Putin goes for another term – Russia isn’t ready to reimagine itself

Putin on Friday announced his intention to run for a fifth term. Because in Russia they say that one mustn’t change horses in midstream.

‘The midstream’ is the war in Ukraine and all the implications of that war for Russia.

Externally, those implications are an open confrontation with the West, involving diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions.

Internally it is huge human losses, massive military expenses and more political suppression, and, even if only a few Russians are prepared to admit it, a deep moral and existential crisis.

The Kremlin chose to break the news at a ceremony at which Putin gave awards to Russian servicemen who have fought in Ukraine.

The ‘honour’ to cue Putin in was given to Lt-Col Artyom Zhoga, a pro-Russian unit commander from occupied eastern Ukraine. He asked Putin to stand in the presidential vote scheduled for March next year.

«I will be with the people, and I will stand for election for the post of president,» Putin answered.

Putin’s bid for a fifth term may seem like an ideological victory for his regime – it is standing despite all the pressure that the West has put on it since February 2022 and it is still occupying a significant chunk of Ukrainian territory.

Meanwhile, Western support for Ukraine is eroding — some say it has never been enough to enable Ukraine to liberate the occupied territories. Military operations have reached a stalemate. Morale in Ukraine isn’t at its highest.

The situation is definitely not showing the West in the best light.

The West has been distracted from Ukraine by the Israel-Palestinian crisis. Incidentally, the West allowing the almost total destruction of Gaza and killing of thousands of civilians there, has come as a reminder that the West far too often does not uphold the values it preaches to others.

The West’s capacity and resolve to stand up to Putin is also being undermined by the escalating political wrangling in the US ahead of next year’s presidential election.

All that aside, Putin’s bid for another term in office is not good news for Russia.

It means the Kremlin is so weak that it cannot dare to change anything. The only way the current regime can survive is by continuing to decorate its façade with Putin’s image.

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