Kremlin Confirms Vladimir Putin Will Now Be Called "Supreme Ruler"

Vladimir Putin might be the first Russian “Supreme Ruler” if the proposed changes to the nation’s constitution will be approved. If it pushes through, it could become Putin’s title once he steps down from the presidency.

The Kremlin confirmed that the title is just one of several proposed alterations to the Russian constitution from a recently formed government commission set up earlier this month, according to US News. The commission was put up when Putin revealed his intention to make changes to Russian basic law.

However, many view the proposed constitutional changes as Putin’s bid to retain some control even after he steps down from the presidency in 2024. In addition, it would show Putin responding to public discontent as well as reduce the expected intra-clan infighting that could happen between now and 2024, according to Daily Mail.

Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, already backed Putin’s proposed reforms to the constitution in a preliminary vote. There might still be more proposals coming as the government commission hinted that it is still considering other possible changes.

“There are... some very curious proposals among those put forward. For instance, they proposed renaming the position of head of state to ‘Supreme Leader’,” the government commission co-chair Pavel Krasheninnikov told the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

However, the Kremlin downplayed the development and said that the President has no strong opinion on the matter. “Right now all this is at the discussion stage,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “President Putin has no view on this.”

Interestingly, some of the proposals include officially recognizing Orthodox Christianity as the main religion as well as recognizing Russia’s status as a “victorious power” in the Second World War. However, not all of the proposals will be implemented.

“Naturally some (of the proposals) will be eliminated, some will be accepted and from this the commission's sought-after result will appear,” Peskov explained.

Meanwhile, the TASS news agency gave an explanation of why the title “Supreme Leader” was chosen. It was a suggestion by the nationalist pro-Kremlin LDPR party leader Vladimir Zhironovsky “in order to move away from job titles derived from foreign languages.”