Relations are rocky between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but their meeting began Sunday with handshakes and smiles, and flowers and kisses from Putin for first lady Laura Bush and Bush's mother. Bush waited at his family'...

On May 7, 2000, President Vladimir Putin took the oath of office in Russia’s first democratic transfer of power. Vladimir Putin took the oath of office, becoming Russia's second democratically elected president at a lavish ceremony in a former czarist thr...