Decline in Approval Rating of Putin Reflects Problems that Must Be Addressed but Does Not Mean His Rule is Unstable Let Alone Under Threat, Yezhov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 5 – Dmitry Yezhov, a political scientist at Moscow’s Finance University, says that the recent decline in public approval of Vladimir Putin is a natural consequence of mounting problems in Russia that must be addressed but does not mean that his rule has become unstable.

            In an interview given to Svobodnaya Pressa, the scholar argues that Putin’s rating, while lower than it was, is still extremely high compared to those of the leaders of other major countries. Indeed, he says, they would be envious of anything approaching the poll numbers the Kremllin leader has (svpressa.ru/politic/article/522472/).

            Support for a national leader is always in motion, going up when things are going well and going down when they move in the opposite direction.  Today, in Russia, Yezhov says, Russians are troubled by inflation, gasoline shortages and problems with the internet. And “part of society is tired” of the war in Ukraine.

            Indeed, these various factors reenforce one another, he continues; and in other countries, such a combination could be expected to drive the approval ratings of the leadership down far more than it has been the case in the Russian Federation. Obviously, there are problems that need to be addressed; but this is no political crisis, he concludes.

            Those who jump from the small declines in approval ratings Putin has experienced to the conclusion that his rule and even the Russian government as a whole are entering into a period of self-destruction are deluding themselves. Looking at what is happening to leaders elsewhere with far less support should be enough to convince everyone otherwise.