The Russian referendum on constitutional amendment, which was once postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, ushered in the results on July 2.

According to Russian satellite news on July 2, the Russian Central Election Commission completed 1 0,000% of the votes. The results show that 77.92% of the voters voted for constitutional amendment, and 2 1.26% opposed it.

This means that 67-year-old Putin will be able to continue to stand for election in 2024 and be re-elected until 2036. He will be 83 years old by then.

It is worth noting that Putin has served as four Russian presidents so far, and this term will expire in 2024.

Judging from relevant reports, it will be a high probability that Putin will continue to stand for election in the future, and he may usher in his fifth presidential term in four years.

According to the data of the Russian Central Election Commission, 77.92% of the voters voted for the constitutional amendment.

"The presidency is zero"

During Putin's 20-year political career, his polls have remained high for a long time. When 20 18 ran for re-election, he was even re-elected with 76% of the votes.

However, the Russian Constitution stipulates that the same person shall not serve as president for more than two terms. To this end, in 2008, Putin elected Medvedev, then the first deputy prime minister of Russia, as the Russian president, and returned to the presidency in 20 12, bypassing the problem that the Russian constitution limits the term of office of the president.

During his tenure as Russian president, Medvedev extended his presidency from four years to six years through constitutional amendment, but it was not implemented during his tenure. Therefore, after bidding farewell to the four-year presidency, Putin opened the presidency of 12 years.

20 17 when Putin announced his re-election, he was asked whether he would seek re-election after the end of his term by amending the constitution to cancel the restrictions on the number of times of re-election or term of office. Putin replied at that time: "I didn't expect 100 to be president."

But in fact, Russia and Putin are increasingly inseparable. As a staunch supporter of Putin and the first female astronaut in the world, tereshkova proposed a constitutional amendment to "zero the presidency" in March 2020.

According to "Russian newspaper" reported on June 22, Putin believes that the constitutional amendment will consolidate the country. In an interview with Russian TV, he also said that according to his personal experience, "if the amendment is not passed, many authorities will not be able to work normally and peacefully in about two years, and they will start asking around to find possible successors." He said, "We need jobs, not looking for successors."

"Many Russians don't think there is anything wrong with Putin's re-election. Even if they don't like Putin, they don't mind him staying. " Sarah Renford, a BBC correspondent in Moscow, pointed out that many Russians believe that Putin is a strong leader who dares to challenge western countries, and there is no other choice. This is the common view of many people.

The first task: climb out of the economic downturn.

Although Russia may still be ruled by Putin before 2036, how will Russia recover its economy in the future under the double impact of economic recession and COVID-19 epidemic? Has foreign policy changed? How will the Russian revival plan that has been implemented continue?

In fact, in June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the Russian economy would shrink by 6.6% in 2020. This shows that how to stimulate economic recovery will become a headache for the Russian president.

"In terms of internal affairs and diplomacy, (Russia) will be inherited and should be fine-tuned under the existing framework. And if Putin is re-elected, the first problem to be solved is the Russian economy. " Li Yonghui, a researcher at the Russian Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the China Academy of Social Sciences and deputy director of the Russian Foreign Affairs Office, said in an interview with Time Finance on July 2 that Russia will face a long road to economic recovery in the next step.

"Russia must first get out of the economic downturn. On the one hand, we hope that the international oil price will pick up, on the other hand, we will transform our own economic structure from the inside. In addition, we can also vigorously develop the digital economy. " She said.

In fact, as the COVID-19 epidemic spread around the world, the international oil price once fell to the bottom during the epidemic. The energy industry accounts for almost a quarter of Russia's GDP. So far, the dependence of Russian economy on the energy industry has not fundamentally changed.

According to the data of Russian national rating agencies, the total loss of Russia during the epidemic may reach 239 billion US dollars. There is no doubt that this is a serious impact on Russia.

Fortunately, with the gradual resumption of work and production in various countries, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) exceeded expectations to implement the production reduction agreement, and oil production fell to the lowest level in 20 years in June. These good news are conducive to the rise of international oil prices, help the Russian economy to further repair and get out of the trough as soon as possible.

In addition, Russia will begin to implement the national plan for economic recovery in early July. The plan aims to normalize business activities, boost citizens' employment and income, and promote Russia's economic transformation.

According to People's Daily, the national economic recovery plan includes about 500 specific measures, including increasing investment activities, applying digital technology, improving education level and rapidly building high-quality housing, which will cost about 5 trillion rubles (1 US$ 69.4 rubles).