Taylor Weighs In on President Putin’s Announcement That He Will Run Again in RFE/RL Article

December 20, 2023

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Brian Taylor

Political Science Department

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict & Collaboration

Elections

Government

Russia

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Brian Taylor

On Dec. 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he will run again for office in Russia's March presidential election in which he is expected to easily win a new six-year term and extend the longest rule of a Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin.

The Russian leader's television appearances are highly choreographed and the announcement was no exception.

"Everyone knew this was coming and the only questions were when and how exactly the announcement would be made," says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. "Usually, things like this don’t happen by accident in Russian politics."

Taylor, who calls the election results a "foregone conclusion," says the Kremlin faces a struggle in trying to achieve both a high voter turnout and a landslide victory for Putin. The higher the turnout, the more manipulation that will likely be required.

"They want to make it look like it is an election. They want to make it look like Putin’s support is completely genuine and overwhelming. Those things work at cross purposes. If they want an overwhelming response, then it becomes less genuine. So that is the dance they have to do over the next three months," he says.

Read more in the RFE/RL article, "Putin Says 'I Will Run' When Asked About Russia's Presidential Election In March."