Earlier this week, the news agency reported Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to stand in the presidential election in March 2024.
The 71-year-old has ruled Russia since 1999 and is the longest-serving Russian leader. All indications are that Putin will win the next election as well – which would mean he is in power until at least 2030.
May go public in a few weeks
Russian newspaper Kommersant previously reported that an announcement of the campaign was imminent. Reuters now has source information that “a clue” about the campaign is expected to come within a few weeks.
– The campaign has not been officially announced yet, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said.
Politicians, experts and diplomats agree that there is no serious rival that could threaten Vladimir Putin’s chances of winning.
Although the conditions for continued rule are bright for Putin, he has many political issues to tackle. The war in Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and inflation are some of the challenges, according to Reuters.
Now the Russian opposition newspaper has Jellyfish spoke to sources close to the Russian president. The newspaper has received information about the strategy Putin’s staff is planning for the presidential election.
The invasion of Ukraine and the arrest warrant against Putin issued by the International Criminal Court, ICC, have “repeatedly sent campaign planners back to the drawing board,” reports Meduza.
“Russia is an island of calm”
As it stands now, Vladimir Putin’s pre-campaign plan is to avoid war in Ukraine as much as possible. Only in the event of a major success at the front could the subject be used in the campaign.
A possible theme for the campaign is that “the West is engulfed in chaos but Russia is an island of calm”, writes the newspaper.
Among other things, the Russian president plans to focus on foreign affairs, where criticism of the countries in the West will play a large role in campaign speeches and propaganda material, according to sources close to Putin.
The campaign will also use the country’s regime-loyal media to paint the image of Russia as good in comparison to the “general chaos” in the world.