© Sputnik/ Alexei Druzhinin
Jay Ogilvy, Stratfor: Unraveling the Mystery of Putin's Popularity
Why is Vladimir Putin so popular in Russia? After all, with the country just barely emerging from a two-year recession brought on by a combination of sanctions and low oil prices, you would think that the president's popularity would be taking a hit. But no. His approval ratings are still remarkably high — depending on the pollster and the date, they're often over 80 percent.
How can that be? Some doubt the polls, a generalized wariness of pollsters that itself has become popular in the wake of recent electoral surprises. But a number of different polls, especially those conducted by the politically independent Levada Center in Moscow, support the conclusion that the Russian people genuinely hold their leader in high regard.
To most Americans, Putin's popularity is a mystery because so many still hold on to an image of Russia fashioned during the Cold War. This negative view has been nourished by pop culture stereotypes, from the evil blonde agent in "From Russia With Love" to countless other Russian villains.
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WNU Editor: Could not have said it any better .... and this coming from a Russian national who is not a fan of Putin. This is my must read post for today.
7 comments:
I agree with you WNU and, as you, I am not a Putin fan either.
We also have to consider that it not easy to get in a full democracy within a so short time. After all, if we look at all the European countries, it take them a little while and, for some, with chaos. America is a special case because there was no dictatorship (only colonialism) before coming to democracy.
Jac. I give Russia another 50 years.
WNU Editor,
BTW,
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global/2017/apr/17/how-donald-trump-became-golfer-in-chief
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/lifestyle/style/does-donald-trump-cheat-at-golf-a-washington-post-investigation/2015/09/02/f8a940b2-50c4-11e5-9812-92d5948a40f8_story.html
http://trumpgolfcount.com
I'd add the general charisma of Putin.. I'm confident he's literally a murderer and had opponents imprisoned. .but he's like the fun guy you knew from back in your childhood who would do anything for a friend even though he's completely f'd up in his head. ...on top I think Putin is generally quite intelligent,street smart and knows how to act in front of a camera. ..something Hillary Clinton never learned and never will. .. Media makes and breaks a 20th and 21st century politician. ..that's what Putin is good at.. smiling. .playing Piano. .wearing nice suits. .while he has your family being tortured. ..you don't mess with a guy like that. .that's also why I think Russia won't change for the better until he's gone. He's so talented and psychopathic at the same time that there's no opening for competitors until he's gone..
I'd vote for Putin over over Trudeau,or Obama or Bush the jury still out for me on the Trumpster or Putin, I'd also put him ahead of any of those jerks in Europe especially that Malevolent Dwarf in Germany, were all lead by psychopaths, at least he seems like a competent psychopath.
Simple answer,Russians are crazy.
I add the Kursk "incident" to that.
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