"Putin is my idol. I want him to be the president of Russia for life."
Ramzan Kadyrov, president of the Chechen Republic
"I want it very much," the Chechen president told Radio Liberty when asked whether he wanted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to become president again. And he stressed that he would like to see Putin as president for life. It is the words "for life" that had the biggest resonance.
However, one may argue that the wish to see Putin as president was the key part of Ramzan Kadyrov's statement.
Ever since Dmitry Medvedev moved into the Kremlin and Putin into the Government House, high-ranking officials have been reluctant to discuss who would be the next presidential candidate nominated by the party in power.
No signals have yet been given to start these discussions and they are unlikely to come until the autumn of 2011.
There is even no hint at how the ruling duo is going to assign the roles. Government sociologists still register high approval ratings for both of them (but especially for Putin). They have been going up recently even despite the crisis.
State TV channels still report every word and every gesture of the Prime Minister and the President (albeit Medvedev gets a bit more screen time). Foreign visitors make a point of meeting with both leaders.
Judging from some personnel reshuffles one can guess that Medvedev is strengthening his influence in certain government agencies and regions. But there is no evidence that Putin is losing influence.
Kadyrov's statement violates a tacit understanding. He was the first to put into question the credentials of the incumbent president. One can understand his thinking: He owes everything to Putin. And yet Kadyrov has enough political savvy not to speak about such sensitive issues in vain. Perhaps by putting a taboo topic on the agenda he acted as a mouthpiece of one of the powerful lobbies. As the election date approaches such slips of the tongue are likely to be committed more frequently by various governors.
As for presidency for life, even Kadyrov hardly believes it is possible. In 2007, Putin resisted the temptation even to seek a third term. It is another question that the maximum presidential term has been increased to 12 years. In 2012 Putin will be 60. To run a country until the age of 72 (a total of 25 years if one starts the count from 1999) is tantamount to being president for life. Perhaps this is what Kadyrov had in mind.
Maxim Glikin