Less than One-Third of All Russians Actively Support Putin
Filed under: Russia
The Boston Globe points out that in the recent elections for the Russian parliament (the Duma), elections that were avowedly a referendum on Vladimir Putin, only 44% of eligible voters went to the polls and only 64% of those who voted supported Putin.
Do the math: That means only 28% of Russia's eligible voters actively supported Putin in these elections. A whopping 72% of the country declined to do so. Even if turnout had been much higher, Putin's "referendum" would not have given him anything like majority of eligible voters, much less a dominant position. As the Globe points out, one could see that as a slight glimmer of hope for Russia. And Putin obviously knows only too well about his weakness -- what else explains the brutality of his crackdown on opposition politicians? As the Globe puts it: "Imagine a professional basketball team playing against an amateur club and not only bribing the refs but denying its opponents access to training facilities and using trickery to disqualify the rival team's best players."
Russia's opposition figures, like Garry Kasparov, talk the talk. They say they understand Putin's weakness. So far, though, they have not been willing to take really aggressive, Gandhi-like protest actions to destabilize and provoke the regime into respecting their rights. Time is running out for them to do so.
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