Russia

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks before an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and French President Francois Hollande, right, meet for bilateral talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting the leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany in a revived European push to bring peace to eastern Ukraine. The long-awaited summit in Paris on Friday is being overshadowed by international concerns about Russia’s military intervention in Syria this week. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

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Illustration on the Putin kleptocracy in Russia by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

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Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles as he listens to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, at the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday strongly defended Moscow's military assistance to the Syrian government, saying it's impossible to defeat the Islamic State group without cooperating with the Syrian government. (Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) ** FILE **

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Illustration on Russia's interests in destabilizing Europe and the Middle East by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

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Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at an electric ray fish during his visit to the center of oceanography and marine biology "Moskvarium" in VDNKh ( The State Exhibition Center) in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015. (Mikhail Klimentyev, RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. President Vladimir Putin plunged into the Black Sea to see the wreckage of a sunk ancient merchant ship which was found in the end of May. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. President Vladimir Putin plunged into the Black Sea to see the wreckage of a sunk ancient merchant ship which was found in the end of May. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. President Vladimir Putin plunged into the Black Sea to see the wreckage of a sunk ancient merchant ship which was found in the end of May. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. President Vladimir Putin plunged into the Black Sea to see the wreckage of a sunk ancient merchant ship which was found in the end of May. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)