JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin is expected to seek reelection in Russia, but who would run if he doesn’t?” – AP

“… Putin is … expected to seek another term when Russia holds presidential elections next March. … But 71 is an age when death or serious illness are hardly distant concerns …. If Putin was not on the ballot … it’s not clear who might take his place. … There are no primary elections … [P]olitical parties … present [candidates] to the electorate. … [T]he loyalist United Russia party could put forth a candidate, although there’s no fixed procedure …. [A] candidate almost certainly would come from within the current power structure ….”

Some potential alternative candidates are said to include:

• Dmitry Medvedev, former president, former prime minister, current deputy head of the national security council
• Aleksey Dyumin, Tula regional governor, former military intelligence special forces leader
• Sergey Sobyanin, Moscow mayor
• Mikhail Mishustin, current prime minister
• Nikolai Patrushev, former FSB head, current head of the national security council

Click here for: “Putin is expected to seek reelection in Russia, but who would run if he doesn’t?” – AP/ Jim Heintz