<p>President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he has fulfilled his childhood dream of serving Russia as he spoke to teenagers to mark the start of the new school year.</p>.<p>"Everything was aimed at -- and I have to speak pompously in this case -- devoting myself to serving the Fatherland," Putin said during the televised meeting in the Russian far eastern city of Vladivostok.</p>.<p>"And today I am doing just that and I believe that in this sense I managed to achieve what I dreamed of," Putin, 68, added.</p>.<p>Putin, a former KGB agent, has been president since 2000, apart from briefly serving as prime minister between 2008 and 2012.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/exile-or-jail-grim-choice-facing-russian-opposition-leaders-1025334.html" target="_blank">Read | Exile or jail: Grim choice facing Russian Opposition leaders</a></strong></p>.<p>In 2020, the constitution was amended to allow him to stay in charge of the Kremlin until 2036, the year he will turn 84.</p>.<p>Kremlin critics have accused Putin of tightening his grip on power over the past two decades and persecuting his opponents.</p>.<p>Ahead of parliamentary polls later this month, Russian authorities have intensified a crackdown on the opposition and independent media, critics say.</p>.<p>Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny has seen his organisations declared "extremist" and banned in the country, while all of his top aides have fled.</p>.<p>Leading independent media outlets including the Meduza news website and the Dozhd TV channel have been designated "foreign agents", while investigative outlet Proekt was declared an "undesirable organisation".</p>
<p>President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he has fulfilled his childhood dream of serving Russia as he spoke to teenagers to mark the start of the new school year.</p>.<p>"Everything was aimed at -- and I have to speak pompously in this case -- devoting myself to serving the Fatherland," Putin said during the televised meeting in the Russian far eastern city of Vladivostok.</p>.<p>"And today I am doing just that and I believe that in this sense I managed to achieve what I dreamed of," Putin, 68, added.</p>.<p>Putin, a former KGB agent, has been president since 2000, apart from briefly serving as prime minister between 2008 and 2012.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/exile-or-jail-grim-choice-facing-russian-opposition-leaders-1025334.html" target="_blank">Read | Exile or jail: Grim choice facing Russian Opposition leaders</a></strong></p>.<p>In 2020, the constitution was amended to allow him to stay in charge of the Kremlin until 2036, the year he will turn 84.</p>.<p>Kremlin critics have accused Putin of tightening his grip on power over the past two decades and persecuting his opponents.</p>.<p>Ahead of parliamentary polls later this month, Russian authorities have intensified a crackdown on the opposition and independent media, critics say.</p>.<p>Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny has seen his organisations declared "extremist" and banned in the country, while all of his top aides have fled.</p>.<p>Leading independent media outlets including the Meduza news website and the Dozhd TV channel have been designated "foreign agents", while investigative outlet Proekt was declared an "undesirable organisation".</p>