Vladimir Putin was hugged and kissed by elderly supporters during a visit to Russia’s southern Stavropol region on Tuesday 5 March, several days ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. The Russian president toured a greenhouse complex, where he was shown a prototype of a robotic tomato harvester that is expected to harvest 4.5 tons of tomatoes per day - four times more than a human. Mr Putin was then seen mingling with people on the streets, where a number of women kissed and hugged him.