The circus with the so-called «transfer of power» and the initiated amendments to the Constitution, which establish a redistribution of power, ended today with a grotesque farce. After the first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, suggested during a meeting of the State Duma that the previous presidential terms of Vladimir Putin should be recognized as reset to zero after the adoption of the constitutional amendments, the chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (all together in the picture), announced that the owner of the Kremlin would attend the meeting in person. When he arrived at the State Duma, Putin lived up to expectations. He agreed to the adoption of such an amendment on one condition — that it be approved by the Constitutional Court. And since the courts in Russia in general, and this one in particular, are known for their exceptional «principles» and «independence,» there is no doubt in the mind of any reasonable person about the decision they will make.
All this means that in 2024, when his presidential powers expire due to their «resetting,» Putin will have the «legal» opportunity to run for a new presidential term of 6 years, and then for another one, staying in power until 2036. If he succeeds, Putin will go down in history as the longest-serving ruler of Russia, not only since 1917, but also compared to the kings of the Romanov dynasty, except for Peter I, whose reign was nominal.
In fact, public opinion has recently been actively prepared for this. While proposing to increase the powers of the State Council, the State Duma and the government, thus creating the illusion that he intends to create a more balanced system and prepare it for his departure from politics, at some point he began to say that Russia needs a strong presidential power and the State Council should not replace it. And recently, in response to students’ questions about whether he was tired of the presidency and whether it was necessary to ensure a change of power in the country, he said that no, being president was a pleasure for him. He added that a change of power will only be necessary «when Russia gains more confidence in itself, more resources of all kinds, fat, so to speak».
Well, given that Russian securities and currency have collapsed in the past two days, it is clear that «when in need — be alive,» which means that there is no time for a change of power — at least until 2036.
In general, what initially looked like a transfer of power has turned into an open coup. If Putin’s return to power in 2012 for an unofficial, constitutionally prohibited third term could be explained by the fact that the constitution limited him to two consecutive terms and he returned to power after a break, the extension of his powers now puts him in the same league as the most shameless dictatorships.
What is particularly cynical about the situation is that Putin himself recently stated that the word «consecutive» should be removed from the two-term limit that was introduced to ensure his return to power in 2012, creating the illusion that he wanted to ensure at least a formal alternation of power by moving from the presidency to, say, the chairmanship of the State Council. But apparently he simply knew that all his presidential terms would be reset, which would remove him from this formulation altogether. If this is not a cynical state and constitutional coup, what is?
This constitutional coup will be accompanied by the incorporation into the Putin Constitution of the principles of a new state ideology that contradicts the foundations of the constitutional system, as we have already mentioned. Against the background of recent events, however, it becomes particularly clear that any talk of values, whether it be «faith in God,» «marriage as the union of a man and a woman,» «the nation as the people who form the state,» or social obligations to the population, is nothing more than decoration for this regime.
Just in the last two days this regime, acting in its own and Chinese corporate interests, has caused colossal losses to many Russian companies and once again lowered the well-being of ordinary Russians.
That is why they need to secure the power to do this whenever they want, covering it up with bombastic declarations about traditional values, patriotism and social justice.