Vladimir Putin is preparing to seek another six years in the Kremlin in a bid to extend his 23-year reign as Russia’s president or prime minister, it has been claimed.
Despite his disastrous war, the dictator has been in campaign mode in recent days for the first time since before the pandemic, visiting remote regions and even posing for selfies with adoring fans.
In recent weeks he has been seen taking selfies and affectionately kissing the heads of girls in Dagestan, and initiating another boy in the Kremlin as part of a tour of his presidential office.
He was shown drawing a smiley face at a forum in Moscow in stark contrast to Covid times when he used his trademark long table for rare meetings.
Elections are scheduled for next year, and Putin would be 77 if he completed another full term as Russia’s president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a cabinet meeting via video conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shows Raisat Akipova, 8, of Derbent, his desk at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets 8-year-old Raisat Akipova from Derbent at the Moscow Kremlin.
Fatima Tagirova, 13, said she waited seven hours to meet Vladimir Putin, and when she finally arrived, the dictator kissed her before taking a selfie.
Putin is seen being harassed by fanatics in Derbent, Dagestan
This tactic is seen as the prelude to a call from the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation begging him to run again, despite the conflict in Ukraine and doubts about his health.
The patriotic foundation was established by Putin’s presidential decree to raise funds for war veterans. It is hardly independent, as it is currently run by Putin’s cousin, Anna Tsivileva, 51, the wife of a Siberian governor.
‘With a request to be nominated for a new term, the heads of the fund will address [Putin]perhaps together with those who received effective assistance from [the president]’ reported Vyorstka, a Russian media outlet.
The plea for Putin to leave for six more years would then be approved by the ruling United Russia political party.
The next Russian elections are scheduled for March 2024, and a Putin campaign announcement may be made early amid suspicions that the head of Wagner’s mercenary army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, has strong political ambitions and will seek to apply.
Putin has been Russia’s president since 1999, except for a four-year term as prime minister, from 2008 to 2012.
Even then, as Dmitry Medvedev was taking over as president, it was widely known that Putin was pulling all the strings in the Kremlin.
Putin today received a resounding endorsement from his Belarusian counterpart and ally, Alexander Lukashenko.
‘Look, sociological research is being done everywhere. [in Russia],’ he said.
‘[There is] 74 percent confidence in Putin.
‘Do you doubt that if he goes to the polls he will win? Do not hesitate if he maintains that level of confidence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
Vladimir Putin pictured during his trip to Derbent
The Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation was created by Putin’s presidential decree to raise funds for war veterans. It is barely independent, as it is currently run by Putin’s cousin, 51-year-old Anna Tsivileva (pictured), the wife of a Siberian governor.
Although Russia supposedly maintains a democratic electoral process, Putin’s critics say he cannot lose as all his political enemies have been killed, jailed or forced into exile.
With the exception of Wagner’s boss Prigozhin, and to some extent Putin’s imprisoned foe and anti-corruption advocate Alexei Navalny, no other Russian political candidate has a major platform thanks to the Kremlin’s tight control of the media.
Putin is widely believed to have suffered from cancer and rumor has it that he shows signs of the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
The pandemic and its aftermath led him to take extreme precautions when meeting people, and many still have to quarantine for one to two weeks before seeing him.
His mental health has been called into question over his decision to send hundreds of thousands to their deaths in an ‘avoidable war’.
Rumors abound that he uses body doubles, especially in situations where the president is seen near large crowds.
His trips outside of Moscow have increased recently, including near the war zone, though critics suggest these are done by doppelgängers.
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