Russian President Vladimir Putin (imnews.imbc.com)

On April 5^th , Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that allows himself to lead the country for two additional terms. Last year, a referendum regarding this revision was held in July, and the Russian parliament approved this bill in March of this year. Putin is currently serving his fourth term, which ends in 2024. He has continued to hold his power in Russia for over two decades including the period of serving as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012. Due to the prohibition of the third consecutive presidential term, in 2008, he became Prime Minister, still maintaining his political dominance. Although the new law keeps stating that one cannot hold the office for three or more terms, it includes controversial content: the new law does not consider the serving periods of the presidents whose terms were before the constitutional amendment. In other words, this amendment is officially resetting the presidency of Putin. Putin has continuously said that he would consider running again for the election in 2024 when his current six-year term ends, and if he succeeds, he would be Russia’s President until 2036. Nearly 78% of voters approved the constitutional amendments last year, indicating the existence of passionate support for him in Russia. Considering this support and his age, the revision greatly increased the possibility of him being president for life.

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