Having removed the last obstacles from his path, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin promises to maintain Russia’s current course in the next six years. Such a promise significantly increases the risk of an economic crisis.
Last Friday, December 8, Putin announced that he will run for his fifth presidential term in the presidential (re)elections scheduled for March next year. Although, as usual, in previous months Putin pretended not to know whether he would run, such a statement does not surprise anyone.
71-year-old Putin has been in power in Russia since 2000. It is expected that in the re-elections to be held in March, Putin will not have to count on any obstacles – wartime censorship has actually been implemented in the country, as well as any possible opposition has been strongly suppressed. It is expected that some “opponents” will also participate in this formal political event, most likely chosen by the Kremlin. By the looks of it, Putin has someone to compete with.
During his next six years in power, Putin promises to maintain Russia’s current course, which is formally called “the implementation of socially conservative policies, as well as the rejection of the course towards the West.” In reality, this only means that the war in Ukraine will continue until Putin has satisfied his geopolitical ambitions and achieved some notable success that could be called a victory.
Experts and politicians both in Ukraine and in the West are increasingly expressing concern that Russia is preparing for a long-term war, and not just with Ukraine anymore – the 24/7 operation of the military-industrial complex shows that the Kremlin still hopes to quickly defeat Ukraine and move on. Where? The options are different – it can be the Baltic states, it can be Kazakhstan, (again) Georgia or Moldova.
“The Moscow Times” reports that the Kremlin’s confidence in the continuation of the war is also increased by the performance of the economy, which in the second year of the war turned out to be better than previously predicted. However, there are also warnings that there are risks of the economy overheating.
2023-12-13 22:01:00
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