Russian Prez Vladimir Putin to run for his fifth term next year

Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, announced the elections on Thursday. Following this, the country's electoral commission said they would be held over three days, from March 15–17, reported BBC.

According to the report, the re-election of Putin, 71, is seen as inevitable, with opposition almost nonexistent as most genuine opponents are either dead, behind bars, or in exile, and Russian media is completely under his control.

Russia's constitution was amended in 2020, increasing the presidential term from four to six years and giving Putin a clean slate to run again next year by cancelling out his previous terms.

Putin took office as president in 2000 and retook the position in 2012, following a term as prime minister.

Following the announcement, the Kremlin's official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that an "astonishing" number of people wanted Putin to continue as leader, according to the report.

Following a ceremony in the Kremlin to present the Hero of Russia medal to veterans of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin addressed an unofficial gathering.

His remarks came in response to a request from Lt. Col. Artyom Zhoga, the commander of a former pro-Russian separatist group in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, which Moscow announced would be annexed in September 2022 along with three other Ukrainian territories, for him to run for office again.

"Now is the time when one needs to take decisions. I will be running for the post of president of the Russian Federation," reported Reuters, citing Putin's remarks on Russian TV.

Boris Yeltsin, Putin's ailing predecessor, handed the presidency to him at the very end of 1999.