Putin Still Enjoying High Poll Numbers In Russia

BBC

Love Him or Hate Him, Vladimir Putin's Poll Numbers Have Never Been Higher -- Mark Adomanis, Forbes

In the increasingly severe standoff between East and West, there’s a general assumption among most Western policy makers and analysts that Russia’s worsening economy will severely weaken Vladimir Putin’s domestic position. As a regime with “performance legitimacy,” Putin’s ought to be highly vulnerable to any downturns in growth. Astute analysts of Russian politics have long noted that, upon coming to power, Putin essentially cut a deal with the Russian public: you stay out of politics, I’ll make sure the economy grows and that wealth trickles down.Any changes in the terms of this deal run the risk of mass protests and perhaps even of a Orange Revolution style uprising. Or so the story went.

The belief in Putin’s vulnerability on the economic front is exactly why the West decided to implement a sanctions regime: it was a way of “punishing” Russia that would avoid the risk of military conflict while simultaneously undermining what little support the authorities had left. The operating assumption was that when Russians saw the economic costs of their country’s policy in Ukraine they would decide that their political leadership was a bunch of buffoons and demand change. Russians, in other words, would prefer continued access to consumer goods over influence in Ukraine, iPads over great power status.

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My Comment: I am not a fan of Putin .... never have been .... but Mark Adomanis is correct .... Putin is enjoying high poll numbers. The reason why is simple, and I mentioned this a few months ago .... when under threat and/or facing international criticism the Russians always "circle the wagons" .... and in this case Putin has positioned himself shrewdly to be in the middle of this circle. There are still some who are hopeful that sanctions and its impact on the Russian economy will result in protests increasing against Putin .... Why Russians may soon tire of Putin’s antics (Bessma Momani, The Globe and Mail) .... this may be true but for the moment (and I have already predicted for next year) .... these protests are going to be muted.

Does Russian President Putin Want War?

Putin Wants War, Says Ukrainian Prime Minister -- Washington Times

Says Russian leader seeks to revise World War II outcomes

As the U.S. and its allies eye further action against Russia, Ukraine’s new prime minister Wednesday passionately accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to seize control of the Crimean Peninsula and fomenting all-out war in a bid to “revise the outcomes” of World War II.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk spoke minutes after an Oval Office meeting. President Obama underscored how strongly the U.S. is backing Ukraine’s new government by warning Mr. Putin that the outside world would never recognize the results of the Moscow-planned “slap dash” referendum on Crimean independence from Ukraine.

“We completely reject a referendum patched together in a few weeks with Russian military personnel basically taking over Crimea. We reject its legitimacy. … We will not recognize, certainly, any referendum that goes forward,” Mr. Obama said.

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My Comment: The answer is a definite no .... but Putin is someone who does draw red lines .... and he enforces them. If Russians are discriminated against/humiliated/ threatened/terrorized/in border states by (in Russia's eyes) an illegitimate government  .... he will not hesitate to order the tanks in .... and his support within Russia to do this will be 90%. 

Why Is Russian President Putin Now Silent On The Ukraine Crisis?

Putin Discusses Ukraine at High-Level Security Meeting. © RIA Novosti. Alexei Druzhinin

Putin’s Silence on Ukraine Adds to Confusion -- Steven Lee Myers, New York Times

MOSCOW — Despite repeated vows not to interfere or intervene, President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia has now found itself more deeply ensnared than ever in Ukraine’s worsening political crisis, facing appeals to support the country’s ethnic Russians, provide haven for its deposed president and perhaps even undertake a military response. The question is whether he intended it that way.

Mr. Putin himself has made no public remarks on the turmoil in Ukraine since President Viktor F. Yanukovych’s flight from Kiev six days ago. That coincided with the end of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, which officials here have celebrated as proof of the emergence of a new, powerful and proud Russia nearly a quarter century after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Mr. Putin’s silence has resulted in confusion over Russia’s policy, even as the crisis in Ukraine has moved closer to Russia’s own border and raised concerns about Ukraine’s geopolitical and economic impact on Russia, which could stand to lose what it considers a place that is not only within its sphere of influence but part of its political and social identity.

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My Comment: For a person who likes the spotlight .... his absence from the public stage during the Ukraine crisis has been a surprise. In his place he has had others speak for him .... and he has used the Russian military to make a point. But he will have to eventually make a public remark on the crisis .... something that I suspect he will do after Friday's news conference by Ukrainian ex-President Viktor F. Yanukovych.

The Branding Of Russian President Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)

The Making of Brand Putin -- Kristen Soltis Anderson, Daily Beast

All this exposure, even it means ridicule, is part of Putin’s master plan to maintain Russia as a Superpower—and himself as its Superhero.

Long before there was Obama Girl, there was Putin Girl. Or, rather, Putin Girls.

It’s 2002. Two women—part of a Russian pop duo “Singing Together” —come on screen, dancing to a catchy electro-pop beat. “My boyfriend is in trouble again, got in a fight got drunk on something nasty,” they sing in Russian. No, they say, instead of their intoxicated deadbeat boyfriend, they want someone…someone like Putin.

One like Putin, full of strength

One like Putin, who won’t be a drunk

One like Putin, who wouldn’t hurt me

One like Putin, who won’t run away!

