Putin visits his ailing predecessor

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visited on the weekend his immediate predecessor, Boris Yeltsin who is currently undergoing influenza treatment at the Central Clinical Hospital, the presidential press service reports. Mr. Putin’s previous visit to the hospitalized 1st president of Russia occurred on February 1, Mr. Yeltsin's birthday. As his chief of protocol, Vladimir Shevchenko, told RIA Novosti earlier, Mr. Yeltsin, who has been in hospital since January 30th, was getting better, but still needed some time for recuperation before checking out. According to Mr. Shevchenko, the patient's age slows down the process of recovery. He says that doctors constantly monitor the work of his heart and lungs.