JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Is Planning a Partial Retirement; The Russian president may never leave the political stage-but he’s now ready to take a step back” – Alexander Baunov/ Carnegie Moscow

“Putin has now set out the road map for the transition he wants Russia to make in 2024 … a picture of continuity, in which Putin can still keep a pivotal role …. Planned changes to the constitution will limit the power of the Russian presidency and also mean that Putin himself will not be eligible to run for president in 2024. … Under … planned changes … Russia’s parliament will now appoint the prime minister and government. The president will have the power to reject the nomination. … [T]he … president and prime minister[] will have their wings clipped, neither being as powerful as they are at the moment. All this will be approved in a referendum, giving the changes a stamp of public legitimacy. A third force, the State Council – currently a little-noticed advisory body in the Kremlin – is set to have a new enhanced role above everyone, although Putin was a little coy about … its new powers …. [I]t seems more than likely that Putin will take the job of head of the council …. Russia will still need a presidential figurehead, a new head of state with considerable powers, especially in foreign and security policy. Who does Putin and his team intend to fill that role in 2024? …”

Click here for: “Putin Is Planning a Partial Retirement; The Russian president may never leave the political stage-but he’s now ready to take a step back” – Foreign Policy Magazine/ Alexander Baunov/ Carnegie Moscow

[featured image is file photo from another occasion]