Loyalists of Russian leader Vladimir Putin have said he should be called a “ruler” instead of a “president.”
It is said that Russia is looking to replace words and terms that it believes came from the West in the moves it deems necessary after the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
The Kremlin has said that the proposal to call the Russian president a ruler is a “new idea”, but that “it has no position on the matter”.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), traditionally considered loyal to the Kremlin, said it considered the name change of the presidential term to be “important”.
The LDPR’s press service in the lower house of the Russian parliament told the Tass news agency: “Although constitutional amendments are not on the current agenda, we still insist that it is important to call the main office of the country in Russia.
“We suggest two options: a ruler or a head of state.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Tass, “It’s a new idea. There is no position on this issue.”
The Nord Stream pipeline closed as fears of European gas supply grew
It comes as the largest pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe closed on Monday for “annual maintenance” with concerns that it could be used to hurt economies and further raise prices.
Gas flow through Nord Stream 1 is expected to stop for 10 days, but there are fears in all governments and markets that the shutdown will be extended beyond that time.
Europe is concerned that Russia will also restrict European gas supplies in order to disrupt plans to fill storage facilities for the winter.
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Peskov rejected claims that Russia used oil and gas to exert political pressure, saying the maintenance shutdown was a regular, scheduled event and that no one was “inventing” any repairs.
There are other large pipelines from Russia to Europe, but flows have been gradually declining.
Ukraine stopped a gas transit route in May, blaming the interference of Russian occupation forces.