Putin on the Writs

[Hugh Akston]

So did anyone else know that Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are married IRL?

[JasonL]

Yup.

[Warren]

What's that got to do with Putin?

[D.A. Ridgely]

What's that got to do with Putin?

He didn't know, either.

[Aresen]

What's that got to do with Putin?

He didn't know, either.

Thank you. I was wondering myself.

[thoreau]

Nobody explain the joke!

[Hugh Akston]

Russia's government resigns after Putin calls for constitutional reforms

The changes Putin proposed on Wednesday would transfer more authority to parliament, including the power to choose the prime minister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as under the current system.

Other changes would see the role of regional governors enhanced and residency requirements tightened for presidential candidates.

I would get out of the country toot sweet if I were Dmitry Medvedev, and stay off of airplanes forever.

[lunchstealer]

Russia's government resigns after Putin calls for constitutional reforms

The changes Putin proposed on Wednesday would transfer more authority to parliament, including the power to choose the prime minister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as under the current system.

Other changes would see the role of regional governors enhanced and residency requirements tightened for presidential candidates.

I would get out of the country toot sweet if I were Dmitry Medvedev, and stay off of airplanes forever.

And geigercount everything I ate or drank forever. Possibly only go outside in MOPP gear.

[JasonL]

Don't eat the bolonium sandwich!

[Aresen]

The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently.

[Eric the .5b]

I'm just a little puzzled by giving power to the Russian parliament.

[thoreau]

They will vote reliably, or they will discover that their grocery store got some contamination from a hospital's medical isotopes. Or maybe they pissed off a Chechen drug dealer. In the worst case, they might feel so ashamed of themselves that they'll fire several rounds into their own heads and then jump out of windows.

[Hugh Akston]

Putin's presidency runs up against term limits in 2024, but he's still eligible to be PM.

[Aresen]

Russia's best hope at this time appears to be Comrade Aneurysm.

[Eric the .5b]

Russia's best hope at this time appears to be Comrade Aneurysm.

Or other things related to being 67.

[thoreau]

On a more serious note, could it be that Putin would rather that his legacy be a transition to some sort of stage-managed democracy rather than the transition to a strongman who could never rival his greatness (in his eyes)? Perhaps he wants to see Russia have a parliamentary democracy on training wheels, with the parliament, PM, and whatever president doing things on a day-to-day basis but making sure to not anger Vladimir The Great.

A lot of strongmen seem to genuinely believe that they are the only thing standing between their countries and chaos. Putin might believe that he can steer his country to democracy, which would simultaneously cement his place in the history books and ensure that no successor can be as powerful as him.

[thoreau]

(For the record, I am not at all convinced that he wants to steer Russia to some sort of pluralistic system rather than strongman rule, but I think it's at least a possibility worth considering. But I am quite certain that he will fail at it. He's done nothing to nurture the institutional, journalistic, or business cultures needed for a more liberal society to work.)

[Eric the .5b]

Doesn't seem impossible, Thoreau. And well, he's 67. He probably feels a constant itching on the back of his neck from all the people who'd like to take him down quite fatally. Maybe just creating turmoil and leaving no easy path for someone else to take his place is a ploy for a survivable retirement. He probably has vast sums of hard currency to live as Fucking Wealthy Private Citizen Putin.

[thoreau]

I harp a lot on Head of State vs. Head of Government. I think a monarch could transition a country to parliamentary democracy more easily than a powerful President could. The modern world has plenty of role models for monarchs who want to move to the background, including Spain. They can even groom a kid to be more hands-off than they were, and rely on monarchical cultural templates to help with the transition when they die. (Though kids wind up emulating their parents in disappointing ways...) But Presidents-For-Life (Putin's role, if not his official title) have fewer cultural models for peaceful transitions.

tl;dr Putin should crown himself Czar and then groom his least odious kid to play nice with the parliament. He should set up his less pleasant kids in situations where they wouldn't even want to move back to Moscow. And, in true Russian fashion, if there are some kids who don't want to play ball, he should arrange for them to go for a boat ride with a trusted bodyguard.

[Kolohe]

I think it's very unlikely that Putin wants anything else but Russian being Great with Putin in charge.

Putin's been there since late 99. If he were actually trying for a managed transition a la Spain or Portugal (or even Nicaragua under Noriega), he would have continued to step back and/or slide into emeritus roles towards the end of his PM stint.

[JasonL]

I think it must be weird for tyrants as they approach a certain age. I've always been a bit fascinated by the stories people tell themselves when they look in the mirror. Per the other thread, it's probably best they don't get to reach that certain age.

[Pham Nuwen]

People. When he says that he is transferring more authority to parliament, including the power to choose the prime minister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as under the current system he means HE is going to do the choosing when he's elected to parliament.

[Aresen]

The mystery is not whether Putin will maintain control. The mystery is how he will do it.

[Pham Nuwen]

I assume with violence, threats of violence, and blackmail.

[nicole]

People. When he says that he is transferring more authority to parliament, including the power to choose the prime minister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as under the current system he means HE is going to do the choosing when he's elected to parliament.

And by that you mean, as Hugh said above, that he’s also going to be the one who is chosen

This is literally the opposite of him showing a willingness to give up power.