Putin’s silent coup: Russia reacts to prospect of lifelong rule

Analysis: History will likely record move to annul term limits as a milestone in road to autocracy. For Russians, it is simply a statement of the obvious, writes Oliver Carroll

Few expect a serious reaction following a decade in which most dissent has been outlawed (AP)

The move was classic Putin: turning a heavily anticipated announcement into a surprise, while buying time and leaving the future somewhat indefinite.

In Russia, the immediate discussion following the Russian president’s “agreeing” to scrap term limits has centred less on outrage and more on his intentions. Was he doing it to avoid becoming a lame duck, and leave at a date of his own choosing? Or, as seems even more reasonable, to extend his presidency well into his eighties, and past the three-decade rule of Joseph Stalin?

What is clear is that the announcement was both the simplest and most brazen way of opening up a route to stay on past 2024.