Putin is sworn in again with cannon shots and a parade

• Geert Groot Koerkamp

  Correspondent Russia

Vladimir Putin is preparing for his fifth term in office. On Tuesday he will take the oath to the constitution in one of the monumental halls of the Kremlin, after which he can again call himself president of Russia until 2030. Putin will then be 77.

The inauguration ceremony was conceived under Putin’s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, but initially took place in the modern Congress Palace a little further away. When Putin took over the reins in 2000, the ritual was moved to a more elegant setting in the now restored Grand Kremlin Palace.

Thousands of guests, including parliamentarians, ministers and religious leaders, are present at the swearing-in ceremony. After Putin is sworn in, cannon shots ring out in the Kremlin and Putin takes part in a small parade amid the centuries-old Kremlin cathedrals. These are all elements that refer to the Tsar’s time, when the coronation ceremonies took place in this same place.

For Putin, the inauguration is mainly a formality, and that is how many Russians view it. Not everyone knows about it, and of those who know, not everyone will watch the live broadcast. Expectations also do not seem to be high, judging by reactions that can be heard on the streets of Moscow. “I don’t expect anything,” says a middle-aged man. “I don’t think anything will change.”

It is a common response. A woman praises the current ‘stability’ and says she hopes it will remain so in Putin’s next term of office. A few are concerned about the economic situation and “the conflict with the neighboring country”, which should be resolved as quickly as possible.

A woman uses the word ‘war’ and says she hopes that Putin will put an end to the ‘fascists’ as soon as possible. A man says he is not interested in the inauguration, but prefers not to answer specific questions.

After the inauguration, Prime Minister Mishustin submits the resignation of his cabinet. This and next week, both houses of the Russian parliament will meet to vote on the composition of the new government. The Lower House (the State Duma) will probably consider the Prime Minister’s candidacy on Friday.

It will then propose candidates for the post of deputy prime minister and various ministers, who must also be approved by the Duma. The House of Lords (the Federation Council) is responsible for appointing ministers for, among other things, Defense, Home and Foreign Affairs and Emergency Situations.

It is not yet certain whether Putin will nominate Mishustin again. He has been Prime Minister since the beginning of 2020 and was previously charged with overseeing the implementation of Putin’s socio-economic plans, as he expressed them in his speech to the full parliament in February. But it cannot be ruled out that Putin will use the start of his new term to make personnel changes here and there.

Putin predicted in February that Russia will become the fourth largest economy in Europe by 2030. He has promised to make Russia an exporter of durable goods and reduce dependence on foreign countries, tackle poverty and boost the birth rate.

But there are reasonable doubts about the feasibility of all these promises, at a time when the Russian economy will increasingly be affected by Western sanctions and the reduction of revenues from fossil fuel exports.

Putin’s inauguration comes two days after the Russian Orthodox Easter celebration. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, he attended the Easter service together with Moscow Mayor Sobyanin in the monumental Cathedral of the Savior, not far from the Kremlin, where, according to a television commentator, he “prayed for his inauguration”.

Two days after the swearing-in ceremony, Putin will make his appearance on Red Square to take part in the annual military parade on Victory Day. It is the most important holiday in Russia, commemorating the victory over Hitler’s Germany in 1945. Putin will be joined on Thursday by the leaders of five former Soviet republics, Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau.

The Russian leadership is seriously taking into account attempts by Ukraine to disrupt the celebrations surrounding both the inauguration and Victory Day with attacks on Russian targets, in Russia or abroad.

In the meantime, the team of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in captivity in February, has undoubtedly produced a new film about a palace on the Black Sea, which, according to the authors, was built on behalf of Putin, with the same aim.