Vladimir Putin moved on Friday to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for another six years, state media said, announcing his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election that he's all but certain to win, per the AP. Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter century in power, despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his countrymen's lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia—including one on the Kremlin itself—and corroded its aura of invincibility. A short-lived rebellion in June by the late mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Putin could be losing his grip. But he has emerged with no permanent scars, and Prigozhin's death in a mysterious plane crash two months later reinforced the view that Putin was in absolute control.
About 80% of the populace approves of his performance, according to the independent pollster Levada Center. That support might come from the heart, or it might reflect submission to a leader whose crackdown on any opposition has made even relatively mild criticism perilous. Whether due to real or coerced support, Putin is expected to face only token opposition on the ballot for the March 17, 2024, election. Putin, 71, has twice used his leverage to amend the constitution so he could theoretically stay in power until he's in his mid-80s. He's already the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin. In 2008, when he stepped aside to become prime minister due to term limits but remained Russia's driving force, presidential terms were extended to six years from four.
Another package of amendments he pushed through three years ago reset the count for two consecutive terms to begin in 2024. "He is afraid to give up power," Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst and professor at Free University of Riga, Latvia, told the AP this year. At the time of the amendments that allowed him two more terms, Putin's concern about losing power may have been elevated: Levada polling showed his approval rating significantly lower, hovering around 60%. In the view of some analysts, that dip in popularity could have been a main driver of the war that Putin launched in Ukraine in February 2022. "This conflict with Ukraine was necessary as a glue. He needed to consolidate his power," says commentator Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin speechwriter now living in Israel.
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