Putin is putting off the vote to ratify his latest maneuver to stay in charge of Russia:
Citing the coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday postponed a nationwide vote on proposed constitutional amendments that include a change potentially allowing him to stay in office until 2036.
Putin didn't set a new date for the plebiscite, which was originally scheduled for April 22, saying that it would depend on how the pandemic develops in Russia. The country reported its first two deaths from the virus on Wednesday.
The opposition to Putin has truly been atomized. Remind me to make a favorable reference to the Wuhan Flu in the House of Commons.*
You may recall that Putin decided to just abandon subtlety and bulldoze his way through the crippled opposition to remain in office:
Putin has stopped pretending he has to find innovative ways to get around the Russian constitution's provisions barring his continued tenure by simply stating the obvious--Putin can expect the constitution to be changed to whatever he likes it to be[.]
At one point will Putin decide that the Wuhan Flu isn't a reason to put off the vote but a reason to simply declare he embodies the will of the people and decree the vote passed?
*Okay, that really isn't a parallel, but you get the point. And also that's a joke because I really don't wish this on the long-suffering Russian people. It's a commentary on Putin's autocracy and ability to disable opposition.
