In a three-day election that leaves no room for doubt, Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to win a fifth term on Sunday, allowing him to stay in power until 2030 — and, should he run again, to 2036.
But many analysts believe the 71-year-old autocrat will rule this nation of 146 million people for life.
It was not supposed to be this way. Under Russia’s constitution, Putin’s term in power was supposed to end in 2008 — but under a tricky bait-and-switch, he effectively ruled Russia as prime minister for four years, swapping places with Dmitry Medvedev. Putin returned as president in 2012, sparking massive protests that changed nothing.
In 2020, Putin engineered changes to the constitution in a nationwide vote marred by irregularities that allowed him at least two more six-year terms.
Putin has centralized power, invaded Georgia and Ukraine, and destroyed the Russian opposition. The two most charismatic opposition leaders are dead: Boris Nemtsov was gunned down near the Kremlin in 2015, and Alexei Navalny survived a state-ordered poisoning in 2020 but died in prison last month. His widow says he was killed on Putin’s direct order. Other opposition figures are either in prison, silenced or have fled the country.
Having cleared the field, the Kremlin responds indignantly to suggestions that Russia’s democracy is fake. Last week, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not tolerate such criticisms. “Our democracy is the best and we will continue to build it,” he said.