Russia’s longtime leader has confirmed he will run for an additional fifth presidential term in the upcoming March election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will run in the 2024 presidential election.
President Putin announced Friday his decision to seek an extension of his rule. He is almost certain to win a fifth term as president, allowing him to continue leading Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
If elected, the 71-year-old would formally serve as prime minister for eight years, but would extend his 24-year reign as Russia’s leader. His tenure is currently the longest of any Russian ruler since Joseph Stalin.
The decision comes as little surprise, as Russia’s military operations in Ukraine are seen as increasing patriotic support for the president.
Putin announced his plans at a ceremony to award Russia’s highest military honor to veterans, state news agencies reported.
State media reported that Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zoga, one of the recipients of the Hero of Russia Gold Star, has asked the president to run again.
“He will run away,” the soldier told reporters afterward.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said many people were urging Putin to run for president.
The Senate of the Council of the Russian Federation approved on Thursday the voting date of March 17th.
Opposition politicians have criticized the election as a threat to democracy, with Putin claiming he has turned Russia into a corrupt dictatorship.
Prominent opposition leaders such as Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin have also been imprisoned in recent years.
Opponents have raised hopes that the Ukraine war, the Western sanctions it triggered, and the failed revolt by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in June could challenge the Kremlin chief’s position in the next election. It suggests that he is holding it.
However, independent polls show that support for President Putin remains strong, with approval ratings exceeding 80%.
Putin’s supporters say he has restored order and regained some of the influence Russia lost in the chaos of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the 1990s.
Putin took over from Boris Yeltsin in late 1999 and has already served as president longer than any Russian ruler since Stalin, even surpassing Leonid Brezhnev’s 18-year tenure.
