Political career of Vladimir Putin personally congratulated Putin on his victory, calling Putin "a driving force behind strategic ties of cooperation between Venezuela and Russia." Anti-Putin protests took place during and directly after the presidential campaign. The most notorious protest was the 21 February Pussy Riot performance, and subsequent trial. Also, an estimated 8,000-20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on 6 May, when eighty people were injured in confrontations with police, and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day. Putin was inaugurated in the Kremlin on 7 May 2012. On his first day as President, Putin issued 14 Presidential decrees, including
2012 Russian presidential election 2012 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 4 March 2012. There were five officially registered candidates; four representatives of registered parties and one independent. These election were the first after the constitutional amendments in 2008. In this election, the President was elected for the first time for six years, not four as before. At the United Russia congress in Moscow on 24 September 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev proposed that his predecessor, Vladimir Putin stand for the presidency in 2012, an offer which Putin accepted. Putin immediately offered Medvedev the opportunity stand on the United Russia ticket