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‘Western ideologists will go crazy’: Putin leaves door open to run for president again Keeping all options open or a power grab? Mixed reaction to potential 2024 Putin Presidential run
(about 4 hours later)
Speaking to the Russian parliament Tuesday, Vladimir Putin argued that stable leadership is good for a country in turbulent times but does it mean we'll really see him in power beyond 2024. Is Vladimir Putin trying to become Russia's 'leader for life' or perhaps the Russian President wants to create the appearance of keeping all options open to avoid becoming a 'lame duck' before his current term ends in 2024?
Putin said Tuesday that he will consider a new term when his current one is up “only if it’s approved by the Constitutional Court and if citizens support such a proposal” when they vote for constitutional amendments on April 22. The verdict depends on who you ask. Meanwhile, for her part, Valentina Tereshkova, who proposed the 're-set' of presidential term limits in Russia's lower house of parliament (the State Duma) on Tuesday says she was motivated by public demand. 
He addressed the issue during a speech in parliament after MP and the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, called for his tenure to be reset so that he would be eligible for two more runs before being subject to the new restrictions, envisaged by the amendments. “Ordinary people simply asked for it. They asked," said Tereshkova, better known internationally for having been the first woman in space. She also expressed confidence that the Constitutional Court will approve her amendment. Putin said that bodies' acquiescence was a pre-requisite for his agreement. As well as the support of citizens in the national vote on constitutional changes, slated for April 22.
The changes to Russia's principal law, among other things, include redistributing some powers away from the president to the parliament, banning state officials from having foreign citizenship and setting the minimum wage above the basic cost of living. Nobody seriously believes the court will put a spoke in the wheels, and polls show the public is prepared to back the proposals. 
The changes to Russia's principal law, among other things, also include redistributing some powers away from the president to the parliament, banning state officials from having foreign citizenship and setting the minimum wage above the basic cost of living.
The reaction to Tuesday's developments has been diverse, to say the least. 
"Watching Vladimir Putin for more than 20 years, I have noticed: at all times and in all circumstances, Mr. Putin seeks to secure maximum freedom of political maneuver and maximum power in his own hands," columnist Mikhail Rostovsky wrote in Russia's best-selling newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets. 
"It is not understood yet how exactly he will use this freedom. But it’s known that Mr. Putin will be guided to a very large extent when making his fateful decision (or fateful decisions) by the position of the voters," Rostovsky elaborated, pointing out that the electorate has the chance to reject the constitutional changes if it so desires, and will also be able to choose the next president. 
"Neither God, nor the king, nor a hero will help us," he concluded. "Only 'His Majesty the Voter,' filled with the realization that the fate of the country is truly in his hands."
‘It was obvious Putin would never leave power'
Meanwhile, business daily Vedomosti was far less optimistic about weight of public opinion. "To the many options for maintaining power after 2024, Vladimir Putin added the simplest: remaining president until old age," it warned in an editorial. 
"[If he stays until 2036], Putin may become the longest-serving leader in the duration of his rule in Russia over the past three centuries," it continued.
Opposition minded newspaper Novaya Gazeta was even stronger in its denunciation. "It was obvious to any person with a functioning brain that Putin would never leave power," wrote Yulia Latynina. "This was the reason for the amendments to the Constitution: it wasn't for the sake of the amendments themselves, which they drafted just to create discussion, but for the sake of the possibility of canceling the presidential term [limits]."
"Putin, announces that he is ready to stay forever for the sake of stability, and the ruble collapses, all in one day," she added. "Really guys? Is that what you call stability?" 
Latynina was referring to the sharp fall in Russia's currency, against the Dollar and the Euro, when Moscow markets opened on Tuesday morning, before Putin's speech. It followed the long weekend holiday for 'International Woman's Day.'
However, her viewpoint isn't shared by Tina Kandelaki, a well-known journalist and TV personality. "Today, Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia with a rating and legitimacy that allows him to pursue an independent foreign and domestic policy," she ventured on RT's Russian service. "There are still four years left on his [current] term, after which we will all decide who will be our president for the next 6 years."
