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Russia鈥檚 nationwide vote on controversial constitutional reforms has been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. No new date has been set for the vote, which had been scheduled for April 22.

The vote is the last hurdle before this set of reforms 鈥� including a change allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in the presidency beyond听听鈥� can come into force.

The Russian press had already reported that the Kremlin had听听to postpone the vote. Putin confirmed this on March 25 and said the vote would be arranged for a later date.

A reluctant delay

The Kremlin had been unwilling to publicly acknowledge that the global coronavirus pandemic could affect the vote. As of March 24 in Russia, there were听听of COVID-19, the disease associated with the new coronavirus, and one death from it.

Shortly after setting April 22 as the polling day in a decree signed on听, Putin mentioned possible adaptations that would allow the vote to go ahead as planned, despite the coronavirus pandemic. These included increasing the distance between听听and increasing the number of听, which could be taken directly to people鈥檚 homes.

Putin also noted that there was nothing legally stopping the authorities from setting a new date for the vote.

Behind the scenes, however, it鈥檚 clear that the Kremlin had been planning for the possibility of postponement for a while. A direct reference to April 22 was听听from Putin鈥檚 reform bill during its passage through the State Duma, the lower chamber of the national legislature. Russia鈥檚 Central Electoral Commission also听听regional commissions to stop publishing information on the vote.

Putin鈥檚 constitution

This vote is crucial for Putin. He first听听his constitutional reform project on January 15, taking politicians and commentators by听.

After seizing the initiative, Putin continued to dictate the agenda and pace of change, including with the shock听听of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev鈥檚 government on the same day.

The Kremlin鈥檚 initial insistence to push ahead with the vote was a reflection of this same determination to set, and stick by, the timetable of change.

During his January speech, Putin promised a transfer of power away from the presidency. But, once his legislative bill proposing changes was introduced into the State Duma, it seemed that presidential powers would, if anything, increase. And this further concentration of power in the presidency was confirmed with changes made to the bill during its passage through parliament.

This cluster of reforms 鈥� including giving the president the power to appoint lifetime members of the legislature and fire top-tier judges 鈥� provides the basis for a 鈥溾�� in Russia. These changes are听听by everybody.

Holding the vote during the pandemic would have been an advantage to the Kremlin in some ways. Planned protests in Moscow and St Petersburg have already been听听as a result of measures taken by the authorities to deal with COVID-19. Now that the vote has been pushed back, it may be harder for the听听on opposition mobilisation against the reforms.

The Kremlin鈥檚 initial reluctance to delay the vote showed how much it hopes to gain by securing nationwide support for the proposed changes. Although Putin initially pitched the constitutional reform package as a response to changes in Russian society,听听of Russians recognised its core aim was to sort out how Putin would remain in power after 2024, the year his current presidential term ends. This became even clearer when Putin endorsed an听听to his own reform bill allowing him to run for the presidency again in 2024 and stay in office until 2036.

This all makes the vote a听听on support for Putin, not on the details of the reform package. The听听will only include one question: 鈥淒o you approve of the changes to the Constitution of the Russian Federation?鈥� But in practice, many Russians will interpret this as 鈥渄o you approve of Vladimir Putin?鈥�

For those who don鈥檛 approve of the president, the political leadership hopes apparently generous听听of social support will persuade them to vote 鈥測es鈥�.

The Kremlin is keen for a public endorsement afforded by the nationwide vote in light of the fall in听听for the regime following unpopular听听made in 2018.

The regime leadership is also mindful of the need to signal Putin鈥檚 popularity to members of the elite, who might be tempted to start planning for a post-Putin future. As听听on the wider politics of authoritarian rule shows, palace coups are more worrying than popular uprisings to leaders in non-democracies like Russia.

Turnout and legitimacy

The vote is not technically required to make Putin鈥檚 proposed changes to the constitution. Since the reforms do not make changes to chapters 1, 2, or 9 of Russia鈥檚 basic law,听听of the Russian constitution says that such amendments come into force following their approval by two thirds of legislative assemblies in Russian regions. That already happened on听.

But Putin proposed the nationwide vote in an attempt to boost the legitimacy of the changes. That meant it was key to ensure a strong turnout 鈥� of at least听, according to the latest instructions from the Kremlin to deputy regional governors who are responsible for internal politics. Putin will now have to wait.

The worry for the Kremlin is that, with falling oil prices and a听听in the value of the rouble, it might be even harder to mobilise Russians to vote for Putin鈥檚 changes when a later date is selected.

This article was updated on March 25 to reflect the fact that the vote had been officially postponed.

This article was first published on听the听Conversation.

Links

• Dr Ben Noble鈥檚 academic profile
• UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies

Image

• St. Basil's听Cathedral and Kremlin. Moscow. Russia.