Putin announced in a press conference today that "if the people want it", he will be running for reelection in 2018. This would lengthen his total time in political prominence to twenty-four years, despite the consecutive two-term (six years each) presidential limit.
However, in this interview, he also stated, "If people don’t want it and things aren’t going well, and a person clings to his chair and doesn’t want to give it away, and if, on top of that, he violates the law — that would not be normal." He then stated that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to stay on for more than twenty years.
Putin changed the Duma representation to 7% in his last presidential term, which allowed his backing political party, United Russia, to gain more seats without dissent. After some sketchy parliamentary elections in December, he gained even more support (though polarized many of his citizens). The protests that resulted probably won't affect the elections too much. There is a very slim possibility that there wouldn't be a distinct majority winner, in which case the two parties that gained the most votes would run off. However, with the rigged elections, even if Putin didn't win a distinct majority, chances are he would rig it to his favor.
The idea that if he won, he would continue on for a second term is a little scary. Russia is supposedly moving from an illiberal democracy to a true democracy, but with presidents essentially staying in office for twenty-four years, it seems more authoritarian. Putin does have good control and so-called legitimacy, so if a different party was to be elected, the country could take a worse turn due to transitionary period.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/world/europe/putin-could-seek-russian-presidency-in-2018.html?_r=1&ref=world
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