CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Russia's president is celebrating a major milestone in his life. October 7 is President Vladimir Putin's 50th birthday. He's only been in office a few years, but Mr. Putin is proving to have mass appeal. CNN's Jill Dougherty has more from Moscow, where it's already Monday.</s>JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "My boyfriend got into trouble again," they sing. "He made me so mad I dumped him. Now, I want someone like Putin." Russia's all-girl band Singing Together belts out the refrain of their new song, "someone like Putin who won't hurt me, someone like Putin who won't desert me." How did a just turned 50-year-old former KGB agent become a heartthrob?</s>LARISSA, SINGER: He's young. He's very clever. He's very dramatic, can I say this, dramatic. He's just very -- he's a full man you see.</s>DOUGHERTY: Three years ago, before he was elected president, people were asking, who in the world is Putin? Now, he's one of the most recognizable faces in the world, captured in calendars, immortalized in metal, tacked onto tee shirts. President Putin also is Russia's most popular politician, with a steady approval rating of nearly 70 percent. In a new poll, Russians say they like what they describe as his honesty, decency, work ethic, intelligence and purposefulness. For a 50-year-old Russian male, Vladimir Putin is a statistical anomaly, a non-smoking athlete in a country where 63 percent of men smoke, a man who prefers milk to vodka, a guy who can keep more than his political opponents off balance. Fifty years old, Vladimir Putin seems to be taking it in stride. Jill Dougherty, CNN, Moscow.
Putin Celebrates 50th Birthday October 7