The More Putin Suffers from Sanctions, the More Russians View Him as a Russian Patriot and Thus Support Him, Kolesnikov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 21 – Even after the seizure of Crimea, many Russians felt the current Russian elite was so corrupt and self-interested that it would never take any step that hurt its financial self-interest. But the attack on Ukraine now has proved the contrary by showing that the Putin elite is committed to Russia and the restoration of the empire, Andrey Kolesnikov says.

             And consequently by organizing “the special military operation” against Ukraine, the Moscow journalist says, Putin saved his own reputation and that of the people around him among those Russians who believe that Russia must remain an empire independent of the West (novaya.no/articles/2022/07/22/imperiia-dolzhna-ozveret).

             What that means, to the extent Kolesnikov is correct, the more moves that Putin takes that subject him or the Russian elite to losses as far as their individual situations are concerned, the more support Russians will give him; and thus, the more sanctions the West imposes on him and his entourage, the better those people look to Russians and the more support they’ll receive.