Vladimir Putin was the Russian president from 2000-2008, then stepped down due to a constitutional prohibition on more than two consecutive four-year terms. During the interlude, he has served as the Prime Minister of Russia. He hand-picked his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, as his political party's nominee for the presidency, who was successfully elected as president. Putin has been chosen as his party's nominee for president in the 2012 election and in turn suggested that Medvedev be his replacement as Prime Minister. Due to a change in the Russian constitution, presidential terms are now six years. If Putin wins the 2012 and 2018 elections, he could serve as president until 2024...
Perhaps its the paranoid American coming out in me, but the idea of one person having that much of a monopoly on the political process makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I'm curious about the process in changing the Russian constitution. Is it as rigorous a process as changing the American constitution? I'm aware that FDR was elected four times to the presidency in the U.S., but this happened during the Great Depression and into World War II. These were very unstable and uncertain times and he represented stability to the American people. Shortly after his death, the American constitution was amended to prohibit anyone from serving as president for more than two terms total, whether consecutive or not. Thoughts?
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