PUTIN’S POPULARITY WITHIN RUSSIA REMAINS HIGH, despite the devaluing of the ruble and the higher cost for staples. Russians believe in Putin and are giving him their full support. Because Putin, unlike Obama does not make statements that he is no prepared to back up and hearing him say that “Western opponents like never before, comparing them to Hitler, and hinting that they might one day face a similar defeat at the hands of his armies” is not remarks that should be easily dismissed or taken lightly. For a man who has made a career out of Soviet-era nostalgia, it was a timely reminder that not every memory of life back in the USSR is a cherished one. As Vladimir Putin made his state-of-the-nation speech last week, berating the West for stealing Russias imperial glory, his citizens were once again cursing the uselessness of the rouble. Thanks to sanctions imposed over Mr Putins annexation of Crimea and falling oil prices, the currency is once again a minnow in the world financial markets, losing roughly half its value this year. Food prices, even for basics like bread, have increased by ten per cent in two months alone But while Mr Putin may not be slinging his satirists in jail, it is clear he does not find the situation very funny. Nor, crucially, does he think it is his fault. Far from using Thursdays annual address to draw a line over this years confrontation, he blasted his Western opponents like never before, comparing them to Hitler, and hinting that they might one day face a similar defeat at the hands of his armies. They (The West) would have been delighted to let us go the way of Yugoslavia, with all the tragic consequences, he told an audience of apparatchiks and Orthodox clergymen in the white marbled-chamber of the Kremlins St George Hall. But it did not happen. It also didnt work out for Hitler, who with his man-hating ideas wanted to destroy Russia and throw us beyond the Urals. It would be good to remind everyone of how that ended. However, snappy sound bites from Moscows liberal minority cannot disguise the fact that despite dragging the country to both war and recession – the Kremlin admitted last week that Russias economy will shrink next year – Mr Putin remains phenomenally popular. His personal approval ratings reached 88 per cent during last summers invasion of eastern Ukraine, and although the sanctions have cooled the fervour somewhat, the ratings have only fallen by three per cent. No Western leader ever comes close to such figures – telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/11277180/Vladimir-Putins-Novorossiya-may-mark-just-the-start-of-his-empire-building-ambitions.html
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 06:16:28 +0000
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