As Russia continues her move back towards the past, Putin’s latest modifications to the Russian constitution may have him stay in power until 2036, or when Putin is eighty-three years old according to AP News.
Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his tightly guarded political plans Tuesday and supported a constitutional amendment that would allow him to seek reelection in 2024 by restarting the term count.
The constitutional change would pave the way for the 67-year-old Putin to stay in office until 2036, if he desires.
A lawmaker who is revered in Russia as the first woman to fly in space proposed either scrapping Russia’s two-term limit for presidents or stopping the clock so the law wouldn’t apply to Putin’s time in office.
The Russian leader and the lower house of parliament quickly endorsed the proposal put forward by 83-year-old former Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. Kremlin critics denounced the move as cynical manipulation and called for protests.
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He said he was aware of public calls for him to stay on as president and emphasized that Russia needs stability above all.
“The president is a guarantor of security of our state, its internal stability and evolutionary development,” Putin said. “We have had enough revolutions.” (source)
Note the last part that I highlighted.
Russia is NOT stable right now. Putin essentially is trying to act as a sort of “ironman”, or perhaps to use a term more to his liking, a “man of steel”, the most recent Russian leader to adopt said term being the Russian President’s known hero, the mass murderer Iosep Jughashvili known to the world as Josef Stalin.
Russia is splitting apart right now because of the damage done by communism. As I have stated before, Russia is arguably at the weakest point in her 500-year history as an imperial nation as she is trying to keep control of her territory from Europe to Kamchatka as well as exercise influence in all of Central Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands while dealing with a dying population in spite of mass migration from Central Asia, a decline in religion, the complete destruction of the family, and African-tier poverty as well as failing infrastructure in many places outside of major cities, and sometimes even within major cities.
Stalin was able to inflict the serious damage he did without destroying Russia completely by enervating her pre-Revolution strength, even though she was already weakened.
Putin does not have that luxury. Russia is actively dying, and I do not say this as a good thing. The nation’s problems are far worse than those of the US, and barring an absolute miracle, the nation will likely split up into warring states, particularly with those areas located east of the Urals.
Putin is trying to keep the nation together, and he will likely appoint a successor, but all leaders die at some point. When Putin dies, will Russia be able to stay together?
One can only see, but whatever happens, there is an uncomfortably strong chance that the transition from power will not be peaceful, but violent.