There has been speculation in the Western media about the possible health problems of Russian President Vladimir Putin. If he is unable to exercise his office because of this, his powers shall be temporarily transferred to the Prime Minister. At least that’s what the constitution says there. “However, it must be said here that legal procedures are not much in play in Russia. And of course there is a lot of room for creativity,” says political scientist Jan Šír.
War in Ukraine: political scientist Jan Šír on the Russian constitution and further developments of military escalation | Video: Kristýna Pružinová, Jakub Zuzánek
In this context, Šír of the Charles University School of Social Sciences emphasizes that the provisional assumption of presidential powers is not even provided for in detail in the Russian constitution, and the question is how the situation will be handled in practice.
“The Western press has long been debating whether or not Putin will intervene and who will be in charge of running the country in such a case,” said Šír, who specializes in the post-Soviet space. “There is speculation here about people who have a strong influence on Putin and are in the inner circle of the leadership,” he added.
In this case, according to him, we are not talking about Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who should assume the powers of head of state under the constitution, but about Nikolai Patrushev, General Secretary of the Russian Security Council. Federation. “And he definitely doesn’t stand out for his love for the West or Ukraine,” commented Šír.
From the point of view of further developments, according to political scientists, it is also necessary to take into account the possibility of an escalation of the war on the part of the Russian Federation. “And that is a horizontal escalation, that is an extension of the conflict to other countries, or even a vertical in the form of the use of weapons of mass destruction, that the Putin regime has experienced,” said Šír. “This forces us to be vigilant and try not only to consider these risks, but especially to manage them in the end,” he added.
Watch the video at the beginning of the article, where Shir also mentions whether there could be a palace or people’s coup in Russia, or how Western sanctions will continue to affect the people there.
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