Putin's Core Supporters Are Getting Restless

Leonid Ragozin, Bloomberg: Putin's Core Support Begins to Waver

Working-class Russians hurt by recession look for someone to blame—in an election year.

Russia embarks on an almost two-year-long election season this summer that ends with a presidential contest in 2018. But unlike previous years, the country's faltering economy has taken its toll on lower-income voters who blame the Duma and the cabinet for their plight.

Five years ago, allegations of vote rigging led to the biggest antigovernment protests since Vladimir Putin’s ascent—dozens of opposition activists and leaders were jailed. The current election cycle comes amid an economic crisis caused in large part by earlier declines in oil prices, Russia's key export. The recession has left many employers cash-strapped, sending workers into the streets to protest unpaid wages and reduced working hours. The Center for Economic & Political Reforms, a think-tank close to the Russian Communist Party, reports an almost twofold increase in protests in March compared with previous months, a steep rise since last year.

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WNU Editor: News reports like this one are not helping him .... Navalny Activists: Russian Real Estate Holdings Now Being Hidden (RFE), and an economy that is still stagnant (albeit improving lately) is also a drag on his popularity. There is also a growing sentiment that maybe now is the time for a new leader .... that Putin has been in power too long, and now is the time for someone new. My prediction .... if there was a viable alternative to him in the next election .... an opposition leader with a clear vision and the ability to articulate it .... there is a very good chance that Putin may be defeated. But there is no one on the horizon yet, and (unfortunately) I doubt that there will be one by 2018 when the next Russian Presidential election is suppose to take place.

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