Chapter 131: Servitude

488     “We were not the ones who started the war in Donbass”  “Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly,” President of Russia, Kremlin, February 29, 2024, www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/73585. 

488     “but, as I have already said many times . . .” “Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly,” President of Russia, February 29, 2024, www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/73585. 

488     during the same session . . . the colony’s first comprehensive “Slave Code”  See “An Act Concerning Servants and Slaves,” in The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619, ed. William Waller Hening, vol.3 (Philadelphia: Thomas Desilver, 1823), books.google.com/books?id=4i3OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA447#v=onepage&q&f=false, 447–462. Historian Edward B. Rugemer explains, “The laws of slavery in Virginia evolved in piecemeal fashion until 1705, when the Virginia Assembly passed its first comprehensive slave code, eighty-six years after enslaved Africans arrived in the colony.” Edward B. Rugemer, “The Development of Mastery and Race in the Comprehensive Slave Codes of the Greater Caribbean during the Seventeenth Century,” William and Mary Quarterly 70, no. 3 (July 2013), doi.org/10.5309/willmaryquar.70.3.0429, note 6 at 432.

488     “all [White] male persons whatsoever . . .” to serve in the militia  “An act for settling the Militia” exempted “any servant by importation, or any slave” from service. “An act for settling the Militia,” in The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, ed. Hening, books.google.com/books?id=4i3OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA447#v=onepage&q&f=false, 3:335, 336. Free Black men were also effectively banned. Historian Kathleen Brown explains that Virginia lawmakers “worded laws in such a way that local authorities could exclude them from participation in the county militia. It was not until 1723 that the legislature finally made explicit the exclusion of free black men from militias.” Kathleen M. Brown, Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, and Anxious Patriarchs: Gender, Race, and Power in Colonial Virginia (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996), 182. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/861793500.

488–489 among the earliest military-related laws in U.S. history See American Military History, vol. 1: The United States Army and the Founding of a Nation, 1775–1917, ed. Richard W. Stewart, 2nd ed. (Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 2009), history.army.mil/portals/143/Images/Publications/catalog/30-21.pdf, 107–116.

488–489 “each and every free able-bodied white male . . .” “be enrolled in the Militia”  “An Act more effectually to provide for the National Defence, by establishing an uniform Militia throughout the United States,” May 8, 1792, in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, Second Congress, First Session, ed. Joseph Gales (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1849), digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc29467/m1/692/, 1392, accessed via University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library. Congress established presidential power over state militias in the event of an “invasion by a foreign nation or Indian tribe” or “insurrection in any State.” “An Act to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasions,” May 2, 1792, Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, Second Congress, First Session, ed. Gales, digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc29467/m1/681/, 1370, accessed via University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library.

489     majority of White Southerners . . . not enslavers “In 1860 approximately 1,918,175 southern whites (or 24 percent) were members of slaveholding families, and 6,120,825 (76 percent) were not.” John B. Boles, Black Southerners, 1619–1869 (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1984), 75. Find this book at a library at search.worldcat.org/title/900344791.

489     passed bills . . . allowing rich men . . . while drafting . . .  In April 1862, the Confederate Congress passed the “twenty-slave law,” which was “the first national draft act in American history.” The law “automatically excused” from conscription men who enslaved twenty or more people and was thus “perhaps the most widely hated act ever imposed by the Confederacy and was especially reviled by poor soldiers already in the ranks.” David Williams, Rich Man’s War: Class, Caste, and Confederate Defeat in the Lower Chattahoochee Valley (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1998), 4. For reference, “only 12 percent of all slaveholders” enslaved twenty or more people in 1860. Boles, Black Southerners, 75. Find Rich Man’s War (search.worldcat.org/title/714822189) and Black Southerners (search.worldcat.org/title/900344791) at a library near you.

