There has been speculation in the Western media about the possible health problems of Russian President Vladimir Putin. If he is unable to carry out his office, his powers must be temporarily transferred to the Prime Minister. At least that’s what the local constitution says. “However, it must be said here that there is not much game in the legal procedure in Russia. And of course there is a lot of room for creativity,” says political scientist Jan ír.
War in Ukraine: Political Scientist Jan Shir on the Russian Constitution and Further Development of Military Escalation Video: Kristýna Pružinová, Jakub Zuzánek
In this context, ír from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University emphasizes that the temporary takeover of presidential powers is not even provided for in detail in the Russian constitution, and the question is how the situation can be resolved in practice.
“It has long been debated with the Western press whether Putin will carry out a planned intervention or not and who will be entrusted with state management in such a case,” said Shir, who specializes in the post-Soviet space. “There is speculation about people who can have a strong influence on Putin and are in the narrowest circles of leadership,” he added.
In this case, he said, there was no talk about Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who should take over as head of state under the constitution, but about Nikolai Patrushev, general secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. “And he definitely doesn’t excel in love for the West or Ukraine,” commented Shir.
In terms of further development, according to political scientists, it is necessary to take into account the possible escalation of the war by the Russian Federation. “This is a horizontal escalation, namely the spread of conflict to other countries, or even vertically in the form of the use of weapons of mass destruction, which is experienced by the Putin regime,” Shir noted. “This forces us to be vigilant and try to not only consider these risks, but manage them in the end,” he added.
Watch the video at the beginning of the article, in which Shir also mentions whether there might be a palace or popular coup in Russia, or how the population of the West will continue to be subject to Western sanctions.
