MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin has decided to run in the March presidential election, a move that will keep him in power until least 2030, a British news agency reported on Monday.
Putin, who was handed the presidency by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has already served as president for longer than any other Russian ruler since Josef Stalin, beating even Leonid Brezhnev’s 18-year tenure.
Putin turned 71 on Oct. 7.
Reuters reported, quoting sources in Kremlin politics, that news of Putin’s decision had trickled down and that advisers were now preparing for the campaign and a Putin election.
For Putin, who opinion polls show enjoys approval ratings of 80% inside Russia, the election is a formality if he runs: with the support of the state, the state media and almost no mainstream public dissent, he is certain to win.
“The decision has been made – he will run,” the report said. A choreographed hint is due to come within a few weeks, another source said, confirming a Kommersant newspaper report last month.
“The world we look out upon is very dangerous,” said one of the sources.
A foreign diplomatic source, who also requested anonymity, said Putin made the decision recently and that the announcement would come soon.