489     a “rich man’s war”  Confederate army private Sam Watkins recalled that the twenty-slave law “gave us the blues . . . there was raised the howl of ‘rich man’s war, poor man’s fight.’ . . . From this time on till the end of the war, a soldier was simply a machine. We cursed the war . . . we cursed the Southern Confederacy. All our pride and valor had gone.” Sam Watkins quoted in Williams, Rich Man’s War, 4. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/714822189.

489     Conscripted Italian soldiers were part . . . in the early 1940s On the use of draftees in Italy’s failed invasion of Egypt in 1940, see Ian W. Walker, Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa (Marlborough, UK: Crowood Press, 2003), 60–61. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/852756227.

489     forced hundreds of thousands of White men . . . between the mid-1950s and the early 1960s  France sent roughly 1.5 million conscripts to Algeria during the war for independence between 1954 and 1962. Assiya Hamza and Stéphanie Trouillard, “Sixty Years On, Algerian and French Nationals Share Stories of the Algerian War,” France 24, March 16, 2022, www.france24.com/en/africa/20220316-sixty-years-on-algerian-and-french-nationals-share-stories-of-the-algerian-war; and Sylvie Kauffmann, “Opinion: France Lifts the Lid on Its Algeria War,” New York Times, October 4, 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/opinion/france-torture-algeria-war.html.

489     keeping many beyond . . . or calling them up . . . multiple times Soraya Laribi, “Conscripts in the Algerian War,” Chemins de Mémoire, Ministère des Armées (French Ministry of Armed Forces), accessed via Wayback Machine, July 5, 2025 capture, web.archive.org/web/20250705123159/www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/conscripts-algerian-war; and Frédéric Médard, “The Military Aspects of the Algerian War,” Chemins de Mémoire, accessed via Wayback Machine, March 22, 2025 capture, web.archive.org/web/20250322025710/www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/index.php/en/military-aspects-algerian-war.

489     conscripted impoverished Algerians  In addition to the “French of European Origin” conscripts, France drafted men who were “French of North African Origin.” Laribi, “Conscripts in the Algerian War,” web.archive.org/web/20250705123159/www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/conscripts-algerian-war. Upwards of 250,000 men of North African descent “were recruited during the conflict” through voluntary enlistment or conscription. Abderahmen Moumen, “The harkis, from Algeria to France,” Chemins de Mémoire, accessed via Wayback Machine, May 13, 2025 capture, web.archive.org/web/20250522161917/www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/harkis-algeria-france. “Between 1956 and 1962, some 400 000 to 470 000 conscripts were permanently stationed in Algeria.” Laribi, “Conscripts in the Algerian War,” web.archive.org/web/20250705123159/www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/conscripts-algerian-war. French historian Pierre Daum says of the Algerian Harkis who joined the French forces, “To understand the commitment of the Harkis to France, we need to take into account the fact that the Algerian rural population was living under extreme poverty when the revolution started in 1954. The conditions of living were harsh, especially in Algeria’s countryside, due to more than 130 years of colonisation and occupation. Besides, the standard of living worsened during the liberation war. In that context, some young Algerians went to the French military barracks to beg for a job in order to support their families.” Pierre Daum quoted in Djamila Ould Khettab, “Q&A: What Really Happened to Algeria’s Harkis,” Al Jazeera, August 22, 2015, www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/8/22/qa-what-really-happened-to-algerias-harkis.

489     required White men . . . to serve nine months in the military “Military Service Becomes Compulsory for White South African Men, 9 June 1967,” South African History Online, March 16, 2011, updated June 5, 2020, accessed May 13, 2025, www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/military-service-becomes-compulsory-white-south-african-men; and Jacklyn Cock, “Conscription in South Africa: A Study in the Politics of Coercion,” South African Sociological Review 2, no. 1 (October 1989), www.jstor.org/stable/44461143, 2.

