Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday allowing him to run for two more terms in the Kremlin after his current term ends in 2024, documents posted to a government website show.
The law will allow the Russian president potentially to hold power until 2036, a decision stemming from constitutional changes endorsed in last year’s July 1 popular vote.
One provision of the constitutional vote reset Putin’s previous terms, allowing him two more chances to run for president. Details regarding the new law signed on Monday were posted on a government website, according to the Associated Press.
Putin, 68, has served as president for over two decades, longer than any Kremlin leader since the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
RUSSIA ESCALATES FIGHTING IN EASTERN UKRAINE, PROMPTING CALLS FROM CHAIRMAN MILLEY
He has remained Russia’s most powerful politician since he assumed the presidency in 2000, after the resignation of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.
Putin has said he would decide at a later date whether to run again in 2024 after his current six-year term concludes.
Last year, a British media report called into question Putin’s health, speculating that the president was developing a case of Parkinson’s disease. State-run TASS rejected the speculation over Putin’s health, saying that “he is in excellent health” and that “the president is well.”
Putin has said resetting his term limit was necessary to maintaining direct leadership, adding that the move was done to keep his lieutenants from “darting their eyes in search for possible successors.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The July 1 constitutional amendment also made changes to prioritize Russian law over international standards, to enact a ban on same-sex marriages, and to place belief in God as a core value in the country.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Kremlin but did not immediately receive a response.
