Putin Risks New Unrest, Says Economist Who Saw ’11 Unrest

The economist who predicted the largest protests of Vladimir Putin’s rule in 2011-2012 says Russia may be entering a new era of revolt provoked by the economic slump and the deepening conflict in Ukraine.

Discontent at tightening political controls at a time of worsening economic hardship may boil over by the next parliamentary elections at the end of 2016, Mikhail Dmitriev said in an interview in Moscow. While Putin’s approval rating is near a record level, serious unrest could be triggered even sooner if fighting increases significantly between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists, provoking fresh U.S. and European Union sanctions and a deeper economic crisis, he said.