489     largely drafted men from low-income families . . . avoided the draft “Under Pinochet, conscripts and low-level troops guarded detainees and delivered them to detention centres where many were then tortured and often killed. Young men aged between 16 and 20 from largely poor and low-income families were systematically drafted for a minimum of one year, while wealthy families with political connections could often avoid the draft.” Kyle G. Brown, “Chile's Pinochet-Era Dictatorship: Were Soldiers Victims, Too?” Christian Science Monitor, December 9, 2013, www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/1207/Chile-s-Pinochet-era-dictatorship-Were-soldiers-victims-too.

489     has required most able-bodied citizens . . . There have been exemptions  Jewish men and women have always been required to serve in the military. Druze and Circassian men entered the draft system in the 1950s. Israel, Knesset, “Defence Service Law,” 1949, main.knesset.gov.il/EN/About/History/Documents/kns1_defense_eng.pdf, 112; and Randy Geller, “The Recruitment and Conscription of the Circassian Community into the Israel Defence Forces, 1948–58,” Middle Eastern Studies 48, no. 3 (May 2012), www.jstor.org/stable/23217362, 393. Druze and Circassian women, as well as Arab Israelis, are not conscripted, though they can volunteer. “‘Not Only Equal in Battle’: Druze, Circassians Launch Protests Against Discrimination,” Times of Israel, June 30, 2024, www.timesofisrael.com/not-only-equal-in-battle-druze-circassians-launch-protests-against-discrimination/; and U.S. Department of State, 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Israel, West Bank and Gaza, accessed May 14, 2025, www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/. Additional exemptions include “religious women, married individuals, and those deemed unfit medically or mentally.” “Men are expected to serve for a minimum of 32 months and women are expected to serve for a minimum of 24 months.” Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), “Our Soldiers,” accessed May 14, 2025, www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/our-soldiers. 

489     have often been jailed Israelis “who refuse to enlist on political grounds are typically sentenced to up to 10 days in prison, after which they are sent back to jail multiple times if they continue to refuse.” Brishti Basu, “Israeli Teen Jailed for Refusing to Serve in IDF over Opposition to War in Gaza,” CBC News, December 29, 2023, www.cbc.ca/news/world/israeli-teen-arrested-refusing-idf-gaza-1.7070628. See also Michael Segalov, “‘More Killing Won’t Bring Back Lost Lives’: Tal Mitnick, 18, on Going to Prison Instead of Joining IDF,” The Guardian, January 23, 2024, www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/23/israel-man-jailed-refuse-serve-idf-military-tal-mitnick-interview.

489     as have conscripts into the Russian Army . . . Neil MacFarquhar, “They Refused to Fight for Russia: The Law Did Not Treat Them Kindly.” New York Times, April 30, 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/world/europe/russia-military-deserters-ukraine.html.

489     issued an arrest warrant . . . charging him with war crimes in Ukraine  International Criminal Court (ICC), “Situation in Ukraine: ICC Judges Issue Arrest Warrants Against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova,” press release, March 17, 2023, www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and.

489     “outrageous and unacceptable” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted in “Kremlin: ICC Warrants Outrageous and Unacceptable, but Null and Void for us,” Reuters, March 17, 2023, www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-warrant-against-putin-meaningless-russia-does-not-belong-icc-2023-03-17/.

489     issued arrest warrants for . . .  ICC, “Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I Rejects the State of Israel’s Challenges to Jurisdiction and Issues Warrants of Arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant,” press release, November 21, 2024, www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges; and ICC, “Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I Issues Warrant of Arrest for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif),” press release, November 21, 2024, www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-issues-warrant-arrest-mohammed-diab-ibrahim.

489     withdrawn upon confirmation of his death ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, “Decision Terminating Proceedings Against Mr Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al Masri (Deif),” ICC-01/18, February 26, 2025, www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/0902ebd180ad67a3.pdf, 4, 5.

489     “There is nothing more just . . .” Prime Minister’s Office (Israel) statement quoted in Molly Quell, “Top War-Crimes court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Others in Israel-Hamas Fighting,” Associated Press (AP) News, November 21, 2024, www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2024/top-war-crimes-court-issues-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu-and-others-in-israel-hamas-fighting/.

