The Washington Post reports on Putin's return to the country's presidency:
Looking ahead to an era of uncertainty and economic troubles, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev told Russia on Saturday that they intend to swap jobs, putting the country on an authoritarian path for years to come.
In theory, the switch requires voters’ approval next March, but in practice not much stands in the way, with opposition parties hobbled and Putin’s party dominant.
The move will put Putin back in the presidency after a four-year absence. The two six-year terms he would be allowed under the constitution would take him to 2024, when he will turn 72. Always the stronger of the two, Putin saw the weak Medvedev he nurtured as not up to the job of guiding Russia through a difficult stretch.
. . . Putin sees himself as the indispensable man, but his return to the presidency will be unlikely to change Russia’s essential approach here or abroad — because he has always been in charge. It may send a signal to bureaucrats across the country that the liberal niceties no longer need to be given notice. But more than anything, it is a commitment to preserving as much of the status quo — corrupt, crony politics — as possible.
Putin’s return was widely expected, though it deeply disappointed those who have hoped against hope for a more democratic Russia.
