Vladimir Putin will run again in Russian presidential elections next March

Vladimir Putin has decided to run in Russian presidential elections next March, news agencies reported Friday (Dec 8). The decision will allow Putin to extend his decades-long grip on power.

State-run news agencies reported that Putin told Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zhoga, a Russian military officer, about his decision to participate in the upcoming vote following an awards ceremony for army personnel at the Kremlin.

This comes after Russian lawmakers on Thursday moved Putin a step closer to a fifth term in office by setting the date of the country's 2024 presidential election for March 17, which was voted unanimously by the members of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly.

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Valentina Matviyenko, the head of the chamber, had said "With this decision, we are effectively launching the start of the election campaign."

Matviyenko further added that residents of the parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, which were annexed by Russia, would take part in the vote for the first time.

She said, "By choosing a head of state together, we fully share the common responsibility and common destiny of our fatherland."

Notably, in 2020, Putin made sure that he remains eligible to seek two more six-year terms after some constitutional reforms, which allowed him to remain in power until 2036.

Will Putin win?

In the upcoming election, five major parties have been allowed to submit a candidate but Putin's victory is assured as he has established tight control over Russia's political system, with some of his critics, who could challenge him, are either in jail or living abroad. Most of the independent media have been banned in the country.

Two people have announced plans to run for the post. Former lawmaker Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova. Nadezhdin holds a seat on a municipal council in the Moscow region and Duntsova is a journalist and lawyer from the Tver region north of Moscow.

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Putin's rise to power

Putin became acting president of Russia on December 31, 1999, and has led the nation since the turn of the century, emerging as one of the most prominent global figures.

When former Russian president Boris Yeltsin suddenly resigned on December 31, 1999, he picked Putin, who is a former KGB official, as his successor.

Putin didn't have much experience in politics, and just a few anticipated that he would be in power 20 years later.

He won four presidential elections. He even briefly served as prime minister of the country in a system where opposition has become virtually non-existent.

Putin's selection was not done through fair elections, he was hand-picked. During his tenure, the Kremlin waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent that rights groups have likened to the Soviet era, especially since Russia launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine last February.

(With inputs from agencies)