490     may have prolonged the war in Ukraine to . . .  See Huileng Tan, “Putin Needs to Keep Russia in a ‘Permanent’ State of War to Stay in Power,” Business Insider, February 27, 2024, www.businessinsider.com/putin-paranoid-keep-russia-permanent-war-stay-in-power-2024-2.

490     “prolonged the war in Gaza to stay in power”  Patrick Kingsley et al., “How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power,” New York Times Magazine, July 11, 2025, last updated July 23, 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/magazine/benjamin-netanyahu-gaza-war.html.

490     needed . . . to remain out of jail  Kingsley et al., “How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power,” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/magazine/benjamin-netanyahu-gaza-war.html. 

490     like Trump in 2024 See Sarah Smith, “Is Trump Running for President Mostly to Avoid Prison?” BBC News, August 3, 2023,www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66402180; and Mike Wendling and James FitzGerald, “Trump Would Have Been Convicted if Not elected, DoJ Report Says,” BBC News, January 14, 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqld79pxeqo.

490     has managed to stall his corruption trial, which began in 2020  Kingsley et al., “How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power,” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/magazine/benjamin-netanyahu-gaza-war.html. 

490     attempted to have the attorney general . . . removed  “Israeli Government Votes to Dismiss Attorney General, Escalating Standoff with Judiciary,” AP News, August 4, 2025, apnews.com/article/israel-politics-judiciary-netanyahu-trial-attorney-general-ba212da3ff08269ec42af09859ebdca2; and “Israel Court Halts Gov’t Firing of Attorney General Investigating Netanyahu,” Al Jazeera, August 4, 2025, www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/4/israeli-court-halts-governments-firing-of-attorney-general.

490     want to prolong the war, fully occupy Gaza  Mick Krever et al., “Israel’s Far-Right Wants to Move Palestinians Out of Gaza: Its ideas Are Gaining Attention,” CNN, January 17, 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/01/17/middleeast/israel-far-right-gaza-settler-movement-cmd-intl; Jeremy Sharon, “‘It Is doable’: 10 Likud MKs to Attend Conference Calling for ‘Resettling Gaza,’” Times of Israel, October 16, 2024, www.timesofisrael.com/it-is-doable-10-likud-mks-to-attend-conference-calling-for-resettling-gaza/; and Kingsley et al., “How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power,” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/magazine/benjamin-netanyahu-gaza-war.html. 

490     encouraging “voluntary emigration” . . . new Israeli settlements Netanyahu quoted in Lazar Berman “Netanyahu discusses plan for ‘voluntary emigration’ of Gazans starting next month,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2025, www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-discusses-plan-for-voluntary-emigration-of-gazans-starting-next-month/; and Sharon, “ ‘It is doable’: 10 Likud MKs to attend conference calling for ‘resettling Gaza,’” www.timesofisrael.com/it-is-doable-10-likud-mks-to-attend-conference-calling-for-resettling-gaza/.

490     Hitler had similar plans  “What Was Operation 'Barbarossa'?” Imperial War Museum, accessed April 29, 2025, www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-operation-barbarossa; “The German Army and the Racial Nature of the War Against the Soviet Union,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, accessed April 29, 2025, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-army-and-the-racial-nature-of-the-war-against-the-soviet-union; and "Lebensraum,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, accessed April 29, 2025, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/lebensraum.
 

490     “directly depends on our soldiers, officers . . .”  “Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly,” President of Russia, February 29, 2024, www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/73585.

490     “faith in our victories, successes . . .” “Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly,” President of Russia, February 29, 2024, www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/73585.

