Russia on Monday quietly marked the one-year anniversary of the landmark announcement that Vladimir Putin would return to the Kremlin for a new term which has already seen a fresh clampdown on civil society.

Putin's plan to trade jobs with then president Dmitry Medvedev was unveiled at a ruling United Russia party congress on September 24 last year, followed months later by unprecedented protests against his domination.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday agreed a deal with Kyrgyzstan that will allow Russia to keep a military base in the country until 2032 as Moscow and Washington jostle for influence in the region.

The agreement -- essentially a set of memorandums of intent ahead of formal treaties -- also foresees Russia wiping out nearly $500 million (380 million euros) in debt owed by Kyrgyzstan, a significant sum for the central Asian ex-Soviet state.

Thousands marched through Moscow on Saturday to protest against the rule of Vladimir Putin in a test of the opposition's challenge to the Russian president four months after his inauguration.

Waving nationalist flags, brandishing placards calling for early elections or wearing T-shirts in support of jailed members punk band Pussy Riot, the diverse groups of protestors marched with the chant "1-2-3, Putin go!"

Russia's lower house of parliament Friday stripped a leading anti-Vladimir Putin deputy of his mandate, in an unusual move critics said was revenge for his scathing criticism of the Kremlin.

The State Duma voted 291 in favor with 150 against and three abstentions to strip A Just Russia party member Gennady Gudkov of his mandate over alleged conflicting business interests.

President Vladimir Putin has urged the creation of a new sense of patriotism to serve as the basis of Russia's future to replace the vacuum left by the fall of the ideologically driven USSR.

Putin -- who has made restoring Russia's great-power status a chief aim of his rule -- said the country had forgotten to construct a sense of national pride and lashed out at opponents who "pour shit" over its name.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the Middle East was at risk of descending into "chaos" following a deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Libya and incidents in Egypt and Yemen.

"We are afraid that the region may descend into chaos, which is essentially what is happening already," he said in comments broadcast on state television from his summer residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

An influential lawmaker known for criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin was Monday on the verge of being expelled from parliament after a panel agreed a vote should be held on his ouster.

A parliamentary commission reviewed documents provided by investigators regarding the business interests of Gennady Gudkov, deputy head of the Just Russia party, deciding that Gudkov broke the law by combining work in business and public service.

Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to have only brief talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a regional summit this weekend, his top foreign policy aide said.

Putin plans longer bilateral meetings with leaders of other countries from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum during their annual summit, which is being held in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Western and Arab powers Thursday to reassess their stance on Syria and ensure the security of its current leadership in any power transition process.

"Why should Russia be the only one reassessing its position? Perhaps our negotiating partners should reassess their position," Putin told Russia Today television.

President Vladimir Putin has piloted a motorized hang glider to lead a flock of young Siberian white cranes in flight.

Dressed in a white costume meant to imitate an adult crane, Putin took part in a project to teach the endangered birds who were raised in captivity to follow the aircraft on their migration to Central Asia.