This could pave the way for a type of succession, which is now being tested in neighb ouring Kazakhstan by Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has stepped down from the presidency but seemingly retained power. Many analysts suggest that instead of that, Putin might become the head of the State Council, the body which he proposed a special clause for in the constitution. He felt visibly tired of that towards the end of the tandem period, while Medvedev appeared more and more presidential, even allowing himself to reprimand his premier on some occasions. It is also unclear whether he has sufficient enthusiasm to deal with the day-to-day economic and social problems of the country. The weakness of that theory lies in the fact that even after these constitutional changes are made, the prime minister will not have that much power, s o it will be hard to talk about Putin being the same omnipotent rule r he has been for the last two decades. That, in other words, means a remake of the tandem arrangement which he and Medvedev had between 20. The first and seemingly most obvious theory is that by weakening the presidency and strengthening the role of the prime minister, Putin is preparing to remain in charge of the country as the head of the cabinet with a pocket president at his side. Just hours after the speech, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev handed in his resignation and was replaced a day later by the little-known head of the Federal Tax Service Mikhail Mishustin, a man with a reputation for being a competent if uncharismatic technocrat.Īs the news settled in, Russian and foreign political analysts came up with such a plurality of interpretations that it became clear that Putin has not really shown his cards yet. The amendments to the constitution the Russian president proposed would increase the power of the prime minister at the expense of the president and boost the authority of the State Council, currently a consultative body consisting of to p o fficials and regional governors. But as before do not expect Putin’s imitation to come close to the original. Now the people demand change, so he seems to be offering a faux Gorbachev-styled perestroika. For many years, he was successfully imitating the ambience of the Brezh nev era, which millions of Russians associate with political and economic stability. He is also a master of imitation with a post-modernist penchant for historical re-enactment. A November survey showed that some 60 percent of Russians want “major changes” in the country.Ī classic majoritarian, Putin built his popularity on telling people what they want to hear and striving to be everything for everyone – from nationalists to liberals – in a highly diverse society. A number of polls over the past couple of years have detected a clear shift in public sentiments from the desire for stability to eagerness for change. In his speech, the president admitted tha t R ussian society demands change. The only thing that remains fairly certain is that Putin is not planning to retire from politics when his term ends in 2024. His speech left many questions unanswered and we are nowhere closer to understanding what this new arrangement might be. With this unexpected move, he ushered in a new political cycle which will culminate in the rearrangement of the power vertical after he steps down as president in 2024 (or even before that). In this year’s state of the nation address delivered on January 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin made some bold proposals about changing the Russian constitution.
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