Russia reshuffles government as Putin eyes prolonged power

This appeared in The Millennial Source

On Wednesday, January 15, the Russian government announced a wave of resignations after President Vladimir Putin proposed changes to the constitution that would give more power to the cabinet, parliament and prime minister’s (PM) office. The resignations occurred within hours of a televised national address by Putin that laid out the constitutional changes.

Among those that resigned were PM Dmitry Medvedev, a longtime Putin ally, along with the entire cabinet. Many political analysts suspect Putin is attempting to get around legal obstacles that could impede his ability to retain power after his term ends in 2024.

Holding a firm grip on power

This isn’t the first time Putin has used political maneuvers to retain power. He has served as Russia’s leader, whether at the PM’s office or at the presidential level, since 1999. After a brief stint as PM at the turn of the century, Putin held the president’s office for eight years. He was compelled to step down in 2008, however, and revert back to his role as PM due to constitutional term limits that prevented him from standing for the office again.