on the eve of his 67th birthday in the
   Siberian wilderness seemed more contemplative than trailblazing -- a
   contrast with other presidential birthdays.

.