490     another victory in another rigged presidential election “Independent election watchdog Golos . . . called Russia’s March 15-17 presidential election an ‘imitation,’ with widespread reports of vote tampering, restrictions on monitors and pressure on voters.” “Russian Presidential Vote an ‘Imitation,’ Election Watchdog Golos Says,” Moscow Times, March 18, 2024, www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/03/18/russian-presidential-vote-an-imitation-election-watchdog-golos-says-a84511. Russia declined to invite OSCE ODIHR’s independent election observers. OSCE ODIHR, “Russian Federation Flouts International Commitments Once Again with Decision Not to Invite OSCE Observers to Presidential Election,” press release, January 29, 2024, www.osce.org/odihr/elections/russia/562065.

490     highest percentage ever: more than 87 percent  Katharine Khamhaengwong, “Timeline: Russia’s Presidential Elections Since Independence,” Moscow Times, March 18, 2024,  www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/03/18/timeline-russias-presidential-elections-since-independence-a84429; and Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn, “Putin Wins Russia Election in Landslide with No Serious Competition,” Reuters, March 18, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-presidential-vote-starts-final-day-with-accusations-kyiv-sabotage-2024-03-17/.

490     dead, incarcerated, silenced, or in exile  Khamhaengwong, “Timeline: Russia’s Presidential Elections Since Independence," www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/03/18/timeline-russias-presidential-elections-since-independence-a84429.

490     identified all sorts of failures  Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) et al., “Irregularities in the Salvadoran Electoral Process Cannot be Ignored,” February 8, 2024, www.wola.org/2024/02/irregularities-in-the-salvadoran-electoral-process-cannot-be-ignored/; WOLA et al. to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, February 29, 2024, back.dplf.org/sites/default/files/20240229_-_letter_from_human_rights_organizations_to_us_secretary_of_state_antony_blinken_expressing_concerns_about_the_2024_elections_in_el_salvador_annex.pdf; and “Post-Election Process Was Deficient, and Disorganized,” El Salvador Now, February 23, 2024, www.elsalvadornow.org/2024/02/23/oas-post-election-process-was-deficient-slow-and-disorganized-oea-el-proceso-postelectoral-fue-deficiente-lento-y-desorganizado, via Google Translate.

490     duplicated or tripled  WOLA et al. to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, back.dplf.org/sites/default/files/20240229_-_letter_from_human_rights_organizations_to_us_secretary_of_state_antony_blinken_expressing_concerns_about_the_2024_elections_in_el_salvador_annex.pdf, 3.

490     in certain voting centers were not processed  WOLA et al. to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, back.dplf.org/sites/default/files/20240229_-_letter_from_human_rights_organizations_to_us_secretary_of_state_antony_blinken_expressing_concerns_about_the_2024_elections_in_el_salvador_annex.pdf, 3.

490     arrived with broken seals  WOLA et al. to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, back.dplf.org/sites/default/files/20240229_-_letter_from_human_rights_organizations_to_us_secretary_of_state_antony_blinken_expressing_concerns_about_the_2024_elections_in_el_salvador_annex.pdf, 3.

491      demanded a hand count  “El Salvador Begins Hand Counting Ballots After Election Irregularities,” Reuters, February 7, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-begins-hand-counting-ballots-after-election-irregularities-2024-02-08/.

491      “dozens” . . . participated in the hand count “Supreme Electoral Tribunal Hired Nuevas Ideas Affiliates for Vote Counting,” El Salvador Now, February 23, 2024, www.elsalvadornow.org/2024/02/23/supreme-electoral-tribunal-hired-nuevas-ideas-affiliates-for-vote-counting-tse-contrato-a-afiliados-de-nuevas-ideas-para-conteo-de-votos, via Google Translate. See also Roman Gressier and Gabriel Labrador, “Chaos in El Salvador Legislative Recount Fuels Opposition Accusations of Fraud,” El Faro, February 15, 2024, elfaro.net/en/202402/el_salvador/27251/chaos-in-el-salvador-legislative-recount-fuels-opposition-accusations-of-fraud.

