Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, comparing him to Mahatma Gandhi and Soviet dissident and Nobel prize-winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

"Without doubt he was a great friend of our people," Putin told reporters as he visited the South African embassy in Moscow to honor the memory of the anti-apartheid icon and Russia's "great friend."

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's military on Tuesday to step up its presence in the Arctic after Canada signaled its intention to claim the North Pole and surrounding waters.

The tough and quick response to Canada's announcement reflected Russia's desire to protect its oil and natural gas interests in the pristine but energy-rich region amid competing claims there by countries that also include Norway and Denmark.

President Vladimir Putin Monday unleashed a wave of controversy in the Russian media world by naming a news anchorman notorious for his anti-opposition and anti-gay views to head a revamped state news agency.

Putin signed a decree dissolving Russia's biggest news agency RIA Novosti, ordering the creation in its place of a new media conglomerate.

Outraged Ukrainians rallied in central Kiev on Saturday after President Viktor Yanukovych discussed a new strategic partnership agreement with Russia's Vladimir Putin upon rejecting a historic EU deal.

Several thousand supporters of Western integration braved swirling winds and a heavy snowfall to maintain control of the capital's iconic Independence Square for the seventh successive day.

President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych met on Friday in the Russian city of Sochi for unannounced talks to discuss signing a strategic partnership treaty, Ukraine's presidency said.

"Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Sochi," said the office of Yanukovych, who is returning from his three-day visit to China. "The heads of state discussed issues of trade and economic cooperation in various industries of the economy and preparation for a future treaty on a strategic partnership."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he backed proposals for an amnesty for thousands of prisoners who, according to his rights advisor, could include ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the Pussy Riot punks.

"I agree... that such actions must be pacifying, must emphasize the humanity of our state," Putin said in televised comments.

Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief has held a new meeting in Russia with President Vladimir Putin on the Syrian conflict, the second closed-door encounter this year between the Russian leader and the key regional powerbroker.

The Kremlin said in a statement late Tuesday that Prince Bandar bin Sultan discussed with Putin at the president's suburban Moscow residence the situation in the Middle East and preparations for a Syria peace conference planned in January.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed street protests in Ukraine against the government's decision not to sign a key agreement with the European Union and seek closer ties with the Kremlin.

"The events in Ukraine seem more like a pogrom than a revolution," Putin said during a visit to Armenia.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on Monday pledged to maintain the Kremlin's influence in the South Caucasus on a trip to Armenia as hundreds of demonstrators protested a decision to join a Moscow-led customs union.

"Russia is not preparing to leave the South Causcasus. On the contrary, we intend to strengthen our presence here," Putin said in televised remarks from the town of Gyumri, where he was expected to visit a Russian military base.

Ukraine said Wednesday it still wanted to reach a historic deal on closer ties with the European Union, as mass protests over a move to scrap the pact went into a fourth day.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov's announcement failed to appease protesters who blockaded the government building during Wednesday's cabinet session demanding Kiev sign the political and free trade deal at a two-day summit in Vilnius that begins Thursday.