Putin pays tribute to former regional head

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part Friday in the farewell ceremony for the first president of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, Murtaza Rakhimov, in the region’s capital Ufa. Putin praised Rakhimov’s role in regional policy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Rakhimov who died at the age of 88 on Wednesday had governed Bashkortostan from 1993 to 2010.