INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his
candidacy in the presidential election next March that he is all but certain to win.Putin still commands wide support after nearly a
June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Putin could be losing his grip, but he emerged with no
decision to run in the March 17 presidential election after a Kremlin award ceremony, when war veterans and others pleaded with him to seek
That support might come from the heart or it might reflect submission to a leader whose crackdown on any opposition has made even relatively
mild criticism perilous.Whether due to real or coerced support, Putin is expected to face only token opposition on the ballot.Putin, 71, has
prime minister due to term limits but continued calling the shots
Presidential terms were then extended to six years from four, while another package of amendments he pushed through three years ago reset
concern about losing power may have been elevated: Levada polling showed his approval rating significantly lower, hovering around 60%.In the
conflict with Ukraine was necessary as a glue
He would declare himself the president of a new union of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia over the course of the time leading up to the 2024
It devolved into a grueling slog in which neither side makes significant headway, posing severe challenges to the rising prosperity integral
has spanned five United States presidencies, from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden
post while close ally Dmitry Medvedev served as a placeholder president.When Putin announced he would run for a new term in 2012 and
Medvedev submissively agreed to become prime minister, public protests brought out crowds of 100,000 or more.Although Putin has long
abandoned the macho photo shoots of bear hunting and scuba diving that once amused and impressed the world, he shows little sign of slowing
Photos from 2022 of him with a bloated face and a hunched posture led to speculation he was seriously ill, but he seems little changed in
