Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has signed a law which will allow him to run for two more presidential terms. This means he could potentially rule until 2036.
The new law follows amendments to the Constitution. These restrict anyone from being Russian President more than twice in a lifetime, which would count Putin out. However, the new law does not include terms served before it came into force, meaning it won’t affect Putin.
Putin first became president in 2000, succeeding Boris Yeltsin. He served until 2008 when he became prime minister under Dmitri Medvedev, although he was president in all but name. He has since served as president again since 2012.
Russian presidential terms have also been lengthened to six years, meaning that Putin, last re-elected in 2018, will now serve until at least 2024.
Tensions between Russia and the West are at a low point. This follows remarks by Joe Biden, the president of the United States, who said in response to a question asking whether he thought Putin was a killer, that he did believe so.
This saw Moscow recall its ambassador to America with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, saying in a televised interview that relations between Russia and the West had ‘hit the bottom’. He also called Biden’s remarks ‘appalling’.