Vladimir putin clears way for continuous rule | thearticle

While much of the world went into lockdown in an effort to control the spread of Covid-19, many Russians have been more concerned with a domestic matter. As shoppers around them stocked up

on pasta and toilet paper, a group of Muscovites stood in the middle of a supermarket earlier this week, discussing President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to stay in power beyond his current

fourth presidential term. The slow-moving debates regarding a raft of proposals to amend the constitution received a sudden boost when Valentina Tereshkova, the world’s first woman into

space, took to the podium in the State Duma, parliament’s lower house, to drop a bombshell. She proposed scrapping the constitutional limit on the number of presidential terms, allowing

Putin to run for two additional consecutive six-year terms. Legislators were stunned when Putin himself showed up two hours later, accepting the proposal that would allow him to stay on as

Russia’s ruler for 12 years after his current term expires in 2024. He used the fig-leaf of the Constitution Court’s mandatory approval of the change, knowing that it would rubber-stamp the

proposal. Which it did, in record time, just two days after Putin signed off on the amendment following fast-tracked approval by both houses of parliament. The entire process took less than

a week, clearing the way for Putin, 67, to remain in the Kremlin until he is 84. Putin has yet to declare that he will run for re-election. Practically everyone expected Putin to stay on,

perhaps as head of a more powerful State Council with expanded powers of control over defence and foreign policy, as well as key appointments. This would enable him to maintain total control

of the country after his presidency ends, should he decide to switch jobs. Nevertheless, the snap decision to place a fifth presidential term on the table, and widen the options Putin has,

came as a surprise to lawmakers. The proposal to lift restrictions on the number of presidential terms was pushed ahead late in the day, with only the speaker of the Duma and a few of

Putin’s closest aides aware of plan B. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Putin should stay on. “In difficult years, some countries decided the incumbent president (should)

remain. In these unstable times, stability of power, consistency of power are of great importance,” he said. Peskov said the limit on two consecutive presidential terms would remain in the

Constitution, noting that the “zero-ing” of Putin’s past terms is a one-time measure. With the change now approved by both the Supreme and Constitutional courts, the way is clear for Putin’s

re-election in 2024. But four years is a long time, and Putin may change his mind and adopt a plan C if it suits him. Even those of his inner circle are not entirely sure which plan Putin

will choose. Analysts point out that Putin had initially appeared to favour the State Council position, but had changed his mind. Opposition politicians maintained Putin had planned the

debate on legal amendments as a distraction from his main objective all along. “All this fuss with the Constitution was conceived for the sake of two new terms,” said Dmitry Gudkov. Putin,

who will be 72 when his current term ends, has merely answered queries about re-election with an enigmatic “We will see.” Small protests were held by opposition groups, ranging from the

Communist and anarchist hardliners to liberal politicians. A letter signed by more than 350 scientists, lawyers, writers and artists to protest Putin’s effort to stay on for life says Russia

is “threatened by a deep constitutional crisis and unlawful anti-constitutional coup, clothed in a pseudo-legal form”. The protest letter was brushed aside by the Kremlin. It said the power

to approve or dismiss the changes is now in voters’ hands, to be decided through the ballot box. There is no minimum voter turnout for the plebiscite, so the postal vote alone — with voting

by state employees and the military — will produce a high turnout even if ordinary voters stay away. The authorities have ruled calls for a boycott of the referendum as illegal, calling

them akin to calls for a coup. A boycott website was promptly shut down. With the coronavirus crisis worsening by the day, Moscow banned all public gatherings, blocking any further protest

action under the pretext of public health concerns. Putin addressed the nation on Wednesday, announcing that the referendum had been postponed from April because of the spread of the virus.

Russian leaders do not traditionally go into graceful retirement. Most Soviet leaders died in office. Boris Yeltsin stepped aside due to ill health, but hand-picked Putin as his replacement

to ensure that he couldn’t be prosecuted once he left office. Having ruled Russia for 20 years, Putin does not appear to have retirement on his agenda. His close circle of friends, who have

made enormous fortunes during his years in office, are not keen to see a threat to their wealth any time soon. By turning the clock back to zero on the number of presidential terms, Putin

has, in one master stroke, removed a legal obstacle to ruling for life. An entire generation has grown up not knowing any other leader than Putin. By staying on for two more terms, Putin

will become Russia’s second longest-lasting leader. Only Peter the Great ruled for longer.