"I have not decided yet, I’ll see. Elections are in 2018, there is still time before the electoral campaign, so we will see," Putin said speaking to children of the Sirius children’s center in Sochi.
Putin said that it is the Russian electorate that will decide who will become the next Russian president even if there is an established political practice of suggesting successors before leaving a post.
"I want to say that, according to the established international practice, if a leader of a party, a country or a government leaves [his post], generally, but not always, he would introduce someone or recommend to pay special attention to a particular person as to someone who will head a country's government or a party. But in the end, the people will be the ones to decide through a direct and secret vote who will head the country, as provided for under the Russian Constitution. That is why, no matter who recommends whom, it is the Russian people who will make their personal decision."
Putin has been asked questions about his potential successor before. At the end of his annual "Direct Line" session, which was held on June 15, Putin read out some questions he personally chose, including one about his successor, and stressed that, firstly, he is still in office, and secondly, the voters should be the ones to decide.
The Russian presidential election is scheduled for March 18, 2018.
