Russians Grateful for What Putin Did in Past but No Longer Find Him a Source of Hope for the Future, Analysts Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 31 – Many now forget that Vladimir Putin with his vigorous persona was originally welcomed by Russians as a source of hope about the future because today, while Russians remain grateful to him for holding the country together, they no longer view him as a source of hope for the future, Abbas Galyamov and Pavel Salin say.

            Galyamov, a former Putin speechwriter who now works as a commentator, says that Russians recognize Putin’s past services in overcoming the 1990s and preserving the territorial integrity of Russia, “but they do not see any future or any prospects” connected with his remaining in power (nakanune.ru/articles/118055/).

            “Putin feels this and is again trying to turn the clock back and come up with arguments to regain support,” the commentator says; but people have the sense that he has set himself the task of conserving the past” rather than acting on behalf of a future for them as many felt he did at the start of his time in power.

            For Russians today, there is an obvious contradiction between conserving the past and moving forward,” Galyamov continues. And Russians however much they agree with Putin on that past “understand that tomorrow is coming and that it will not be the 1990s or 1941 but something different” they must try to prepare for.

            Salin, a political scientist at Moscow’s Finance University, agrees and says that this explains the tiredness many Russians feel when they think about Putin today. When he first became president, he was trying to recover from the problems of the immediate past and build a better future; and as a result, Russians supported him.

            Now, the Kremlin leader is not trying to address the problems of today or provide a vision of the future, the scholar says; and not surprisingly, the Russian people are increasingly turning away from him.