Regardless of what former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev thinks, hundreds of women in Russia think Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his awesomeness should return to the presidency.

 

After serving back-to-back terms as president last decade (the maximum allowed for consecutive runs under the Russian constitution), Putin switched to the prime minister’s seat in 2008, allowing Dmitry Medvedev to assume the presidency. But with the 2012 election approaching, a group of diehard female fans—dubbed “Putin’s Army”—want the “awesome man” to run again for president.

 

To rally support for Putin, still the most powerful man in Russia, the women filmed a provocative video featuring a little skin and a lot of demand for supporters to tell “what you would do for your president.” The video also encourages women to “tear it up” for Putin, much like the girl yanking at her white tank top and revealing her bra.

 

Putin has not said whether he will run for a third term as president and both he and his handpicked successor, Medvedev, have vowed not to run against each other.

 

Gorbachev thinks Putin should avoid another campaign, saying his government has lost touch with the people. The 1990 Nobel Prize winner warned that Putin and his inner circle have sought to consolidate power in a near-dictatorial fashion.

 

“If you try to do everything in the country without taking the people into account, while imitating democracy, that will lead to a situation like in Africa where leaders sit and rule for 20 or 30 years,” he said.

 

A poll taken late last year showed nearly 30% of Russians support the idea of Putin as president, while only 17% liked the idea of Medvedev staying in office for another term.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Putin's Female Fans Call for 3rd Presidency (Associated Press)

Gorbachev Says Putin Should Shun Presidency (by Ilya Arkhipov and Scott Rose, Bloomberg)

News Analysis: Vladimir Putin's 2012 Dilemma (by Nabi Abdullaev and Simon Saradzhyan, Moscow Times)