Russian Prime Minister resigns as Putin proposes national referendum to make constitutional amends

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet resigned on Wednesday, hours after President Vladimir Putin announced sweeping constitutional changes.

The mass resignation of the Russian cabinet comes after the proposed tweak to the Russian constitution which would shift the balance of power between the presidency and the parliament.

Russian media stated that Putin thanked Medvedev for his work and promised him the post of the deputy of the presidential Security Council.

"These changes, when they are adopted... will introduce substantial changes not only to an entire range of articles of the constitution but also to the entire balance of power, the power of the executive, the power of the legislature, the power of judiciary," Mr Medvedev said during his resignation speech.

"In this context... the government in its current form has resigned," he added.

 Media reports suggest that the Russian President would increase the power of the parliament and the cabinet if the constitutional amends take place.

In order to make the constitutional amends, the Russian President said during his speech to both chambers of the parliament that a national referendum would take place which would significantly shift power from the Presidency to the Prime Minister and the parliament.

Many international media reports speculate that Putin is going forward with this move in an attempt to retain power in Russia. If the Russian constitution in the present form is to be followed then the current presidential term is the last for Putin. Putin's current term comes to an end in 2024.

According to the Russian constitution, presidents can serve only two consecutive terms.