Putin talks tough on birthday documentary

8 Oct 2012, 9:58 am   -   Source: AAP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has celebrated his 60th birthday with low-key festivities. (AAP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has celebrated his 60th birthday with low-key festivities. (AAP)

A documentary that has aired on Putin's 60th birthday casts him as a tireless and no-nonsense leader contemptuous of domestic and international criticism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in a first-person documentary aired on his 60th birthday that the current generation of opposition leaders needs to be cast aside.

The documentary that aired on Sunday casts Putin as a tireless and no-nonsense leader contemptuous of domestic and international criticism. It also depicts a Spartan lifestyle of daily exercise, plain breakfasts and late-night work sessions.

Putin says in the program that he welcomes opposing views, but that they should come from people willing to take responsibility for running the country. Putin's dismissive remarks addressed at the opposition will reconsolidate anxiety over his perceived disregard for pluralism in Russia.

Celebrations took place on Sunday all over Russia to celebrate Putin's birthday, although the Kremlin has said the president opted for low-key celebrations with friends and family.

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