What happens if President Putin does not run for re-election?

Even critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin may have to admit that a Russia without Putin at its head would be even more unpredictable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Getty

The heat of the Russian presidential election continued to increase when last week, famous TV host Ksenia Sobchak announced that she would run for the election. Meanwhile, President Putin has yet to reveal whether he intends to run for re-election or not.

Although most public opinion believes that Mr. Putin will not only run for re-election but may also be re-elected for another term, the British newspaper Guardian recently hypothesized what would happen if Mr. Putin did not run for re-election?

The Guardian commented that Mr. Putin may not be popular in many parts of the West, but it can be said that almost everyone knows about him.

Even his critics may have to admit that a Russia without Mr Putin at its head would be even more unpredictable.

Russian politics over the past 25 years has been all too familiar with faces such as far-right nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky, Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov or Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

In addition to these faces, potential candidates in the race for the Kremlin could be those who have had conflicts with Mr. Putin, those who have been fired by him in recent years. They could be former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin or former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Opportunities are also open for former Defense Minister and former Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov.

If Mr Putin does not run, the electoral landscape in Russia will change. The opposition may have to reshape itself, to see who and what it is opposed to. The same could happen to other parties.

However, that is just a hypothesis, a hypothesis that is unlikely to happen in the near future because Mr. Putin is believed to not only run for re-election but may be re-elected.

However, the Guardian believes that Russians and the world should be prepared because one day Mr. Putin's name will no longer be on the ballot.

According to Dan Tri