Eurasia Insight:
RUSSIA: NEVER TOO EARLY TO THINK OF A RETURN OF PRESIDENT PUTIN?
11/05/08

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has not been in office for half a year, and already he is trying to tinker with term limits. Kremlin watchers say Medvedev's expressed desire to extend the presidential term in Russia from four to six years is meant mostly to benefit his political patron, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Medvedev sent up a trial balloon on November 5 during an address to the Federation Council. Not only did the incumbent suggest lengthening the term, but he also called for a significant expansion of presidential authority. In addition, Medvedev proposed extending the terms of deputies in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma. In a country where there are already virtually no checks or balances on executive authority, the likelihood that Russia's constitution will be rewritten in accordance with Medvedev's wishes seems high.

The changes already appear to be on a fast-track toward approval. A presidential aide, Larisa Brycheva, insisted that the proposals would not need to be approved by a nationwide referendum, or any other process that required the consent of the general population, or the Russian Federation's constituent entities, the official state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Meanwhile, the head of the country's Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, told RIA Novosti that his agency was ready to organize a referendum, if necessary.

Medvedev's proposed changes would not cover incumbents at the present time, including himself. This prompted political analysts in Moscow and abroad to speculate that the measures are tailored to facilitate an extended return by Putin to the presidency in three-plus years.

Perhaps not coincidently, the same day Medvedev aired his proposals, results of a public opinion survey were released, conducted by the Russia Public Opinion Research Center, in which an overwhelming majority of respondents described the "Putin era" as the best epoch in Russian history.

The poll was conducted in late May, but the release of the results came only on November 5. According to the poll, which surveyed attitudes about various Russian leaders over the past century, 80 percent of Russians believe Russia was moving in the right direction under Putin. The next most popular leader was Leonid Brezhnev with a 41 percent favorability rating. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin registered 33 percent. Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, who together presided over Russia's rocky transition from Communism to a market economy, garnered 17 percent support each.