Russian Constitutional Amendment: Sign of The Individual Cult Revival?

Author: Sultan Falah Basyah

On 10 March 2020, President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin supported a proposed constitutional amendment that might allow him to be re-elected as the Head of State of that country after his current term ends in 2024. The amendment was placed forward by Valentina Tereshkova, Russian State Duma member which is well known with her past as the first woman to have flown in space during Soviet Era in 1963. She proposed either scrapping two-term limit for presidents or resetting the clock so Putin’s four terms wouldn’t count.

Putin himself seemly disagree with the first choice given by Tereshkova. He believes that the constitution is a long-term document, so it wasn’t a good idea to scrap the term limit. But it was very surprising that he positively viewed the second choice to restart the term count when the revamped constitution enters force. He also surprisingly said: ‘There will be a time when the highest power… will not be tied to one specific person. But all of our previous history happened in this way, and of course we cannot ignore this.’

As we knew, Putin has ruled Russia for 20 years. This made him the longest-serving leader since Stalin in the Soviet Era. If the constitutional amendment allow him to become president again in 2024 till 2036, he would surpass Stalin. Of course this is so confusing. Russian Federation was founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union with the new spirit of democracy. It destroyed the culture of individual cult of the great leaders such as Lenin and Stalin in the Soviet Era. If this constitution amendment pass, it would revive that culture to modern Russia.