MOSCOW , Russia ( CNN ) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday signed a law extending the presidential term , the Kremlin said , in a move many observers believe is designed to bring former president Vladimir Putin back to the nation 's top office . Some experts believe Prime Minister Vladimir Putin remains Russia 's real leader . Medvedev , Putin 's hand-picked successor , proposed the changes in November , starting with the next president . The new law extends the term of the president from four years to six . Medvedev also signed a law extending the term of members of the lower house of parliament , the Duma , from four years to five . Putin stepped down as president in May after two terms and is now prime minister . Earlier this month , Putin shrugged off the suggestion that Medvedev would step down to make way for his return when the law passes . `` The next election is in 2012 , '' he said December 4 , according to the Interfax news agency . But his comments came after a three-hour televised question-and-answer session with the Russian public which reinforced some experts ' view he remained the country 's real leader . Putin has done call-in programs each year since 2001 , but this was his first one as prime minister , rather than president . Putin remaining in the chair this year , rather than yielding it to Medvedev , showed he still runs Russia , said analyst Yevgeny Volk , the director of the Moscow office of the Heritage Foundation , a conservative U.S.-based think tank . Tuesday , Medvedev also signed a law giving the Duma more powers over the Russian government . The Duma may now consider annual performance reports issued by the government . CNN 's Mike Sefanov contributed to this report .
Many believe change is designed to bring former President Vladimir Putin back . Putin stepped down as president in May after two terms and is now PM . Dmitri Medvedev proposed in November that head of state 's term be lengthened .