In what winds up being a bizarre cross between a pop anthem and a Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man In The World” commercial, the video for “Takogo Kak Putin” (translated as “A Man Like Putin”) features footage of Putin taking out an opponent in judo and standing with the Queen of England, interspersed with a Putin look-alike calling up then-President Bush and presumably engaging in very important diplomatic conversations.

Russian songwriter Alexander Yellin, the man behind “Takogo Kak Putin,” told Public Radio International in 2012 that he “may have written "A Man Like Putin" as light satire, but it wasn't taken that way. Vladimir Putin made it his anthem and even played it at rallies.

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My Comment: I am not a fan of Russian President Putin (my nationality is Russian) .... but even I have had to accept the fact that if a Presidential election was held in Russia today .... Putin will easily gather over 50% of the popular vote. His weakness is the economy .... if it "tanks" .... so will he. But the Russian economy .... even with all of it's problems .... is still moving ahead, people are working, they are making money, pensions and salaries are being paid, and there is a sense in Russia that they have a President whose priority is to guarantee the safety of the Russian people .... which (when combined) is exactly what many Russians now want in their President.

Update: According to Gallop Americans are not buying this "Putin branding" .... but this is nothing new in U.S. - Russian relations.

Russian President Putin Hints That He May Run For A Fourth Term

Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Russian President Vladimir Putin during Valdai Club plenary session. © RIA Novosti. Mikhail Klimentiev

Russia’s Putin Says He May Seek 4th Term as President -- RIA Novsoti

VALDAI, Novgorod Region, September 19 (RIA Novosti) – In a playful exchange with France’s former prime minister, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday it was possible he would seek a fourth presidential term.

The exchange took place at the 10th annual meeting of the Valdai Club, a four-day, Kremlin-backed discussion forum bringing together several hundred Russian and foreign officials, scholars and other public figures in northwestern Russia.

During a question-and-answer session following Putin’s speech on Russia’s national identity, he asked former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon whether the latter planned to run for his country’s presidency; Fillon said he would reply only if Putin answered the same question – to which Putin said, “I don’t exclude [the possibility].”

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More News On Russian President Putin Hinting That He May Run For A Fourth Term

Russia's Putin says could seek re-election in 2018 -- Reuters
Putin says he may seek 4th presidential term -- AP
Putin Says He May Again Run for President -- Wall Street Journal
Putin may stand for fourth term as president of Russia -- BBC
Putin Does Not 'Rule Out' Re-election Bid -- Voice of America
Putin may run for a FOURTH presidential term in 2018 to become Russia’s longest serving leader since Stalin -- Daily Mail
Russian President Vladimir Putin may seek a fourth presidential term -- Global Post

My Comment: My prediction is that he will run. I do not know if he will win .... the election is years from now and politics is always changing .... but if he was to run today he will probably end up with the same result .... winning the election but barely above 60%.

Could This Woman Be Vladimir Putin's Real Mother?

Vera Putina claims Vladimir Putin is her son and that she gave him away when
he was 10 Photo: KATE WEINBERG

From The Telegraph:

Little is known about the childhood of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, despite his position as one of the world's most powerful men. Now in an extraordinary development, a Georgian woman has come forward to say she is his mother.

Vera Putina, 82, has claimed he is the child she gave away at the age of ten, giving an account of an unhappy childhood which is fiercely disputed by the Kremlin:

Vera Putina lives hand-to-mouth in rural Georgia but displays the famous hospitality of the people of the Caucuses. Draping a cloth over the table in her garden, she piles it with fruit, nuts and shot glasses of chacha – homemade vodka.

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My Comment: I doubt that she is his mother .... but the eyes are the same.

Putin Preparing Kremlin Comeback Next Year

From Economic Times of India:

MOSCOW: President Dmitry Medvedev's proposal to extend the presidential term in Russia paves the way for Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency
in 2009, the media reported on Thursday, citing Kremlin sources.

The Vedomosti daily cited a source close to the presidential administration as saying that the proposal, made by Medvedev in a speech on Wednesday, would lead to elections and was part of a broader plan for Putin's comeback.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP on Thursday that there were no plans for elections next year but refused to deny that the current prime minister could run for president again at some point in the future.

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Russia's Putin Plans To Return As President

Putin May Return To Kremlin In '09: Report
-- Yahoo News/Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev could resign from his post in 2009 to pave the way for Vladimir Putin to return to the Kremlin, Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday, citing an unidentified source close to the Kremlin.

Medvedev Wednesday proposed increasing the presidential term to six years from four years, a step the newspaper said was part of a plan drawn up by Vladislav Surkov, who serves as Medvedev's first deputy chief of staff.

Under the plan, Medvedev could implement changes to the constitution and unpopular social reforms "so that Putin could return to the Kremlin for a longer period," the newspaper said.

"Under this scenario Medvedev could resign early citing changes to the constitution and then presidential elections could take place in 2009," the newspaper said, citing the unidentified source close to the Kremlin.

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More News On Putin's Return To Power

Vladimir Putin 'could return as Russian president next year' -- The Telegraph
Vladimir Putin may return to Kremlin in 2009 -- Jerusalem Post
Russia's Putin Preparing Kremlin Comeback Next Year-Newspaper -- Nasdaq
Putin Might Return to Presidency Next Year, Vedomosti Reports -- Bloomberg