Source: Times Live Vladimir hails Vladimir: Putin fetes Orthodox Saint, Russia’s religous founder Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday marked 1,000 years since the death of Prince Vladimir, the Orthodox saint credited with bringing Christianity to the country in the Middle Ages. “By stopping strife, crushing internal enemies, Prince Vladimir initiated the formation of a united Russian nation, in fact paving the way for the construction of a strong, centralised Russian state,” Putin said at ceremony in the Kremlin alongside the head of Russia’s Orthodox church. By converting Kievan Rus — the forerunner of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus — the…