Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he might seek a fourth presidential term in 2018.
Putin’s announcement has brought fierce reactions from those who are now working to restore free elections in Russia, Hufftington Post reports.
Putin served two consecutive four-year terms starting in 2000 and later hooked to the chair with his loyal associate, Dmitry Medvedev, serving as a placeholder.
Medvedev initiated a law that extended the presidential term to six years, and Putin won a third term in 2012 despite major public protests in Moscow against his rule.
If Putin runs and wins in 2018, he will become the nation’s longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin for being in power for about a quarter-of-a-century, the report added.
Putin has undone the post-Soviet democratic achievements, sidelined the opposition, turned the Parliament into a rubber stamp and established tight control over the media in his 12 years term.
He said Russia would determine its own path to become a democratic nation, despite criticism from the West. (ANI)