The calabash or bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria (synonym Lagenaria vulgaris Ser.), also known as opo squash or long melon, is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe.
He was lucky on the economic front. Oil and gas make up 16 percent of Russiaâs GDP, 52 percent of its budget, and more than 70 percent of its exports, and oil climbed in the 2000s from $24 to $100 per barrel. Mr. Putin used the money to reduce poverty and modernize the military.
Vladimir Putin, the 58-year-old former president and current prime minister of Russia, has cultivated a swashbuckling public image over the past several years. He has piloted firefighting planes, darted whales, driven race cars, and taken a submersible 1,400 meters (4,600 ft) below the surface of Lake Baikal.