In the MEDIA

The Russian leader hates to deliver bad news and wants to distinguish his rule from the turbulent presidency of Boris N. Yeltsin. So he is leaving it to his minions to announce harsh measures.

Mr. Putin, always wary of associating himself with bad news, last week delivered a surprise television address to the nation, warning that Russia “cannot isolate itself from the threat,” but then announced a weeklong paid vacation for the whole country.

This left the streets of Moscow and other cities filled with people enjoying their time off. The Kremlin later had to clarify that the country was not being given a bonus vacation but was simply being asked to stay at home.

Tatiana Stanovaya, a nonresident scholar at Carnegie Moscow Center, said that Mr. Putin’s public detachment from the health crisis fit into what, since he annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has been his view that the presidency is not so much a job as a sacred mission.

“This is all connected to his sense of having a personal mission,” she said. “Why should he spend his sacred political capital on a virus?”

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As Moscow enters strict quarantine, Putin has been notably silent

By Isabelle Khurshudyan 

Putin’s Coup: Cunning Plan or Improvisation?

By Tatiana Stanovaya,

March 18, 2020

In recent days, one question has divided Russia’s political analysts: did Vladimir Putin plan all along to reset the clock on his presidential terms, enabling him to run again in 2024, or was it an improvised move? Many are convinced that there was no such plan at the outset, and that the decision was made in response to events unfolding. It’s well known that Putin is not so much a strategist as a good tactician who reacts to circumstances swiftly, at times to considerable success.

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Keeping His Options Open: Why Putin Decided to Stay On

By Tatiana Stanovaya

March 13, 2020

Putin, a man torn by conflicting impulses, has opted for stability in moving to stay on as president after 2024. In doing so, he surprised the elite and even some in the presidential administration, deceiving those around him—though not the public—with his talk of changes in leadership and overhauling Russia’s political system. His real intentions are impossible to know, but his priority is clear: keeping his options open.

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Vladimir Putin keeps political plan on track despite virus crisis

Russian leader plans to hold ballot that could extend term ‘at all costs’

Henry Foy in Moscow MARCH 20 2020

If it receives the backing of a majority of voters next month, it will reset Mr Putin’s term limits and allow the four-time president to run in two more elections, potentially extending his regime to 2036. But a mass outbreak of coronavirus could derail the president’s schedule. “The virus is a challenge and comes at a very bad moment for him,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of R. Politik, a political analyst. “Putin doesn’t want to postpone and is insisting that the referendum takes place as soon as possible . . . The longer they wait, the more risks will appear.”
“Putin wants turnout of more than 50 per cent, but how can you push people to come out and vote in this situation?” said Ms Stanovaya. “When the people around him see that the president insists that the situation is not serious, they don’t want to suggest otherwise.”

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Putin’s Aides Shocked by His Presidential Power Play

Putin’s Bid to Extend Rule Is Approved by Russia’s Parliament

Constitutional changes could make Putin the longest-ruling leader in Russia’s modern history, surpassing Stalin

The amendment passed this week, however, could galvanize the Russian opposition as it provides a clear path for Mr. Putin to remain in power, said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political analysis firm R.Politik.

“The opposition received an important reason to question and attack Putin’s reform. All the hopes for change crashed yesterday,” Ms. Stanovaya said. “It will be a challenge for the Kremlin.”

A series of constitutional amendments Mr. Putin recently proposed are also a sign of his increasingly traditionalist, nationalistic policies, observers say. They include a provision effectively banning same-sex marriage and enshrining in the constitution the mention of Russians’ “faith in God.”

Mr. Putin’s rule “becomes more ideological and it fuels more radical, more nationalistic-minded forces, conservatives to push forward their agenda and to tighten the screws,” Ms. Stanovaya said.

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Putin once told Russians he didn’t want to be the ‘eternal president.’ Now it appears he does.

By Isabelle Khurshudyan 

Putin, 67, now had more room to maneuver politically, said Tatiana Stanovaya, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

His stance handed him the option to run again in 2024 should he choose to do so and removed political challenges raised by what had been seen as his last term in the Kremlin, she added.

“The successor issue disappears. The issue of Putin as a lame duck disappears,” said Stanovaya.

Opposition activists said they planned to protest against what some called a rewriting of the constitution in the interests of the ruling elite. One group said it had applied for permission to stage a demonstration on March 21.

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Russian gaming guru enters politics, but is he playing for the Kremlin?

March 6, 2020

Observers say it’s also unlikely that any of the new parties will meet the five percent threshold needed to enter parliament.
“The main objective is really to minimise the risk of a decline in the popularity of the ruling United Russia party,” said Tatiana Stanovaya of the R.Politik think tank.
– Ruling party woes –
United Russia is experiencing a slump in support over Russia’s ailing economy, with just 33 percent of voters saying they will cast their ballots for the once-dominant party in upcoming elections, according to state polling agency VTsIOM.
The figures mark a steep decline from 2016, when United Russia won 54 percent of votes in legislative elections.
Another recent entry to politics was Sergei Shnurov, the lead singer of hit rock group Leningrad.
Shnurov joined the Growth Party — founded in 2016 by a Putin ally — last month, taking care to delete old social media comments critical of the president.
This sudden burst of activity, says Stanovaya, is designed by the Kremlin to draw attention from Russia’s difficulties.
“These manoeuvres are not an attempt to talk about the future of the country,” she said, instead describing it as a strategy to “avoid real problems”.

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