Kremlin Asks Putin To Be Called Ruler Instead Of President As It Is Too Western

The Kremlin’s hardline allies are pushing for their Russian leader to be addressed as “Ruler” in place of his current title as “President”. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) suggested that Vladimir Putin be referred to as “pravitel”, a Russian title that pertains to a ruler or a prince. This can also be compared to a ruling Tsar or emperor.

According to the Telegraph, the right-wing party called for this change in title in order to deflect from a job description that is taken from a foreign language. Based on their party’s argument, the title of “president” only came to be towards the fall of the Soviet Union during Mikhail Gorbachev’s rule. It was during the 18th century when the U.S. adopted the word president and has not completely taken root in the Russian language. The pro-Kremlin party says using this title to address the Russian leader does not fit him well.

"In our country, by historical standards, this is generally a new word.” “For example, with the phrase ‘head of state’ or the word ‘ruler’. Both are more understandable to the Russian ear," the LDPR said. In their argument, they also pointed out that “pravitel” is a more fitting title despite its autocratic associations.

To expand on their suggestion, the late leader of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, addressed Putin as the “Supreme Ruler” many times while he was alive. He said this was a necessary change to create a separate identity from foreign job titles derived from a foreign language. However, the Russian lower house of parliament rejected this suggestion from the LDPR in 2020.

This proposal comes at a time as it lays significance for Russian power with Putin ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Putin himself has not made any solid view on the title proposal and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the media that all other proposals laid by the LDPR are still in the discussion stage.

LDPR rules over 22 seats out of 450 in the parliament and is the propaganda arm of the Kremlin. The party is known for being used to promote the government’s radical ideas to gain more popularity.