Putin’s Harsh Rule has Reduced Russian Support for ‘Strong Leader’ from 72 Percent to 28 Percent, Polls Show

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 25 – Between 2000 and 2025, the first quarter century of Putin’s rule, the share of Russians who prepared to say that they believe that their country requires “a strong leader” fell from 72 percent to just 28 percent, an indication that living under one has convinced many Russians that such a leader is not really what they want, Abbas Gallyamov says.

            Many believe that Russians have always wanted a strong leader to rule them; and it is certainly the case that Putin built his power by appealing to that sense especially after the chaos and uncertainty of the 1990s, the former Putin speechwriter and now Putin critic says (t.me/abbasgallyamovpolitics/11174 reposted at echofm.online/opinions/glavnyj-itog-epohi-pravleniya-silnoj-ruki).

            And in the years since becoming president, Putin has used his control of the media to promote the idea that a strong ruler is better than democracy and the supposed chaos the latter system creates. But polls taken by the VTsIOM survey group which is close to the president show that the share of Russians accepting that argument has dropped.

            Of course, Gallyamov continues, backers of Putin will respond to this pattern by saying that since Russians already have a strong leader, it is pointless” to suggest that it needs another one. But that is unlikely to be as powerful a reason for the poll results showing declining interest in having such a ruler.

            The commentator does not discuss what this may mean when Putin passes from the scene; but it would appear that those offering a kind of ruler other than the traditional ”strong” one may have a better chance of garnering support than many now think and that those who promote themselves as that kind of leader may be betting on a fading horse.