Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law legislation which would allow him to stay in power until 2036.
A government document was posted to a Russian state website on Monday detailing the new law, Reuters reported.
The legislation deals with major changes to the country’s constitution which were passed in 2020. The new changes were voted on in a nationwide referendum.
Putin will now be able to run for two more consecutive six-year terms. His current term, which is his second consecutive and forth overall term, expires in three years.
Under Russia’s old constitution, this would have been Putin’s last term in office, as he was limited to two consecutive terms as president.
If Putin, who is 68, is re-elected to both new terms, he would surpass Joseph Stalin, becoming Russia’s longest serving leader since Peter the Great.
Putin signed the legislation on Monday, which would enable him to serve until he is 83-years old. Putin has been leading Russia since 2000.
In the legislation, former President Dmitry Medvedev, who served a four-year term in 2008-2012 when Putin was barred by the constitution from serving again as president and switched to prime minister, will also have the power to run two more times for office.
Critics condemned the constitutional changes of last year as allowing Putin to become “president for life,” according to The Guardian. The changes also contained populist economic measures and enshrine traditional conservative values into the country’s basic law.
Putin has not yet stated whether he will run for president again. The Moscow Times previously reported that he is open to seeking a fifth term.
“I have not decided anything for myself yet,” he was quoted saying in an interview with a weekly state television program.