Putin outlines sweeping new powers for State Council in Russian shakeup

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin proposed giving broad new authority to set the direction of foreign, domestic and economic policy to the State Council as part of the constitutional overhaul he announced last week.

Putin laid out the details of the plan — widely seen as the Kremlin’s effort to lay the groundwork for Putin extending his rule beyond the end of his current term in 2024 — in draft amendments to the constitution submitted to parliament Monday.

The changes, which cover 21 pages, fill out some of the gaps in the plan Putin announced last week in his state-of-the-nation address. The overhaul would weaken the presidency, while giving more power to parliament and particularly to the State Council.

At the moment, that body is a gathering of regional and national leaders headed by Putin but with largely ceremonial powers. Under the proposed changes, the Council’s role would for the first time be written into the constitution and a special federal law.

The State Council would have the power to “set the main directions of the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation and the priority areas of socio-economic development,” according to the draft. The body would be formed by the president, although the proposed amendments give no indication how that process would take place.

Leading a strengthened State Council could be a role that could allow Putin to continue to dominate Russian politics even after the end of his current term, which must be his last under the constitution.

Putin has described the constitutional amendments as aimed at strengthening Russia’s democratic institutions.