{"id":12450,"date":"2020-06-28T10:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T17:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=12450"},"modified":"2020-06-26T21:27:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T04:27:33","slug":"putins-best-laid-plans-for-lifetime-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/putins-best-laid-plans-for-lifetime-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin’s best-laid plans for lifetime rule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following article is from my colleague Paul Roderick Gregory in The Hill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vladimir Putin<\/a> cannot afford to be an ex-president. Any successor will blame him for all that is wrong in Russia. There would be a mad dash to recoup (divide) his billions stashed offshore. He might even face international courts on charges of state murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier than expected \u2014 he currently rules, by law, until 2024 \u2014 Putin is in the final stage of executing a plan for lifetime rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how the plan works: The Putin administration is orchestrating the ratification of 14 amendments to Russia\u2019s 1993 constitution. The key second amendment wipes Putin\u2019s slate clean: Election as Russia\u2019s president in 2024 would be counted as his first, and he could run again in 2030. Under this new rule, Putin\u2019s last year as president would be 2036 \u2014 at the age of 83. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other amendments are window-dressing. They propose obtuse administrative changes and popular items such as outlawing same-sex marriage and guaranteeing minimum incomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amendment package was approved in March by the State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly), the 85 Federation Subjects (the country\u2019s top political divisions), and by the constitutional court. Putin had planned for the final stage \u2014 a nationwide referendum \u2014 to be held amid the patriotic wave two days after the spectacular May 7 parades celebrating the 75th anniversary of Russia\u2019s 1945 victory over Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then along came coronavirus. The victory parade had to be postponed until June 24, and the referendum until July 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following article is from my colleague Paul Roderick Gregory in The Hill Vladimir Putin cannot afford to be an ex-president. Any successor will blame him for all that is wrong in Russia. There would be a mad dash to recoup (divide) his billions stashed offshore. He might even face international courts on charges of state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-3eO","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11542,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/putin-attacks-ukraine-again-to-boost-his-popularity-at-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":12450,"position":0},"title":"Putin attacks Ukraine again to boost his popularity at home","author":"victorhanson","date":"November 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Please read this piece by my colleague Paul Roderick Gregory in The Hill Over the weekend,\u00a0the Russian navy fired upon and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels, wounding multiple sailors in the process.\u00a0In addition, a Russian ship has been positioned to block entrance from the Black Sea to the Sea of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Vladimir Putin"","block_context":{"text":"Vladimir Putin","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/vladimir-putin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11077,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/overlooked-in-putins-reelection-the-kremlins-challenge-is-from-the-left\/","url_meta":{"origin":12450,"position":1},"title":"Overlooked in Putin’s Reelection: The Kremlin’s Challenge Is From The Left","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Please read a new essay by my Hoover colleague, Paul Gregory. 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Putin addressed two audiences \u2014 the Russian people and his external enemies,\u00a0namely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Putin"","block_context":{"text":"Putin","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/putin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12676,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-adds-to-putins-headaches-wests-worries\/","url_meta":{"origin":12450,"position":3},"title":"Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict adds to Putin’s headaches, West’s worries","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"An article by my Hoover colleague Dr. Paul Gregory in The Hill The last thing\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0needed is another hotspot in Russia\u2019s \u201cnear abroad\u201d \u2014 Russia\u2019s term for the 14 republics that once were part of the old Soviet Union, along with the Russian Republic.\u00a0 In 2014, Putin boasted of an\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12607,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/dont-expect-europe-to-hold-putin-accountable-in-navalny-poisoning\/","url_meta":{"origin":12450,"position":4},"title":"Don’t expect Europe to hold Putin accountable in Navalny poisoning","author":"victorhanson","date":"September 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The following article is from my colleague, Paul Roderick Gregory, in The\u00a0Hill Vladimir Putin\u00a0is a notorious risk-taker. 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