In 1939, Churchill famously called Russia, “… a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”
Vladimir Putin takes that famous quote and elevates it to a whole new level. He has been in power since 1999 (He was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000 becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned). The term limit was, at the time, two consecutive terms of four years. However, in 2008, Medvedev was installed as a puppet president while Putin yielded all power through the office of Prime Minister. One of the first acts, “by Medvedev”, was to increase the term limit to two consecutive terms of six years to begin at the end of his presidency. In 2012, Putin regained the presidency this time for his second tenure, first term, of six years. He is due for re-election in 2018—can there be any doubt as to the result of that election which will put Putin in power again until 2024?
What would you call a politician who has remained in power for eighteen years, so far, despite an original term limit of eight years—a dictator, perhaps?
For more information on Putin’s meteoric rise and tight grip on power, watch Putin: A Russian Spy Story, a 3 part documentary miniseries that reveals how Vladimir Putin managed to make his way from being an unremarkable KGB recruit to one of the most powerful men in the world.
Putin signs law allowing him to run for two more terms as Russian President
Updated 11:46 PM ET, Mon April 5, 2021
Russia continues to attempt to affect European politics:
The vice-chancellor’s apparent eagerness to accept Russian help raises further questions about the extent of the FPÖ’s longstanding ties to Russia. The far-right party has signed a formal cooperation agreement with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
On Sunday, March 18, 2018, Vladimir Putin won the Russian presidential election by a landslide. So, by 2024, Putin will have been in power for 25 years.