Western mass media have been predicting the downfall of Putin’s regime for many years. They say the Russian will get disappointed with him in the near future. That is why most Western analysts were shocked by an article written by Mark Adomanis. The article is called “Vladimir Putin's Approval Rating Isn't Actually Declining”. It is published by Forbes.
The author reports that according the Levada Center, which he calls “Russia’s most respected independent polling outfit”, Putin’s rating has been steady over the last 2 years even though it is lower it used to be. Still, over the last 13 years of Putin’s ruling, his rating hasn’t changed a lot. This is a sign of relative stability. So, this seems to be a phenomenon. Who else can boast such stable support?
Therefore, we cannot say that Putin’s image in Russia is declining.
Still, Mr. Adomanis assumes that Putin’s approval may well decline over the next few years. However, if this is the case, the decline will be gradual.
Let’s quote the author:
“Putin’s popularity clearly hasn’t suffered some sort of dramatic rebound, and I think it’s safe to say that it won’t ever again match the stratospheric levels that accompanied the victory over Georgia in the 2008 war and the height of the oil boom. Those days are gone, and they’re not ever coming back. But, simply as a factual matter, we can’t say that Putin’s popularity is steadily declining because it isn’t. Maybe it should be declining and maybe it will decline in the not-too-distant future…”
Putin’s rating is said to be based on numerous sold factors, including some breakthroughs in foreign and domestic policies. It is sufficient to recollect that since Putin became the President of Russia over a decade ago, Russia’ GNP has increased by 97% while the national debt is down by 823%. At the time, pensions are up by 231% while salaries have increased by 142%.
Moreover, the Russian Ruble is still relatively stable. The chart below, courtesy of Masterforex-V Academy, reflects the current state of affairs in the market of USDRUB:
To sum up, Putin has no alternative so far. This is one of the key reasons why Putin is still almost as popular as a decade ago. Obviously, the support is not as strong as it used to be. However, there has been no major decline in Putin’s rating since he came to power.
