Putin signs legislation on resetting his presidential terms

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the legislation allowing himself to run for the presidency in two more elections. In doing so, he has granted himself the right to potentially stay in power until 2036.

The law prohibits a Russian president from holding office for more than two terms.

However, this doesn’t apply to anyone who held the presidency prior to when the relevant amendments to the Russian constitution came into force (in other words, before 2020). As such, President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev are eligible to run for the presidency two more times.

• “Zeroing out” Putin and Medvedev’s presidential terms was included in a package of amendments to the Russian constitution, which was put to a nationwide vote from June 25 to July 1, 2020.