Mass dissent could test Putin after sham election

'Victory' will see Russia slide further towards totalitarianism

- BEN NOBLE

Vladimir Putin is guaranteed victory in the presidential election. The Kremlin will point to the official result as proof that Putin is popular - that Russians overwhelmingly support him, the political system he has led for nearly a quarter of a century, and the country’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

The president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has even said that the “presidential election is not really democracy, it is costly bureaucracy”, as Putin is certain to win, given the consolidation of society around him. But the reality of support for Putin in Russian society is far more complicated. There are certainly Russians who are ardent supporters of Putin. But there are others who detest him. And there is a much larger group in between – those who try to avoid politics as much as possible and have ambivalent feelings about the president.

It might seem to those outside Russia that Putin’s regime relies heavily on people who need no encouragement to show their active support for the head of state. Members of this group certainly feature prominently in propaganda pieces. But it is the passive support given by the ambivalent middle group that is the real foundation of Putin’s rule.