Putin's Popularity in Russia is Sinking

The Globe & Mail ^ | Sep 2018 | Nina Khrushcheva, Moscow

[CondoleezzaProtege]

From controlling the media to stoking nationalism, Russian President Vladimir Putin has always known how to keep his approval ratings high. But Russians’ lives are not getting any better – and Mr. Putin’s declining approval rating shows it.

His tried-and-true tactic for renewing his popularity – say, annexing territory from a neighbouring country or intervening in a civil war – is not a practical long-term strategy...

After Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in March 2014 – his approval rating reached a dizzyingly high 87 per cent.

When the United States, under President Barack Obama, showed itself to be unwilling to enforce its “red line” in Syria – the Kremlin jumped in, establishing Russia as a sinister guarantor of Mr. al-Assad’s disarmament.

Though none of this helped Russians economically, much less expanded their freedoms, it established Mr. Putin as a champion of “Great Russia.”

In April, the ruble was tumbling, owing partly to the sanctions imposed in response to the Kremlin’s alleged poisoning of the former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British soil. Then, in June, just as the Russia-hosted World Cup was getting underway, the government proposed increasing the retirement age from 60 to 65 for men and from 55 to 63 for women, prompting an immediate public backlash. The result was a sharp 15-point decline in the approval rating of the government overall – the largest decline of Mr. Putin’s 18-year rule.

Mr. Putin surely knows that his position is shaky. That is why police meted out such rough treatment to protesters, arresting them by the hundreds. The Kremlin fears not only more rallies, but also intensifying opposition from business people, some of whom rank among Russia’s powerful elites. Regional authorities could also begin to sabotage the Kremlin’s decisions...

[Paradox]

Trump’s Fault.

[z3n]

Trump’s Fault.
~~~
But.... how can the puppet hurt the puppet master??? /s

[BeadCounter]

I heard Jesse Ventura in an interview say, the average income for Russians has gone from $21,000 to $61,000 (round figures from what he actually said but close to this)under Putin and that is why Putin has been popular. Ventura has been working for RT....

But anyway, does anyone know if what he said is actually true?

[trebb]

looks like even Trump’s collusion with Putin can’t help him....ironic how the guy the Left claims is in bed with Putin is eroding the guy’s base...

[SauronOfMordor]

Average is not the same as median income. I’d be more interested in what the 50th percentile Russian wage earner makes.

[z3n]

It would be true, but not representative as median income would be. In other words, are there a lot of people running around with a $61,000 income, or did the total income of the entire population rise 3x during a certain time due to less than 5% getting ridiculously rich but you divided it by the total number of the population to get an average?

[z3n]

Beat me by 50 seconds

[Shark24]

“$21,000 to $61,000.”
Jesse was mistaken, he was talking about the Russians moving from dollars to Venezualan Bolivars. I think his calculations are off by a large factor. :)

[Buckeye McFrog]

Must be all that negative fallout from the Mueller investigation. /sarc

[Navy Patriot]

Nina Lvovna Khrushcheva is a Russian-American Professor of International Affairs at The New School, New York, USA, a Senior Fellow of the World Policy Institute, New York, USA, and a Contributing Editor to Project Syndicate: Association of Newspapers Around the World, and the great-granddaughter of the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, in short, a really good Communist.

Here (published by NBC) is her take on President Donald J Trump: Nina Khrushcheva Trump's admiration for Putin has made him stunningly easy to manipulate. Now the show heads to the White House.

Nuff said?

[Zhang Fei]

[I heard Jesse Ventura in an interview say, the average income for Russians has gone from $21,000 to $61,000 (round figures from what he actually said but close to this)under Putin and that is why Putin has been popular. Ventura has been working for RT....

But anyway, does anyone know if what he said is actually true?]

---

False. Russian incomes, however, have gone up along with oil prices, which started an uptrend right around the time Putin took power, after a couple of decades of going nowhere. Russia benefited big time because it has high cost oil, meaning it went from making practically no money to making serious money.

[Crapgame]

My wife and I were recently in Russia. One of the things that surprised me was how the few Russians we spoke to were pretty critical of Putin and Medvedev both. They were not academics or bureaucrats, just average types in service jobs. Another thing that struck me was how openly they decried globalism. It was definitely a fascinating few days.

[Krosan]

Overestimated by a factor of 10? $6100 might be the right number. They are getting around $500 a month.