As of: February 17, 2024, 4:58 a.m
By: Babett Gumbrecht
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Press
Split
The Russian election is approaching.
Putin's re-election is considered certain - actually.
Because new surveys show that the population is dissatisfied.
Moscow – There is still just under a month until the Russians elect their president.
It is virtually impossible that there will be a new Kremlin boss.
The re-election of 71-year-old Vladimir Putin is considered certain.
After all, Putin has been running Russia as president or prime minister for more than 20 years.
In addition, all important opposition politicians were excluded from running.
But new survey results from Russia's independent polling institute
Levada
show that the population is becoming more dissatisfied under the Kremlin leader, reports
Bild.
Survey shows: Russians' standard of living is falling
The survey asked how life has changed for the Russian population over the past year.
For example, in relation to healthcare, security and freedom of expression.
In other words: How did life change for Russians with the Ukraine war?
Putin probably won't like the answers.
For example, 53 percent found it more difficult to pay for groceries (easier: 12 percent).
36 percent of Russians think that life has gotten worse for the majority of the population (better: 17 percent).
36 percent also said that health care in hospitals had deteriorated.
However, compared to the year 2022, when the war began, the Russian situation has not changed significantly in most areas.
Separately, however, a deterioration in relations with the Western countries, the NATO bloc, can be noted.
73 percent of Russians said that in their eyes the situation had become worse (better: 13 percent), reports
Levada.
Around 1,600 people from 137 municipalities in the 50 regions of Russia were interviewed for the survey in November last year.
Vladimir Putin wants to run for re-election in March.
© IMAGO/Mikhail Metzel
Oppositionists are hoping for an unforeseen election result
The numbers provide a rare insight into the situation of the Russian population.
These are particularly exciting in view of the upcoming election from March 15th to 17th.
The Russian opposition is not giving up hope that an unforeseen event could destabilize the regime, reports
Bild.
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A possible scenario would be that a very bad real election result could lead to mass protests due to Kremlin manipulation.
This happened, for example, in the 2011 parliamentary election. At that time, up to 100,000 government opponents took to the streets in protests.
The 2011 accusation: blatant fraud in the parliamentary election, reports the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
Kremlin downplays riots in Bashkortostan
And even now there is resistance.
Most recently, the serious riots in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan on the Volga shocked the Kremlin in January.
The protests began in the small town of Baimak, where the eco-activist Fail Alsynow was sentenced to four years in a camp.
The 37-year-old was known in the past as a leader of protests against the mining of a limestone mountain in his homeland, reports
dpa
.
The protests later spread to other cities, including the regional capital Ufa, and were increasingly directed against the head of the region Khabirov, whom the demonstrators accused of corruption.
The police took tough action against the people.
Two months before the Russian election, the Kremlin was reluctant to comment on the case and denied that it was a mass protest.
Putin is trying to maintain the appearance of stability before the election, despite his war of aggression against Ukraine that has been going on for almost two years.
Even if there is resistance, it is not expected to have an impact on the elections in March.
Putin's re-election is almost certain due to Russia's rigged electoral system.
(bg/dpa)