A picture taken on October 15, 2011, and released on October 17, 2011, shows Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recording an extended interview with the nation's three main television channels at Novo-Ogaryovo residence, outside Moscow. In his interview Putin sought to defend his controversial plan to seek a third mandate as president, saying Russia needed stability and was only a few steps from a return to the collapse of the 1990s. AFP PHOTO/ RIA-NOVOSTI/ALEXEI NIKOLSKY (Photo credit should read ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/AFP/Getty Images)