VLADIMIR Putin has overseen the launch of two chilling new nuclear submarines in his first public appearance since revealing he is running again for president.
The Russian tyrant, 71, is expected to be elected president for a fifth time next year, meaning he could be in power until at least 2030.
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Putin and commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov visit the newest frigate 'Admiral of the fleet Kasatonov' Credit: AP 8
Russian navy line up aboard the Emperor Alexander III nuclear submarine Credit: EPA 8
Vladimir Putin speaks at a flag-rising ceremony at Sevmash Shipyard in the Arctic port of Severodvinsk Credit: AFP 8
The newly-built 557ft Borei-class nuclear submarine, The Emperor Alexander III Credit: AP
Putin's first public appearance since announcing his presidential plans was today at a flag-raising ceremony for two nuclear submarines: the Krasnoyarsk and the Emperor Alexander III.
Flanked by officials and naval officers at the Sevmash shipbuilding yard in the northern city of Severodvinsk, he viewed the vessels and explained how they would be used to project Russian naval power.
Footage from the occasion showed Putin standing on stage while snow fell and a naval officer saluted him, before turning to watch another officer raise a Russian navy flag while atop a submarine.
Putin said: "We will quantitatively strengthen the combat readiness of the Russian Navy, our naval power in the Arctic, the Far East, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Caspian Sea - the most important strategic areas of the world's oceans," Reuters reports.
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The Emperor Alexander III is part of a new generation of 557ft Borei-class Russian nuclear submarines.
It is the first new generation of nuclear submarines that the country has launched since the Cold War.
The Krasnoyarsk belongs to a different class of multi-purpose submarines, the Yasen, equipped with long-range, high-precision missiles that Putin says can strike targets on land and at sea.
He claimed both nuclear-powered vessels would soon join the Pacific Fleet, to be followed in the near future by three more Borei-class submarines and five Yasen-class submarines now under construction.
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Russia's new generation of nuclear weapons is thought by security analysts to be of greater importance to Putin now, since the start of the Ukraine conflict, than ever before.
Putin is all but certain to win in the March 17 presidential election after two already-brutal decades of his iron-fist rule.
Despite rumours of his failing health, the ageing despot is said to be determined to cling on to power as his war in Ukraine grinds to a stalemate, according to insider sources.
And his participation in today's flag-raising ceremony may be indicative of a renewed focus on bolstering Russia's nuclear forces amid tensions with the US and other Nato allies over Ukraine.
Putin pledged in his address at the shipyard to see through his plans to modernise the Russian navy.
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A Russian sailor holds a Navy flag aboard the Emperor Alexander III Credit: EPA 8
An image of Russian Emperor Alexander III is seen on the newly-built nuclear submarine The Emperor Alexander III Credit: AP 8
Russian sailors stand atop the nuclear sub as the Navy flag is raised Credit: AP 8
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy Credit: AP