Russian President Vladimir Putin did not want to wait for a formal event to announce his candidacy for re-election. This Friday, during a conversation with a group of soldiers who have fought in Ukraine, he confirmed that he will run in the next presidential elections, scheduled for March 17.
Putin has led Russia since the last day of 1999, when Boris Yeltsin resigned, most of the time as president. For four years (2008-2012) he was prime minister, which allowed him to circumvent the constitutional rule that allowed him to hold the presidency for a maximum of eight years.
After the reform of the Constitution in 2020, Putin was allowed to run again and the length of the presidential term was increased from four to six years.
In the event of his certain victory, Putin will remain in the Kremlin for another six years. Since he will be able to run once again, he has the possibility of remaining in power until 2036, which would surpass Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
Putin reported his plans to seek another term at the head of the Kremlin during the ceremony of awarding decorations to a group of soldiers who have participated in the military campaign in Ukraine, the Tass agency reported.
After the presentation of the Russian Gold Star, the country’s highest military distinction, the speaker of the Donetsk Parliament, Artiom Zhoga, asked him if he was going to run again. The head of the Kremlin said he did.
Previously his spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, had said that Putin would explain his plans when he considered it appropriate. Most bets were that the Russian leader would announce his candidacy on December 14, during the Línea Directa question and answer program, in which he will answer questions from Russian citizens received by different media and journalists. .
According to Peskov, there are already many calls for him to run for a new term in the messages and questions that Russian citizens have sent through various media before the program. That is why it cannot be ruled out that that day he will announce again that he is running for re-election, now in a more formal way and before all the Russian people, who will be able to see it on television.
