A person is capable of living up to 120 years, said Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko on Monday, October 7.

According to him, such a life expectancy — twice the average for men in Russia (66 years) — is “genetically determined” in a person.

“A person must form certain attitudes, he must be taught,” Murashko explained his ideas about the principles of longevity. He added that 60% of the factors that cause the development of various diseases can be prevented if you follow the principles of a healthy lifestyle (quotes from RIA Novosti).

The minister’s statements were made on Vladimir Putin’s birthday, who turns 72 on October 7. Of this period, Putin has spent exactly a third — 24 years — as president of Russia.

In terms of the length of his rule, the Russian president has already surpassed Pinochet (17 years), Kim Jong-il (17 years), Benito Mussolini, Indonesian dictator Suharto (20 years) and caught up with Nicolae Ceausescu (24 years), who led Romania for 24 years.

By the end of his fifth term, Putin could overtake Mao Zedong, and in the case of his sixth, catch up with Francisco Franco (Spain) and Antonio de Salazar (Portugal), each of whom ruled for 36 years.

Putin's entourage is actively working on issues of extending the life of the Russian president, and in September the Ministry of Health was instructed to urgently collect all available scientific developments on the fight against aging, The Times wrote, citing sources familiar with the situation.

According to the publications, the "cure for old age" project is being overseen by 77-year-old Mikhail Kovalchuk, one of Putin's close friends, who heads the Kurchatov Nuclear Research Institute.

Kovalchuk also oversees a state-funded genetics research program in which Putin's eldest daughter, endocrinologist Maria Vorontsova, is participating. "The big boss set the task, and officials rushed to implement it in every possible way," a source told The Times.