Most of the Russian government resigned on Wednesday January 15th after President Vladimir Putin proposed new constitutional reforms that would extend his power. His reign as president will be coming to an end in 2024, so some say that he is making the Prime Minister’s position stronger in order to be in a higher position of power when he undoubtedly will move into being the PM. This mass resignation was most likely not voluntary, and could be seen as a way for Putin to handpick new leaders for certain positions. Many kept their old jobs, including the Ministers of finance, foreign affairs, defense, energy, and agriculture.The Minister of the economy and the First Deputy Prime Minister were among those who were replaced by new people. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, was also forced to resign, but he did not get to come back to his position. President Putin Selected a new Prime Minister, 53-year old former tax chief Mikhail Mishustin, even though Mishustin has very little political background. Putin’s reasoning for the shake-up of the government was to increase individual welfare as well as strengthen Russia’s position in the global eye.
It is likely that this will be Putin’s last hurrah in the Russian government, as he is 67 now, and will be 71 by the time his Presidency term is up in 2024. Once his next six years as Prime Minister will be completed, he will be 77. Russia’s average life expectancy as of 2013 was 71.59 years, that number going down to 65.1 years for males only. Putin, a former KGB agent, has been either Prime Minister or President since 1999, and if he leaves government work in 2030 he will have been Russia’s leader for 31 years. He most likely wants to go out strong, which is why he would choose to change the constitution to give the position of Prime Minister an exceptional amount of power. He also would most likely want to keep his approval ratings as high as possible. He already has an 89% approval rate, but the officials who ended up losing their jobs were holding him back with negative reviews. Some could say that his change in government officials is reflective of his want to not irritate society in his last years in office.