Fewer Russians Today Say Country Needs a Strongman Leader than Did in 2000, ‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 13 – In 2000, the editors of Nezavisimaya Gazeta says, “80 percent of respondents in a VTsIOM poll agreed with the statement that ‘the Russian man cannot get along without strong leaders, ‘a strong hand,’ who can direct his actions. Now, the share agreeing with that is 65 percent.”

            In part, the editors say, this reflects the difference in the situation Russians were in in the two years. In the first, they wanted someone who could help them overcome the chaos and denigration of the 1990s. In the years since, they have gotten someone in power who has done all that they could want in that regard and move (ng.ru/editorial/2025-11-13/2_9379_red.html).

            Now, having experienced 25 years of such a strongman leader, at least some feel they don’t need such a leader in the future. But in addition, Russians have changed, the paper argues; and a greater share of them would like to have the chance to take more control of their own lives rather than had it over to “a strong hand.”

            At present, those who feel that way do not have many opportunities given the nature of the Putin regime. But the fact that there has been a decline in support for the idea that Russians always require a strong hand to rule them suggests that there is at least the possibility exists that in the future their numbers will grow and they will have a chance to realize their dreams.