FILE - In this file pool photo taken on Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, the then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ia seen riding a horse while traveling in the mountains of the Siberian Tyva region (also referred to as Tuva), Russia, during his short vacation. After 18 years as Russia’s leader _ and with another six-year term sure to follow a March election _ Putin doesn’t show the appetites or vulnerabilities that can personalize Western politics, even when staged or spun. If he has moments of merriment or melancholy, they happen in private. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, file)