21 votes

Putin has suggested a bunch of constitutional amendments. Here’s what he wants to change

12 comments

  1. [10]
    tumbzilla
    Link
    I feel like I'd need to know a lot more about Russian politics before I could interpret whether these amendments are reasonable

    I feel like I'd need to know a lot more about Russian politics before I could interpret whether these amendments are reasonable

    9 votes
    1. [5]
      unknown user
      Link Parent
      If you want to know one particular Russian's points of view: More power for the parliament is a good thing. Russian parliament has been reduced to little more than a joke. Limiting the supremacy...

      If you want to know one particular Russian's points of view:

      • More power for the parliament is a good thing. Russian parliament has been reduced to little more than a joke.
      • Limiting the supremacy of international law is very dangerous. That means that human rights abuse may be ignored by Russian courts.
      • Limiting presidential terms is obviously good. Putin knows very well that having the same president for twenty years isn't normal. I doubt that he wants to be a second Lukashenko.
      • New no-dual-citizenship requirements for federal lawmakers and the like is unnecessary, in my opinion. Sounds more like Putin's anti-Western paranoia.
      • The Constitutional Court stuff is dangerous. Russia's Constitutional Court is already a very weak entity that hardly opposes Putin even with the most outrageous human rights abuses. These amendment make it even less independent.
      17 votes
      1. Algernon_Asimov
        Link Parent
        But that's not necessarily what Putin is suggesting. He wants to amend the clause that currently limits presidents to two terms. It's unlikely he's going to reduce that limit to one term. He's...

        Limiting presidential terms is obviously good.

        But that's not necessarily what Putin is suggesting. He wants to amend the clause that currently limits presidents to two terms. It's unlikely he's going to reduce that limit to one term. He's more likely to want to increase that limit, possibly to infinity (no limit at all). That way he can stay in power.

        His whole career has been about finding ways to stay in power. That's why he switched from President, to Prime Minister under a puppet President, and back to President again. He only had to do that because of the constitutional clause that limits Presidents to two terms. If he can remove that limit, he gets to stay President after 2024.

        11 votes
      2. [3]
        gpl
        Link Parent
        Do you see these proposed reforms as an attempt by Putin to remain in power (i.e., empower the PM role before moving into that position)? I've seen some Western analysis that paints it as such. I...

        Do you see these proposed reforms as an attempt by Putin to remain in power (i.e., empower the PM role before moving into that position)? I've seen some Western analysis that paints it as such. I suppose both could be true - they could be good reforms in the long run that also empower Putin.

        5 votes
        1. [2]
          unknown user
          Link Parent
          Yeah, I think it's both. I can see Putin once again claiming the seat of the prime minister under a formal figure in the president's throne, like Medvedev. In fact, Medvedev is probably the most...

          Yeah, I think it's both. I can see Putin once again claiming the seat of the prime minister under a formal figure in the president's throne, like Medvedev. In fact, Medvedev is probably the most viable candidate to replace Putin on this position. There have been rumours about other candidates, like ex-finance minister Aleksey Kudrin or the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, but those are probably just rumours. We'll be lucky if that won't be anyone from the Siloviki, like Shoigu.

          9 votes
    2. [4]
      Neverland
      Link Parent
      I recently listened to this interview of Stephen Kotkin, by Lex Fridman. It might be an interesting way to get quick start on the subject. https://lexfridman.com/stephen-kotkin/ @ainar-g - if you...

      I recently listened to this interview of Stephen Kotkin, by Lex Fridman. It might be an interesting way to get quick start on the subject.

      https://lexfridman.com/stephen-kotkin/

      @ainar-g - if you have the spare time, I would love to hear your take on what Kotkin has to say in this interview.

      3 votes
      1. [3]
        unknown user
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        First of all, fun fact. Without a VPN, I couldn't open your link, probably because of the shenanigans of RosKomNadzor, Russia's Internet censoring agency. The link worked fine under a VPN. I...

        First of all, fun fact. Without a VPN, I couldn't open your link, probably because of the shenanigans of RosKomNadzor, Russia's Internet censoring agency. The link worked fine under a VPN.

        I didn't listen to the whole thing, as I am really not a fan of podcasting, but Stephen correctly asserts that in order to understand the popular appeal of Vladimir Putin, you need to understand just how horrible Boris Yeltsin's rule was. I've already written about this exact same thing previously: link 1, link 2.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          Neverland
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Wow. I'm sorry that this is a thing in 2020 anywhere on the planet, especially in Russia. Only after having watched this documentary on the Yeltsin/Putin hand-off did I learn that Yeltsin...

          First of all, fun fact. Without a VPN, I couldn't open your link

          Wow. I'm sorry that this is a thing in 2020 anywhere on the planet, especially in Russia.

          to understand the popular appeal of Vladimir Putin, you need to understand just how horrible Boris Yeltsin's rule was.

          Only after having watched this documentary on the Yeltsin/Putin hand-off did I learn that Yeltsin appointed Putin. Would you agree with that? What does that mean in regards to the the "we have Putin because Yeltsin was so bad" narrative? Isn't Putin a continuation of the same underlying power base as Yeltsin?

          edit: btw, I really appreciate your POV on this. Thanks for taking the time.

          3 votes
          1. unknown user
            Link Parent
            I don't think it changes anything, to be honest. A “bad” president can appoint a “good” president as his successor. Remember how Putin chose the very liberal (by the Russian standards) Medvedev as...

            I don't think it changes anything, to be honest. A “bad” president can appoint a “good” president as his successor. Remember how Putin chose the very liberal (by the Russian standards) Medvedev as his [temporary] successor? Besides, there is a significant number of people, who think that Yeltsin's decisions in the last couple of years of his rule were strongly influenced by his family and friends.

            1 vote
  2. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. Neverland
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      The podcast which I linked in this comment poses that same question towards the end. It's the main question which the historian would like to ask Putin as well, given the chance. edit: it's at...

      The podcast which I linked in this comment poses that same question towards the end. It's the main question which the historian would like to ask Putin as well, given the chance.

      edit: it's at 1:21:10 in the podcast.

      2 votes
  3. JoylessAubergine
    Link
    Not sure if this is going to be a megathread or not but Mikhail Mushustin has been appointed PM. His english Wiki page is being written as i type this..

    Not sure if this is going to be a megathread or not but Mikhail Mushustin has been appointed PM. His english Wiki page is being written as i type this..

    6 votes