Putin's term will end in 2024, but the changes he advocates could help him rule until 2036, at 83 years old.

Over the past few months, Putin has "cast fog" on Russian politics. In his State of the Union address in mid-January, Putin proposed a constitutional change, including allowing parliament rather than the president to choose the prime minister, changing the term of office for the president and strengthening the role of The State Council, the advisory body for the president to which he is headed. Russia will hold a referendum on April 22.

Shortly thereafter, longtime ally Dmitry Medvedev resigned as prime minister, his replacement being Mikhail Mishustin, leader of the lesser known public Russian Tax Agency.

When Putin just announced the changes, analysts' first reaction was to say it provided the foundation for him to retain power after the fourth term ended in 2024. The Russian constitution currently prohibits the president. serving for more than two consecutive terms, which means that Putin will not be re-elected. Analysts say he could become prime minister or he could continue to lead the State Council and still run the country from behind the scenes.

Many people believe that Mishustin is Putin's potential successor. However, others assess Mishustin as a technocrat, who is appointed for professional rather than political calculus.

The Russian House of Representatives then voted in favor of constitutional amendments with 382 votes in favor, 44 abstentions, no votes against. They also voted in the final round today with overwhelming approval. The draft is expected to be referendum in April.

Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said that the March 10 event clearly showed that Putin wants to continue to take power. "It seems that after trying to think of the State Council's idea of increasing power to run behind the scenes, Putin finally decided to go directly to re-election in 2024," Trenin wrote. Twitter.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called the proposal an attempt to turn Putin into a "lifetime president", although on March 6, Putin said he did not want to rule until his death as Union leaders. Shove. "What's going on is interesting," Navalny wrote on Twitter. "Putin has been in power for 20 years but soon he will be considered a first-time election."

"The calculations have been clarified," said political professor Grigorii V. Golosov at the European University in St. Petersburg. Petersburg, said. "He sends the message that nothing will change, everything will remain the same."

Russia, like the rest of the world, is facing Covid-19 and the economic impact that comes with it. The economy is expected to experience more turbulence due to lower oil prices after the output cut agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia collapsed.

Some experts say that Putin chose this time to convey the message to emphasize his leadership is necessary to keep the country stable. He confirmed that in a speech before the lower house. "I believe that Russia needs a strong president. The president is the defender of the state's security, internal development stability," he said.

Putin said when he first heard of the idea of recalculation, he thought "I don't want to go back to the Soviet era". But then he felt that these measures were unlike those of the Soviet Union. "Before that, everything was done backstage. There was no real election. Now the situation is very different," he said.

Maksym Eristavi, a researcher at the Atlantic Council research group, said that Putin considered other plans to continue to retain power behind the scenes after the end of his term, because he felt there was no opportunity for re-election due to gender. constitutional term. But current world developments have opened the door for opportunities for him, leaving him to discard previous calculations and decide to push for major change.

"Now he has the opportunity for Covid-19, because of the crisis, because of the increasing instability. He is very good at taking the opportunity," Eristavi said.