Paul
Goble
Staunton, April 12 – Something
remarkable has happened: For the first time since he became president, more Russians
say that Vladimir Putin works to defend the interests of the oligarchs than the
number who say he defends the positions of the siloviki, according to a Levada
Center poll reported by Vedomosti.
The percentage of Russians who say
he backs the oligarchs in the first instance has risen from 31 percent in the
fall of 2017 to 38 percent now, while the share of those indicating that he
backs the siloviki has fallen from 41 percent to 37 percent, giving the former
a slight edge (vedomosti.ru/society/articles/2020/04/13/827945-putin-otstaivaet).
That is important because however
much Russians may dislike the specific actions of the force structures, they
have a traditional respect for and deference to these defenders of the Russian
state. Indeed, Putin built his image on being one of them, someone from the KGB
who knew how to put things in order.
But even before the current crisis
and the increasing divergence between the richest and the poorest in their
country, most Russians have had a negative view of the oligarchs; and many of
them have backed Putin precisely because he very publicly suggested that he saw
as one of his most important tasks putting them in their place.
As the economic crisis has deepened,
Russian anger at the oligarchs has only grown. And for so many Russians to view
Putin as their spokesman and defender is probably a better measure of his standing
with the population than almost any other measure. He has thus joined the enemy as it were for
many Russians – not an ideal position for any leader.
While the Kremlin leader is no
democrat, he is thus likely to come under growing pressure to demonstrate that
he is not one of the oligarchs, a move that inevitably would bring him into
open conflict with some of the chief supporters of his regime but one that
unless he makes it means that his support will likely plummet still
further.
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