"I would like to repeat that the question of who will lead our country depends entirely on us," she continued. "Each time at the polling station, we have a chance to determine the vector of development of the country and who will be the people who will lead the country at different levels."
‘Trolling the West’‘Trolling the West’
Putin is currently in his fourth term as Russian president, but he did not skirt the rules of the constitution to do it. He was the head of state first between 2000 and 2008 before switching to the position of prime minister for the next four years. He then successfully ran for president again in 2012 and has remained in the job since. It's hardly a secret that Putin also divides opinion in the West, where his government is often dubbed a "regime" by critics. Of course, many Westerners, including a number of prominent politicians, also express open admiration for the Russian leader. 
Under the current Russian Constitution, the president is restricted to two consecutive terms — and whether Putin will seek another term has intrigued Russian and foreign political analysts for years. There were many of those in Russia and abroad, who slammed his rule as “a regime” and wanted him out, but there were also plenty of those, who considered him “the best among the current world leaders” and called for him to stay in power. “It's a very delicate trolling of our Western partners,” Aleksey Mukhin, the head of Moscow's Centre for Political Information believes. "[Putin has] left [the option to run again] open for himself so that our Western partners remain on their toes.”
“It's a very delicate trolling of our Western partners,” Aleksey Mukhin, the head of the Centre for Political Information said, commenting on Putin’s words about the possibility of running again in 2024. The very announcement of the planned constitutional amendments earlier this year caused a frenzy in the mainstream media — and was swiftly interpreted as Putin attempting to retain his grip on power.
Mukhin reminded that the president has said many times that he would not run in 2024, but “he left such an opportunity open for himself so that our Western partners remain on their toes.”
Many in the West would, of course, be angry if Putin remains in office after 2024, despite the fact that this move will likely stabilize the situation in the international arena, political analyst, Dmitry Babich, suggested.
“Putin is consistent. It's clear what he's going to do. If you look closely – all of his harsh moves in recent years were only a response to even harsher moves by the West... not crisis situations created by Moscow,” Babich said.
Crimea's reunification with Moscow was a reaction to the coup in Ukraine in 2014 and would've been impossible without it. As for the deployment of Russia's forces to Syria, it happened only in 2015 when the West had been supporting the anti-government militants there for four years, he said.
Babich pointed out that Russia has both friends and foes in the West and “we're not talking about certain countries of political parties – the border lies between the pragmatics and ideologists.”
‘It doesn’t mean he’ll actually run’‘It doesn’t mean he’ll actually run’
The pragmatists have a clear understanding that Russia has no plans to destroy the West and are closely working to mend relations, which is something they want as much as Moscow.  The head of the Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies, which is also based in the Russian capital, clarified that the vote on April 22 wasn't actually about prolonging Putin's presidential term, but only about amending the constitution.
But the ideologues will "go crazy" if Putin is reelected because they “view Russia as a reactionary state and a potential enemy,” which rejects the feminist ecology-minded society that they're building in the West, Babich said. Putin running for office again is only a distant prospect, Dmitry Badovsky reckons. “Him realizing the opportunity of being elected again depends on many things, including the situation within the country, developments in the international arena and his personal aspirations.”
However, even they may start making offers of compromise if they realize that Putin is here to stay and that they won't be able “to break Russia in the coming years.” But Badovsky warned Putin's critics in West that they themselves may unwittingly force him into putting himself forward for a fifth term through what he views as their aggressive policies towards Russia. Badovsky explains this sort of confrontation will only increase Russian voters' demand for a strong leader. 
The head of the Moscow-based Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies, Dmitry Badovsky, clarified that the vote on April 22 wasn't actually about prolonging Putin's presidential term, but only about amending the constitution.
Putin running for office again is only a distant prospect. “Him realizing the opportunity of being elected again depends on many things, including the situation within the country, the developments in the international arena and his personal aspirations.”
But Badovsky warned Putin's critics in West that they themselves may unwillingly promote his new term through their aggressive policies, which will only increase a demand for a strong leader in Russian society.
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