Posted on 02/18/2019 6:54:08 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Putin's popularity over the last 10-plus years has been pegged to military campaigns and patriotic hysteria. It peaked at 88 percent in September 2008 immediately after Russia’s short war with Georgia (when Putin was officially prime minister), but thereafter it fell slowly but surely, bottoming out at 61 percent in November 2013. Then in 2014, the popular move to annex Crimea saw his rating soar to 86 percent.
This symbolic figure established a new social contract between the authorities and society. In return for absolute political support, the state provided meagre social services propped up by the restored feeling of belonging to a great power.
But in 2017, this contract started to disintegrate...the Russian people wanted dramatic change. Consensus had been reached that Russia had become great again. On this backdrop, anti-Western fervor was gradually losing its effectiveness, and people demanded that the government fix the depressing economic reality.
Following the March 2018 presidential elections, the opposite seemed to happen. There were hikes in VAT and fuel prices, a five-year fall in real incomes, followed by the deeply unpopular move to raise the retirement age. Even Russia’s triumphant hosting of the FIFA World Cup didn’t work in Putin’s favor; it merely reduced anti-Western sentiment among Russians.
In five years, we have thus come full circle. The five years have, however, taken a toll on Russia. The country has seen economic depression, a deluge of repressive legislation, and a sustained anti-Western propaganda campaign.
However, this time it seems that Putin doesn’t have another Crimea up his sleeve. His trusted formula is no longer having the desired effect.
Putin is no longer the symbol of the nation he once was. He is a living person who bears responsibility for what is happening in the country as much as any other senior official.
(Excerpt) Read more at themoscowtimes.com ...
This is precisely the type of negative season when Putin/Russia, are most likely to act again.
Those are mighty large numbers. Can they be believed?
Next stop is Ukraine and Moldova. Plan B would be chunks of Scandinavia, ostensibly to block Islamist threats.
Scandinavians would be wise to not poke the bear with an islamic stick.
Ukraine would fight back. Easier to take Scandinavia.
Tend too agree with you. The Euroweenies run and cry from the mussies now.
Putin and Lukashenko are talking about Belarus and Russia uniting
Russia is a dying country. It’s birth rate is shrinking.
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