The author writes that  “Putin has now set out the road map for the transition he wants Russia to make in 2024 ... It is a picture of continuity, in which Putin can still keep a pivotal role, even if not necessarily the most prominent one in public. ... The State Council—currently a little-noticed advisory body in the Kremlin—is set to have a new enhanced role above everyone. ... Russia will still need a presidential figurehead, a new head of state with considerable powers, especially in foreign and security policy. Who does Putin and his team intend to fill that role in 2024? … It is ... likely that the candidate ... will emerge from among [Russia's governors'] ranks. Several contenders are already being mentioned ... Alexey Dumin, who heads the Tula region, and Dmitry Mironov, the governor of Yaroslavl. ... Another proposed constitutional amendment stipulates that any future president needs to have lived in Russia for 25 years without a break and have never had a foreign passport or residency permit. ... [I]t will exclude [Alexei Navalny and] other pro-Western figures in the Russian elite who have studied or worked in the West. ... The message delivered to the public is that Putin’s titanic efforts to rebuild Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union have accomplished their goal, and that no other single person is required to bear this burden of leadership. The executive roles will be shared out.”

Read the full article at Foreign Policy.

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