Elections are becoming more and more difficult: who in Russia least supports Putin

Presidential elections are due to take place in Russia in March 2024, the “winner” of which is already known – Vladimir Putin. However, this time it will be more difficult for him to prove his legitimacy to the Russians, because not everyone supports the war he started in Ukraine.

About this Channel 24said ex-employee of the KGB and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Zhirnov, noting that the attitude towards Putin on the part of the Russian people has changed in recent years. The 2024 elections will be a test for him in terms of Russian support.

Carried out an unpopular reform

< p dir="ltr">Starting from 2012, each re-election for Putin was more difficult than the previous ones. In 2018, it was no longer as popular as it was in 2012. Although he was “pictured” with 82% support, in reality this was not the case.

Starting in 2011, Putin carried out pension reform , which complicated the life of Russian pensioners. In 2018, he had a rather low rating among Soviet elders, who were forced to work longer because of the reform, noted the ex-KGB officer.

Back then Putin needed a public execution of the Skripals to try to regain popularity among Russians. He succeeded, although the Skripals survived.

Poisoning of the Skripals

In March 2018, a former employee of the Russian GRU, who lived in the UK after being accused by Russian authorities of spying for London, Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent. Great Britain regarded the poisoning of the father and daughter as attempted murder.

Could explode at any moment

However, today the situation for Putin is more complicated. Even though he “reset” all his presidential terms, everyone understands that this is a mockery of common sense. In addition, many in Russia have simply become tired of him over all these years.

Putin has big problems because the war he started in Ukraine does not have as much support among Russians as is believed. There are many social, economic, and political difficulties in the country,” Zhirnov noted.

Evgeny Prigozhin openly criticized Putin, for which he was liquidated. He carried out a military putsch against the head of the Kremlin. These events demonstrated that not a single person came out to defend Putin.

The movement of mobilized women demanding the demobilization of their men is also intensifying

“When so many problems accumulate, it can explode anywhere and anytime, and no one can foresee this,” suggested Sergei Zhirnov.

More about the presidential elections in Russia

• Russian presidential elections are due to take place on the 17th March 2024. Putin announced that he intends to run in them, although this will be his fifth election. Moreover, the head of the Kremlin will be able to once again take part in the presidential elections in 2030.
• This became possible after certain changes were made to the Russian Constitution in 2020. Then the word was excluded from it, which did not allow the same person to occupy the presidency for more than two terms in a row. This is precisely what prevented Putin from participating in the elections in 2024.
• However, after only one word “in a row” was removed from the constitution, Putin received the opportunity to be re-elected in 2024- m and 2030.
• At the same time, the West may not recognize the results of the presidential elections in Russia. In particular, PACE in October supported a resolution recognizing the government in Russia as a dictatorship due to amendments made to the Russian constitution. Therefore, it is likely that Western countries may recognize Putin’s new presidential term as illegitimate.