Putin still wants to remain Russia's ruler

(Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will run for the position again in the upcoming March elections, Russian media reported yesterday.

Russian state news agencies reported that Putin, who has been in power as prime minister or president since 1999, said he would seek another term after attending a ceremony in the Kremlin.

At the event, soldiers who fought in Ukraine were awarded the highest military honor - the "Gold Star of the Hero of Russia", RSE reports.

According to reports, the de facto president of the regional parliament in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk, Artem Zhoga, asked Putin to participate in the elections on March 17, and Putin "agreed" to do so.

Imprisoned opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his supporters have called on Russia's 110 million eligible voters to vote for "any other candidate" besides Putin, although they believe the "final results will be rigged".

Putin (71) is eligible to participate in two more elections, according to recent constitutional amendments that, among other things, pave the way for him to remain in office until 2036.

Putin's statement comes a day after the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, set March 17, 2024, as the date for the presidential elections.

The Central Election Commission later announced that the elections would last for three days - from March 15 to 17.

Putin, who was handed over the presidential duties by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has already been president longer than any other Russian ruler since Joseph Stalin, surpassing even Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year term.

On April 5, Putin signed a law that allows him to potentially remain in power until 2036.

The law, recently passed by both houses of parliament, aligns national election laws with constitutional changes that citizens voted on last year.

One of the constitutional changes allows Putin to be re-elected when his current term expires in 2024, as well as in 2030 - if he wishes.

Putin is otherwise the highest-profile defendant sought by the International Criminal Court in its more than two-decade history.

The charge against him relates to one of the most horrific crimes of the Russian occupation of Ukraine.

Legal experts say the arrest warrant for Putin is much more than symbolic.