• Ukraine: Vladimir Putin's 'infinite war'

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Friday that he will run again for president in the March elections. It will be his fifth presidential election after winning the Kremlin in 2000. A new term would keep him in power until at least 2030 with the option to run again and continue until 2036. He has already served longer as president than any Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin, surpassing even Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year rule.

The announcement was seemingly coincidental. After awarding decorations to soldiers who have fought in the invasion of Ukraine, a lieutenant colonel asked him if he would run again. Putin, who turned 71 in October, confirmed that this would be the case.

The control of the political mechanism is such that no other major party has dared to put forward a candidate, waiting for Putin to take the step.

The president is going through a relatively sweet moment. So far, Russia's front line has largely repelled Ukraine's counteroffensive and the country is redirecting its economy to face a long war that will bring Kyiv to its knees. Russia's energy revenues have rebounded and Putin is confident in the election after increasing military spending and seeing the US falter in its support for Kiev.

On Thursday, the Federation Council set the next presidential election for March 17, 2024. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution for the holding of the three-day vote from 15 to 17 March: it is the first time that the president will be elected in this way.

According to available polls, Putin has approval ratings above 80%. Since the war began, his dictatorship has locked up all dissident leaders who did not flee in time and forced the closure or exile of the remaining independent media. Critical NGOs are persecuted and ultra-conservative discourse is becoming the ideology of the state. Meanwhile, rumors persist that the Kremlin is preparing to announce a new round of conscription among other unpopular measures after the elections.

Dissident leader Alexei Navalny's team has proposed voting for any candidate other than Putin. A group of his supporters managed to hang banners in Russian cities leading to the website "Russia without Putin," ads that were later removed shortly after. Navalny's team said the upcoming election will be "a travesty of the election procedure" and its final results "will be, as usual, falsified."

  • Vladimir Putin
  • Russia