Vladimir Putin Has Signed a Law Allowing Him Two More Terms as Russia's Leader

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Time

BY VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV / AP APRIL 5, 2021 11:23 PM EDT

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036, a move that formalizes constitutional changes endorsed in a vote last year.

The July 1 constitutional vote included a provision that reset Putin’s previous term limits, allowing him to run for president two more times. The change was rubber-stamped by the Kremlin-controlled legislature and the relevant law signed by Putin was posted Monday on an official portal of legal information.

The 68-year-old Russian president, who has been in power for more than two decades — longer than any other Kremlin leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin — said he would decide later whether to run again in 2024 when his current six-year term ends.

He has argued that resetting the term count was necessary to keep his lieutenants focused on their work instead of “darting their eyes in search for possible successors.”

Read more: https://time.com/5952692/vladimir-putin-presidential-terms/

[PlanetBev]

1. Trump going ape-shit right now

Jealous as hell and wishing it was him.

[sakabatou]

2. Yup.

[Grokenstein]

3. Running around with a tablet and a Sharpie, showing everyone,

trying to convince them he signed an Executive Order authorizing five more terms...

[BlueTsunami2018]

4. We just narrowly avoided the same.

It’s chilling to think of what might have happened.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Far too close for comfort. Our country was a living hell every day of his loathsome term. n/t

[Evolve Dammit]

10. Agreed.

[AZ8theist]

6. What's the point of signing a "law"?????

It's a fucking dictatorship.....DUH!

[AZ8theist]

7. AND LET NO ONE FORGET:

[oldsoftie]

8. Trump: "Dammit!! Why didnt I think of that?"

I still think that his fondness for Putin has more to do with the jealousy of Putins power and ability to silence dissenters than it does with owing him any money.
Trump has ALWAYS wanted to be a "tough guy"

[doc03]

14. You don't think he thought of that? I think that was exactly what he

planned if re-elected.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

9. Why doesn't he just proclaim himself dictator for life?

We all know that what he wants.

[melm00se]

11. 22nd amendment

is a good thing

[Turbineguy]

12. Does that come with a cool hat?

https://cdn.britannica.com/s:690x388,c:crop/65/12565-050-B102B3A8/crown-Denmark-helmet-form-enamel-gold-stones-1670.jpg

[Kid Berwyn]

13. Vladimir Putin, the Great (pause) Protector of the Oligarchs' Loot

Sergei Roldugin, the cellist who holds the key to tracing Putin’s hidden fortune

The Russian president’s best friend portrays himself as a modest musician, but leaked (Panama Papers) documents reveal his role in a secret money-go-round

by Luke Harding
April 3, 2016, The Guardian

It’s a touching family photo. In the centre is Vladimir Putin, holding his new baby daughter, Maria. Next to him is Lyudmila, his wife, with a bouquet of flowers. She has threaded her arm through his. On either side are Maria’s godparents, Ira and Sergei Roldugin.

Maria, also known as Masha, was born on 28 April 1985 and the photo was taken soon after. The city was Leningrad, the country – though not for much longer – the USSR. Father’s occupation: KGB officer.

Roldugin was the obvious choice as godfather: he had known Putin for eight years and was his best friend. Putin was at KGB training school with Roldugin’s brother Yevgeny.

“He was like a brother to me,” Sergei Roldugin later recalled of his friend, known by the family as Volodya. They had youthful adventures: cruising the city at night, singing songs, and – as Roldugin tells it – getting into the odd street fight. They played football: “He was tenacious, like a bulldog.”

Snip...

The Panama Papers show at least five secretly owned offshore entities in the Mossack Fonseca files linked to the Roldugin operation. They have largely meaningless names – Sonnette Overseas, International Media Overseas, Sunbarn, Raytar, Sandalwood Continental Ltd.

But one connection brings them all together. The firms are all linked to a company of Swiss lawyers. And they in turn act for a single organisation: Bank Rossiya, which is no ordinary bank.

Continues...

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/sergei-roldugin-the-cellist-who-holds-the-key-to-tracing-putins-hidden-fortune

[Ford_Prefect]

15. And you wonder where the GOP got the idea they should be the only party?