Vladimir Putin sworn in as Russian president amid protests Police in Moscow detain a man protesting against Putin's inauguration. The six-year term will keep Putin in power until 2018. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters Vladimir Putin has taken the oath of office for a third term as Russia's president, saying he considers "service to the fatherland and our nation to be the meaning of my life." Putin was president from 2000 to 2008 and then prime minister for the past four years. The new, six-year term will keep him in power until 2018 - with the option of running for a fourth term. Despite unprecedented security measures in the centre of Moscow, several thousand opposition activists tried to protest along the route Putin's motorcade took to the Kremlin and were met by helmeted riot police. Dozens of demonstrators have been detained. Putin's inauguration in a brief ceremony came a day after an opposition protest drew more than 20,000 people. This was smaller than the mass demonstrations in the months that preceded his March election but still a sign that the anger over his return to the Kremlin has not faded. Sunday's protest turned violent when demonstrators tried to march towards the Kremlin. Riot police beat back the crowds with batons and detained more than 400 people. The use of force after the winter's peaceful rallies indicate that Putin may take a harder line toward protesters now he is once again president. After taking the oath of office with his hand on a copy of Russia's constitution, Putin stated his commitment to democracy. "We want to live and we will live in a democratic country that will offer opportunities and freedom for everyone's life and labour," he said in a grand hall in the Kremlin before 3,000 invited guests. Putin praised Dmitry Medvedev, the ally he ushered into power when he faced a bar on a third straight term in 2008 and who is set to become prime minister in a job swap that has angered many Russians who are tired of the same leaders. "Today we have everything we need to move forward and create a dynamic and developing state: a stable economic and social basis, an active and responsible civil society," Putin said. I see in this a great service on the part of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev.