Cctv newsRussian President Vladimir Putin officially stated on the 6th local time that he will participate in the new Russian presidential election scheduled for March 2018 and strive for re-election.
All the Way
Since winning the Russian presidential election in 2000, Putin has served as three presidents and one prime minister. Some experts commented that after Putin took over the presidency, Russian society entered a new era. His road to the presidency is almost equal to Russia’s "road to revival". Let’s review Putin’s presidential road first.
Tough guy image
Over the past decade or so, Putin has won three presidential elections, and has maintained a very high popular support rate in China. Polls show that the Russian people think Putin is one of the most praiseworthy leaders in Russian history for hundreds of years.
On the international stage, Putin led Russia back to the center of the world stage. In 2007, he declared that he would "break the illusion of a unipolar world" at the Munich Security Conference, and in 2013, he published "Russia implores caution" in The New York Times, which was actually a warning. In March 2014, he made a speech on Crimea’s entry into Russia … … In the past decade, Putin has always been among the top three most influential people in the world.
Future challenges
In March this year, according to the Russian "Viewpoint" report, the poll data of the All-Russian Social Public Opinion Research Center showed that 74% of Russians indicated that they were prepared to vote for the current President Putin in the next presidential election, which was the highest in four years.Judging from the current situation, Putin’s chances of winning re-election are very high, but this does not mean that his presidential road will be smooth sailing.
Russia needs a strong leader. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russians saw that without a strong leader like Putin, the country would not only be unable to develop, but most importantly, it would have no dignity internationally. In addition, Russia’s long-term economic structure that relies too much on military industry and resources also determines that centralized management forms are suitable for Russia’s development path.
Although there is little suspense in the outcome of Russia’s general election next year, the country’s development prospects are variable.If Putin successfully opens the "fourth term", can he "return you a miracle Russia" as people expect?
It is widely believed that if Putin is re-elected, his burden will not be light.. During his third presidency, Putin maintained domestic political and social stability, but encountered serious economic difficulties and the original economic and social development plan was not realized. This is not only influenced by the international economic crisis and western economic sanctions, but also caused by the unreasonable economic structure and inappropriate economic policies in Russia. In terms of foreign relations, Russia has gains and losses. Eurasian Economic Union was founded against the trend and developed difficultly. Relations with the West, especially with the United States, other NATO countries and European Union countries, have become more complicated due to the Ukrainian crisis, and the degree of military confrontation has been strengthened.If Putin is re-elected, it is bound to make some adjustments to domestic and foreign policies to face various challenges.
Wu Xuelan, Special Commentary of Wen Yi CCTV.