Russia's upper house of parliament approved a change to Russia's constitution yesterday, extending the presidential term to six years from four, which may be the next stage in a process that would see Vladimir Putin return to the office.

The proposal, which ended the initial stage of the legislative process on the first change to the constitution of 1993, now goes to Russia's regional legislatures, which are dominated by Kremlin loyalists and are expected to approve it by the middle of next month.