How Does Putin Win Every Election, Explained With Data

There is no doubt that Putin will win the coming election and continue being the Russian president for another six years. But there are still things worth looking at in this Russian election.

One of them is this: Putin is a very popular autocrat, skillfully manipulating public opinion and playing on Russians' old imperialist sentiments, cold war mindset, and deeply ingrained xenophobia. This article reminds us of many of Russia’s problems—weak economy, international sanctions, ruined healthcare and infrastructure—but none seem to be a good enough reason for a regime change.

There is no doubt that Putin could win any election in Russia without so much as lifting his finger: his approval rating is above 60%. But his team is doing everything it can to achieve the result of 70%. Why does he need that? To keep his position as a lofty “father of the nation”, hovering above the fray. This is also the reason why he has never deigned to debate any of his political opponents—and has taken care to eliminate any real opposition: either by killing, like with Boris Nemtsov, or by fabricating a criminal case, like with Alexey Navalny. The opponents in this election are carefully selected so that they do not even get more than 10% of the vote and allow Putin, once again, to win in a carefully choreographed landslide. This will allow him to play his own political games, knowing that he will never be challenged.