491      demanded the voiding of . . . “El Salvador Confirms Bukele’s Supermajority After Opposition Calls to Void Election Results,” Reuters, February 19, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-opposition-requests-repeat-election-congress-after-irregularities-2024-02-19/.

491      “in the entire history of democracy” . . .“with more than 85% of the votes”  Nayib Bukele, X, February 4, 2024, 7:56 p.m., x.com/nayibbukele/status/1754307883586494722, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/tmqu7.

491      secured fifty-four out of the sixty seats  Marcos Alemán and Megan Janetsky, “El Salvador’s Bukele Wins Supermajority in Congress After Painstaking Vote Count,” AP News, February 19, 2024, apnews.com/article/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-election-8637667ca3b9f35c9ffd2baf805a9ade.

491      wished Bukele good health . . . “activity will contribute to expanding . . .”  Vladimir Putin via Russian Foreign Ministry’s Telegram channel, quoted in “Putin Describes Russia–El Salvador Ties as Successful,” Prensa Latina, February 13, 2024, www.plenglish.com/news/2024/02/13/putin-describes-russia-el-salvador-ties-as-successful/.

491      Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr.  Ian Ward, “MAGA’s El Salvador Field Trip,” Politico Nightly, June 3, 2024, www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2024/06/03/magas-el-salvador-field-trip-00161345.

491      forbade . . . three consecutive terms Article 81, Point 3 of the Russian Constitution states, “One and the same person may not be elected President of the Russian Federation for more than two terms running,” or consecutively. Russian Federation, “Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993, as Amended 2001) (Excerpts Related to Elections) (English),” Legislationline, accessed May 14, 2025, legislationline.org/taxonomy/term/12312.

491      amend . . . and reset his term-limit clock to zero  Matthew S. Schwartz and Scott Neuman, “Russian Parliament Allows Putin 2 More Terms as President,” NPR, March 10, 2020, www.npr.org/2020/03/10/814090121/putin-could-stay-president-until-2036-under-new-proposal; and “Putin Signs Constitutional Changes That Allow Him to Rule Until 2036,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, April 5, 2021, www.rferl.org/a/putin-signs-law-to-rule-until-2036/31187934.html. Independent election observers reported “unprecedented fraud” in the July 2020 referendum in which nearly 78% of votes approved a package of amendments that included the amendment concerning presidential term limits. Patrick Reevell, “Election Monitors Allege Putin Referendum Saw Unprecedented Ballot Fraud,” ABC News, July 5, 2020, abcnews.go.com/International/election-monitors-allege-putin-referendum-unprecedented-ballot-fraud/story?id=71609348. The constitutional amendment stated that the constitution's presidential term limits would be “applied to the person having held or holding the post of the President of the Russian Federation without taking into account the number of terms th[at] he (she) had held or is holding this post by the time of coming into force of the amendment,” effectively resetting Putin’s term-limit clock. See Article 81, Point 3¹ in Russian Federation, “The Constitution of the Russian Federation, Adopted by Popular Vote on 12 December 1993, with Amendments Approved by All-Russian Vote on 1 July 2020,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, mid.ru/upload/medialibrary/fa3/xwhwumdwunawy9iprvhcxdqds1lzxqdx/CONSTITUTION-Eng.pdf.

491      has prohibited . . . from having a third term  The 22nd Amendment states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Twenty-Second Amendment, Constitution of the United States, constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-22/. For background on the amendment’s origins and an explanation of its function, see Scott Bomboy, “The 22nd Amendment and Presidential Service Beyond Two Terms,” Constitution Daily Blog, National Constitution Center, November 11, 2024, constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-22nd-amendment-and-presidential-service-beyond-two-terms.

491      “A lot of people would like me to” . . . “There are methods which you could do it”  Kristen Welker and Megan Lebowitz, “Trump won’t rule out seeking a third term in the White House, tells NBC News ‘there are methods’ for doing so,” NBC News, March 30, 2025, www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-third-term-white-house-methods-rcna198752.