Page 12 - RusRPTApr20

blamed the outbreak of coronavirus and the collapse of oil as the reasons. He said that limiting the president to two terms is good, but more important is “stability.”
In 2011, when Putin decided to return to the presidency, replacing Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin didn’t give any official explanations. But sources in journalist Mikhail Zygar’s bestselling book later explained the decision in a similar way — a lack of confidence in Medvedev during the Libya conflict. Putin adviser Valentin Yumashev recently said the same thing.
In time-old autocratic tradition, a ruler shouldn’t announce such decisions himself — rather the people should ask it of him. As an appropriate mouthpiece for ‘the people’, the Kremlin selected State Duma deputy Valentina Tereshkova, the Soviet Union’s first female astronaut. She is not only well known, but has over 50 years of parliamentary experience (she became a deputy to the Supreme Soviet in 1966). By using such a person, the Kremlin was protecting itself from criticism. “Attacks on Tereshkova are attacks against our country,” Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.
The announcement that Putin’s presidential terms would be ‘reset’ was preceded by two months of discussion on constitutional reform. Constitutional changes include the addition of a reference to God, a reference to the Russian people being “state-forming”, marriage as a “union between a man and a woman”, and a reminder about the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. All of this was the subject of public discussion but turned out to be a smokescreen.
And the operation was carried out very fast to prevent the opposition from organising any protests. The presidential term ‘reset’ was proposed by Tereshkova ahead of the second reading of the constitutional reform bill, the last moment when amendments can be submitted. Within 24 hours, the whole bill had been passed by the Duma and the Federation Council, and, 48 hours later, 75 regional parliaments out of 85 had also voted in favour (local governments must also approve constitutional changes). Now, the bill must be reviewed by the Constitutional Court, and, after that, Putin can announce a date for a referendum (likely to be April 22).
Under the new constitution these are the most important new presidential powers:
The right to dismiss judges, including members of the Constitutional Court (with the approval of the Federation Council).
The right to dissolve the State Duma if, in the process of forming a government, deputies do not approve the candidature of more than one-third of ministers.
An extra legislative veto — ahead of signing laws, the president can send them for review to the Constitutional Court (which is totally under his control).
A stipulation in the constitution that the president provides “overall leadership to the government”, and the prime minister must carry out the president’s orders.
Will there be protests? All of the political experts contacted by The Bell were confident there will be no protests. Only about 2% of the population is prepared to take to the streets, according to Denis Volkov, a sociologist at independent pollster Levada Center.
However, he said there could be protests ahead of the 2024 presidential election when Putin still may step down. The population are grateful to Putin for the stability after the chaos of Yeltsin, but fewer believe he can take Russia
12 RUSSIA Country Report April 2020 www.intellinews.com