Putin, now 73, leads a personalist system with no designated successor and aging security elites who have consolidated power around him since constitutional changes extended his potential tenure to 2036. Trader sentiment reflects the absence of imminent removal mechanisms, as recent battlefield advances in Donetsk, meetings with U.S. envoys on Ukraine talks, and stable elite cohesion have reinforced continuity. Speculation centers on health risks, war costs, or internal elite calculations rather than public pressure or formal processes. Historical patterns show most Russian leaders departing via death in office, while upcoming diplomatic or military developments could alter probabilities only if they trigger visible instability within the Security Council or State Duma.