This is an article I found on the Guardian website, reporting that on Saturday Vladimir Putin announced that he will “run” again for the Russia’s Presidency. A rather bemused Luke Harding, explains how this announcement“was, somehow, a bombshell and no surprise whatsoever”.
Harding explains how this expected announcement of Putin running for another term for the Presidency after stepping down to become the Prime Minister four years ago, only, because of constitutional constraints. This not only highlights the farcical state of Russian Politics at the moment, but also Putin’s almost, total dictatorial rule. Prime Minister Putin is standing for a third Presidential term, zigzagging the Russian Constitution.
“Dmitry Medvedev (the current President), is to become Russia's prime minister. “It's time to switch! At the Putin-led United Russia party conference, Medvedev endorsed Putin's triumphant return; the two men hugged, Medvedev's grin, admittedly, somewhat strained”. When Medvedev initially became the President, many thought it was just because Putin couldn’t and that Putin would still pull the strings. This interpretation seems to have been true. Leaked US cable showed last year Eric Rubin, US deputy ambassador, suggested that, “Medvedev played Robin to Putin’s Batman”, confirming the widely held notion that Putin is in fact in charge.
The article notes how Putin’s dominance over state TV, makes his Presidency almost a certainty. Harding explains how, “Putin recently turned up to a convention of bikers, dressed in black and riding a Harley – merely one of a succession of stunts that has seen him ski down a volcano, pose with a polar bear and dive to the bottom of Russia's Lake Baikal in a submersible.”
It’s true that some commentators suggested that Putin is tired of being Russia’s leader and would prefer to retire to vast collection of assets, from palaces to luxury yachts. However, Harding claims that the “the logic, of Putin's corrupt vertical state, is that he is forced to carry on. Putin is the only person capable of arbitrating between the Kremlin's rival factions, who are locked in a permanent and exhausting battle for money and influence. Without him, the system would fall apart.” Putin may also face the prospect of corruption investigations into his vast wealth, if he was to step down.
However, all this just means that Prime Minister Putin will be in charge of the Russian state for at least a few more years. It’s interesting to note how one man can dominate an entire supper power, when in America the entire press is watching at assessing countless Republican debates, full of politicians they had never heard of, trying to beat the “most powerful man in the world” in an election next year. It is so much easier in Russia!
- Roy.
I completely agree that it was simultaneously a "bombshell" and yet, no surprise at all. The interesting part is that so far one of the only controversies within the ministry is not Putin's thinly veiled dictatorship, but that Medvedev won't be a good Prime Minister. Aleksei Kudrin, Russia's Finance Minister said outright that he does not respect Medvedev and will not report to him when Putin assumes the presidency. While he was fired for insubordination, this attitude is really prominent among officials in Russia, save for a select few.
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