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Putin 'is preparing to announce he will stand for re-election'
Vladimir Putin is preparing to seek six more years in the Kremlin in a bid to extend his already 23-year-long reign as either President or Prime Minister of Russia, it has been claimed.
Despite his disastrous war, the dictator has been in campaign mode in recent days for the first time since before the pandemic, paying visits to far-flung regions and even posing for selfies with adoring fans.
In recent weeks he was seen snapping selfies and planting affectionate pecks on the heads of young girls in Dagestan, and initiating another child to the Kremlin as part of a tour of his presidential office.
He was shown drawing a smiley face at a forum in Moscow in stark contrast to Covid-times when he used his trademark long table for rare meetings.
An election is due next year - and Putin would be 77 if he completed another full term as Russia's president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a cabinet meeting via video conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin shows 8 year old Raisat Akipova from Derbent his desk at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets 8 year old Raisat Akipova, from Derbent, at the Kremlin in Moscow
Fatima Tagirova, 13, said she waited to meet Vladimir Putin for seven hours, and when he finally came, the dictator kissed her before taking a selfie
Putin is seen being mobbed by fans in Derbent, Dagestan
This tactic is seen as a prelude to a call by the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation to beg him to stand again, in spite of the conflict in Ukraine and questions over the state of his health.
The patriotic foundation was set up by a Putin presidential decree to raise funds for war veterans. It is hardly independent, as it is currently run by Putin's cousin Anna Tsivileva, 51, the wife of a Siberian governor.
'With a request to be nominated for a new term, the heads of the fund will turn to [Putin], perhaps along with those who received effective assistance from [the president],' reported Vyorstka, a Russian news outlet.
The plea for Putin to go for six more years would then be rubber-stamped by ruling political party United Russia.
The next Russian election is due in March 2024, and a Putin campaign announcement may be made early amid suspicions that Wagner mercenary army boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, has strong political ambitions and will seek to run.
Putin has been Russia's president since 1999, except for a four-year stint as prime minister from 2008-2012.
Even then, while Dmitry Medvedev assumed the presidential role, it was widely known that Putin was pulling all the strings in the Kremlin.
Putin today received a ringing endorsement from his Belarusian counterpart and ally, Alexander Lukashenko.
'Look, there's sociological research being done all over the place [in Russia],' he said.
'[There is] 74 per cent confidence in Putin.
'Do you doubt if he goes to the polls that he will win? Don't doubt it if he maintains that level of trust.'
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Vladimir Putin pictured during his trip to Derbent
The Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation was set up by a Putin presidential decree to raise funds for war veterans. It is hardly independent, as it is currently run by Putin's cousin Anna Tsivileva, 51 (pictured), the wife of a Siberian governor
Though Russia purportedly maintains a democratic election process, Putin's critics say he cannot lose since all his political foes have been assassinated, locked up or forced into exile.
With the exception of Wagner chief Prigozhin, and to a certain extent jailed Putin foe and anti-corruption advocate Alexei Navalny, no other Russian political candidates have a sizeable platform thanks to the Kremlin's tight grip on the media.
Putin is widely believed to have suffered from cancer and rumours say he shows signs of the early stages of Parkinson's disease.
The pandemic and its aftermath saw him taking extreme caution meeting people, and many are still required to quarantine for between one and two weeks before seeing him.
His mental health has been questioned over his decision to send hundreds of thousands to their deaths in an 'avoidable war'.
Rumours abound that he uses body doubles, especially in situations where the president is seen close to large crowds.
His trips outside Moscow have recently increased, including close to the war zone, although critics suggest these are made by doppelgängers.