Vladimir Putin's decision to reclaim the presidency next year sets up the possibility that he could rule Russia until 2024 and foreshadows a continuation of the strongman rule that many in the West have called a retreat from democracy.Although Putin departed the Kremlin in 2008 due to term limits and moved about two kilometers (1.5 miles) down the road to the prime minister's office, in a sense he never left at all. He cannily used Russia's state-controlled national TV channels to remain the country's pre-eminent political figure, with appearances portraying himself as a bold adventurer in Russia's wilderness, a vigorous advocate of the country's global importance and, occasionally, as a bit of a rogue consorting with scruffy motorcyclists.
In nominating Putin, his United Russia party also approved his proposal that Medvedev take over Putin's current role as prime minister, the No. 2 government position.
For more: Putin to run for Russian presidency in 2012 - Forbes.com
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