I think during this term he will secure immunity from prosecution from his illegal acts by promoting himself to being a life term Czar figurehead, where all legislation has to be signed by him so he can veto anything that is not in his interests. Yeltsin promoted him to Prime Minister on the basis that he would guarantee him immunity from prosecution where his failing health meant he was finding it increasingly difficult to perform his presidential duties (not helped by his chronic alcoholism). When Yeltsin died Putin used the PM position to capture the presidency.
Unrest due to poor economic performance is growing but he has considerably increased his internal security forces. Putin and other senior politicians primary day-to-protection is provided by Directorate "A" of the FSB Special Purpose Center (TsSN FSB) which is a special forces unit but last year he created another less specialized but much bigger unit for his regimes protection.
Last term his presidency seemed to be very stale and this term I think that downward slide will continue. More than one commentator have made comparisons to the Brezhnev era stagnation. Putin's 5 year tractor plan for this presidential term is for more technology companies to compete with the West. The previous attempt to setup a Moscow hitech incubator area, overseen by Prime Minister Medvedev, was a total failure and has now closed, so not one to hold your breath on.
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Topic: Vlads career path is starting to wane... (Read 1064 times)