Putin Doesn’t Sweat His Unpopularity
This is a summary of an article originally published by Foreign Policy with the subheading: "Whatever the Russian president is doing in Ukraine, it isn’t because of his falling poll numbers."
The author writes that Russian President Vladimir Putin's "dip in popularity will mostly prove that he is far more resilient than the West would like to think.” The wave of patriotism that swept Russia in 2014 has been receding since 2016, the author writes. The Kremlin's decision to raise the pension age brought Putin's approval rating to a low not seen since before Russia's annexation of Crimea. A report in fall 2018, showed that there is "a strong desire for change among Russians who are dissatisfied with the Kremlin’s domestic policies and have little hope for improvement." However, the pillars of Putin's regime seem to be holding. "The political, economic and security elites remain consolidated around the Kremlin. Oil prices are high enough to send cash into the state coffers. Selective repression and state control of the media ensure there is no visible viable alternative to Putin." The Russian leader is "betting that he will be around for a prolonged confrontation with the West. Washington should probably bet on that, too.”
Read the full article at Foreign Policy.
Photo by Kremlin.ru shared under a CC BY 4.0 license.
