Putin has not said he won’t run for another term, but who knows what might be on his mind as he considers the chess pieces in his great game to return Russia permanently to the heights of power?
With Western sanctions hitting Russia hard over Russia’s invasion of Crimea, and with the failure of his ally Donald Trump to ease the sanctions, Putin might just decide to ‘ease’ the sanctions by stepping aside for a term.
If Putin does so, the West might decide to ‘sthrengten’ his successor by easing sanctions, so that the Russian people would credit him (the successor) with returning their economy to robust growth.
On the other hand, Putin could ‘look the other way’ while his successor withdraws Russian troops from The Crimea, and then he ‘protests’ his successor’s action and rides a national wave back to power in the next elections. Risky move but, absolute power, as far as today’s Russia is concerned (and great popularity), belongs to Putin.
So if he were decide to take the ‘step aside’ route, whom is he likely to annoint as president?
According to an analyst on Quora, one factor to consider is:
Whom Putin seems to trust the most, whom he keeps around him frequently, and who has proven to be a strong, valuable and loyal asset to preserving Russia’s resurgent role as a global Superpower. With this said, the most likely candidate is the Defence Minister, Sergey Shoigu.
He’s the second most popular politician in Russia behind Putin, commands incredible respect from the military and would most definitely be an appropriate post-Putin leader in terms of providing continuity for the Russian Federation’s role in the world. In the face of perceived threats from terrorism and NATO expansion, it would be hard to imagine a better successor than Shoigu.
Only time will tell.
Only Putin will decide
Ours is to congratulate whoever wins