Putin pays last respects to 1st president of Russia's Bashkortostan region

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday attended a farewell ceremony for Murtaza Rakhimov, the first president of Russia's Bashkortostan region.

Putin brought a bouquet of roses to a concert hall in Ufa, Bashkortostan's administrative center, where the ceremony took place.

Murtaza Rakhimov, who led Bashkortostan for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010, died on Jan. 11. He was 88.