Why Putin Won’t Be Re-Elected

In 2018, Russia will elected a new leader, two years after the United States. Already, people are speculating on the outcome. Online gambling sites, like this one, are taking bets on whether President Vladimir Putin will be re-elected.

What Does Putin Say?

Although he hasn’t decided whether he plans to run for re-election, he believes that he should not be Russia’s leader forever. It’s not good for the country, he said. If he decides to run, his campaign would take place while the country hosts the 2018 World Cup. This opportunity might convince him to run as a rebuilder of the Russian empire to the electorate.

The country might nominate him, but that doesn’t mean he will run, Putin said. He originally was elected as president in 2000 and held office until 2008. He won re-election in 2012 and served as prime minister from 2008 to 2012. Presidential terms were changed from four to six years in 2008 by an amendment to the country's constitution.

In Russia, the country elects a president as head of state and a legislature, one of the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. The president is elected for two consecutive six-year terms by the people. The Federal Assembly (Federalnoe Sobranie) has two chambers. The State Duma (Gosudarstvennaja Duma) has 450 members, elected for five-year terms (also four years up to December 2008), all of them by proportional representation. The Federation Council (Sovet Federatsii) is not directly elected; each of the 83 federal subjects of Russia sends two delegates to the Federal Council, for a total of 166 members. Since 1990, there have been six elections for the presidency and seven for parliament.

What Does Opposition Say?

Many people are starting to hate his policies and tough laws he put in place. They expect to come out against the leader.

Last year, opposition leaders protested his rule with demonstrations. However, those protests have declined since Putin fought against them. However, because Putin included them as part of the audience to hear him speak, the opposition leaders believe the Russian president might want to talk about issues affecting the country. Within his government, Putin is facing those who are opposing him and will in 2018.

Opponents at the annual meeting of the Valdai Group, which is dominated by foreign experts on Russia, questioned Putin. Some criticized him, particularly over the anti-gay propaganda law he defended at the conference, claiming he is repressing people’s rights. Putin defended his stance, saying minorities have a right to their opinion, but the majority should not be questioned. Putin also told Western countries to stay out of Russia’s business.

For these reasons, oddsmakers believe he won’t win again. They are letting people make money on Putin. In addition, people can take bets on the World Cup by visiting this site.