How Putin's shake-up of Russian govt could keep him in power for life

'Constitutional coups like this occur and are completely legal,' wrote Gudkov

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed constitutional changes on Wednesday that would give him scope to extend his grip on power after leaving the presidency, and picked a new prime minister after Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet stepped down.

Most importantly, Putin suggested diminishing the powers of the presidency and beefing up those of the prime minister.

The dramatic moves were widely seen as preparing the ground for 2024, when Putin, now 67, is obliged to leave the presidency after occupying the Kremlin or the prime minister's job continuously since 1999.

Putin nominated Mikhail Mishustin, 53-year-old head of the tax service, as the next