The Institutionalization of Personalism? The Presidency and the President after Putin's Constitutional Overhaul

Abstract

Is it still possible to conceive of the institution of the presidency being separate from Vladimir Putin, the president? The constitutional amendment that would zero out Putin’s current presidential terms and therefore allow him to run once more for president in 2024 suggest that regime personalization has further progressed. Nonetheless, it still remains analytically useful and important to distinguish between the presidency and the president: presidential power remains a polymorphous phenomenon. Putin needs to maintain control of a strong presidency to exert authority.