"God save the Tsar!" was one of the first public birthday wishes for President Vladimir Putin who turns 72 on Monday and who has been Russia's paramount leader for nearly quarter of a century. The greeting came from ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin on his Telegram messaging channel minutes after midnight. Dugin, 62, has long advocated the unification of Russian-speaking and other territories in a vast new Russian empire, which he wants to include Ukraine. Putin, who ordered his troops to invade Ukraine in 2022, won a record post-Soviet landslide in a March election. His new six-year term, if completed, would make him Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years when tsars and empresses ruled the country.
"Today, friends, is the birthday