Elections Aren’t Getting Any Easier For the Kremlin
Russia’s unpopular ruling party needs a big win next month. That means jailed opponents, cash handouts — and fewer eyes watching.
Putin
Photographer: Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images“We are Team Putin. We are United Russia,” read the backdrop to a gathering organized by the pro-Kremlin party earlier this month. September’s parliamentary elections are edging closer, and the bloc has reached for its trump card.
Vladimir Putin does not officially lead United Russia and usually takes pains to stand apart from the parliamentary fray. But these are not usual times. The regime, tired and under strain, has an eye on the presidential election in 2024. It urgently needs the ruling party to narrow the yawning gap between its unimpressive popularity ratings and the votes required to secure a supermajority in the Duma, crucial for any constitutional tinkering in advance of that vote. United Russia’s support stands at around 27%, pedestrian especially for a party with vast administrative resources at its disposal, while trust in Putin tops 60%.