VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

"Without Putin, there is no Russia." These words seem to be the general view of the Kremlin staff, including millions of Russians. Over the last two decades, they have placed Vladimir Putin in power as prime minister and president. The mandate is very likely to be renewed on July 1, after millions of Russians participated in a referendum to change the constitution, Vladimir Putin opened the door to constitutional changes that would allow him to remain in power until 2036. A public vote on constitutional reform has been scheduled for July 1. Analysts see Putin's plan to change the constitution as a preliminary preparation for succession when his term will come to an end in 2024. Putin is a figure who has dominated Russia's political world for the past two decades, both as president and prime minister. In January, Putin announced the proposed constitutional change but needed further approval from parliament. Then, he suddenly appeared and gave a speech before members of the parliament. In essence, he submitted a proposed amendment to the decision of the constitutional court, which would formally calculate the period of his administration from zero. The constitutional court is expected to give its approval for the proposed amendment and support it in the national vote. Thus, Putin could return to office as president for a period of six years. Putin, who is currently 67 years old, in January launched a major overhaul of Russian politics. Constitutionally, his term as president will end in 2024. But after he spoke to the Duma, which is the Lower House of the Russian parliament, on Tuesday (10/3), there emerged a proposal that would formally reset the president's term to zero. In principle, this is indeed possible, but one condition is that the constitutional court must give an official ruling that such an amendment will not contradict with the main principles and provisions of the Constitution.