Power Vertical Podcast Ep. 63

So it appears that Vladimir Putin wants to remain president for life after all. At least for now.

With Putin’s explicit blessing, the State Duma this week passed the second reading of amendments to the constitution that would effectively allow him to seek two more terms as president—and rule until 2036.

So have efforts over the past two months to change the political system been nothing more than a big elaborate smokescreen? Or is something else going on?

Listen to the Power Vertical Podcast as Brian Whitmore, Maria Snegovaya, and Donald N. Jensen discuss the latest from Moscow.

Intro Audio Clip: “Message from the President to the Federal Assembly” via the Kremlin under CC BY 4.0. 

Photo: “Plenary Session of the State Duma” via the Kremlin under CC BY-SA 4.0.

WP Post Author

Brian Whitmore

Brian Whitmore is Director of the Russia Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Before joining CEPA he was Senior Russia Analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He also worked as a foreign correspondent for The Boston Globe in Moscow and Prague; as a graduate instructor in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina; and as a visiting lecturer in the History Faculty at Mechnikov National University in Odessa, Ukraine and the International Relations Faculty at St. Petersburg State University.

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March 13, 2020

The Power Vertical is a CEPA podcast covering the Kremlin for Kremlin watchers. All opinions are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.