Putin announced his decision to seek to extend his rule on Friday. If elected, the 71-year-old will extend his 24-year leadership of Russia, albeit with an eight-year stint spent formally as prime minister. His tenure is now the longest of any ruler of Russia since Josef Stalin.
Putin announced his plan at an awards ceremony at which he presented veterans of the war with Russia’s highest military honour, Al Jazeera reported.
State media reported that one recipient of the Hero of Russia gold star, a lieutenant colonel named Artyom Zhoga, had asked the president to run again.
“He will run,” the soldier told reporters afterward.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that many people have urged Putin to run.
MP/PR
