Kremlin: Putin does not like personality cult created around him
"Vladimir Putin's cult of personality is something that Vladimir Putin strongly disagrees with," Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, said.
According to RIA Novosti, Peskov recalled that his boss "has long and clearly" indicated his attitude to any manifestations of this kind of cult”. "He definitely doesn't like it," Peskov stated.
During the second reading of the bill on amendments to the Russian Constitution in the State Duma, MP Valentina Tereshkova proposed an amendment that allows to "reset" Putin’s presidential terms. This will give Putin an opportunity to run for president in 2024 and, theoretically, be president until 2036. Tereshkova later said she had been asked to propose such amends by "ordinary people."
Putin himself, commenting on the amendment, approved it in general, but added that it should be analyzed by the Constitutional Court. The State Duma passed a bill on amendments to the Constitution in the third (final) reading. The law has already been approved by the Federation Council.
At the same time, pickets against "resetting" have already been held in several Russian cities, and the opposition has stated that the adoption of this amendment is unconstitutional and will lead to the "usurpation of power" in the country.