Putin is skyrocketing in the polls.

[NCTraveler]

Very few politicians receive this type of all around support. Obamas numbers among liberals is the only thing I can think of to compare it to. It is a brave new Russia with a new leader moving forward.

http://rt.com/politics/232115-putin-trust-rating-maximum/

"The latest poll has shown that 85 percent of Russian citizens trust President Vladimir Putin and 74 percent say they would vote for him if presidential elections were held next weekend."

[Dwayne Hicks]

1. Yeah right

I'm sure the Russian people are ecstatic about their economy tanking.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Let's run a secret poll to see if Russian citizens trust Putin's poll numbers.

It smells like bullshit.

[RKP5637]

26. Yeah, same thoughts here too! Propagandistic bullshit! n/t

[Albertoo]

3. After stuffing the ballot boxes, running the Press,

now Putin reaps at the polls?

It shows Russia has only had a single digit years of democracy in its entire history..

[stevenleser]

4. I believe it and folks here know I am not a fan

Putin has trodden on well known nationalistic ground, a war of conquest and scapegoating a vulnerable minority. Both things were, transparently to me and a lot of folks, designed to appeal to nationalism in the Russian people.

We know this works. It's just despicable to do it.

[spanone]

5. does russia support freedom of the press?

if not, this is a fantasy.

[onehandle]

6. Pravda Lives!

Last edited Tue Feb 17, 2015, 03:10 PM - Edit history (1)

All Hail Dear Leader!

[Buzz Clik]

37. True, but Prada is Italian....

[Rex]

7. But the problem is that he could have 'asked them kindly' to make the number 85%.

I just don't trust state run media in a closed government and never will.

[FSogol]

8. Here's some analysis that shows that Putin's popularity is a bunch of BS.

It is from an opinion piece in the Washington Post By Christopher Walker and Robert Orttung from January 30, 2015

Christopher Walker is executive director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Robert Orttung is assistant director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the George Washington University’s Elliott School for International Affairs.

How Russia props up Putin in the polls

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity appears to resist the laws of political physics. Despite the price of oil sinking below $50 a barrel and the Russian economy falling into a tailspin, Putin’s approval ratings hover above 80 percent, seemingly defying ­gravity.

But the numbers should not be taken at face value.

Deeper scrutiny is especially important because the more Putin’s sky-high popularity ratings are mentioned, the more they become accepted wisdom. Western news media and political analysts frequently report on them without providing critically needed context.

Whole article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-russia-props-up-putin-in-the-polls/2015/01/30/0302bea8-a59e-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html

[bananas]

20. Trojan Horse: The National Endowment for Democracy

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/TrojanHorse_RS.html

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Bush had very high numbers at the beginning of the Iraq War.

Polls are funny, funny things.

[Renew Deal]

10. He's getting to Kim Jong Un's level of support

Last edited Tue Feb 17, 2015, 02:37 PM - Edit history (1)

How many of them are concerned about being imprisoned?

[NCTraveler]

15. Funny you should ask.

http://rt.com/politics/232671-russia-navalny-propaganda-detention/

"The opposition coalition Solidarity has submitted a request for a major march against the authorities’ anti-crisis measures on March 1. Moscow City Hall is yet to grant approval for the rally.

The news about the application was reported by one of Solidarity’s key activists, Sergey Davidis. He told Interfax the event would be named simply ‘Spring’ and the maximum turnout is estimated at 100,000. The main objective of the march is to express discontent with the anti-crisis program of the authorities, Davidis elaborated.

The head of Moscow’s directorate for regional security, Aleksey Mayorov, told reporters on Monday that various political movements had submitted six different applications for mass rallies on March 1 and added that it was early to talk about any particular plans. According to Russian law, civil servants have three days to officially permit or ban the rally.

On Sunday one of the main figures behind the planned rally – the leader of the Party of Progress Aleksey Navalny – was detained for promoting the march."


This is one area where you will see a very small amount of honesty in reporting at rt. Some here will act like they don't get it but it is in direct correlation with Putins poll numbers. What you mentioned and fake/exaggerated polls go hand in hand.

[JaneyVee]

11. LOL. An RT poll on Putin!

[Rex]

12. IKR? It is like a NYT poll on Dubya in 2003.

Ain't buying it.

[NCTraveler]

17. Hey!!!

The White House Briefing Room at one point was gushing over W. Slow your roll.

[NuclearDem]

13. "74 percent say they would vote for him"

Nice knowing the other 26%.

[lame54]

14. Wonder how they came up with that figure...

His handlers needed to come up with a figure
53% could sound realistic but not enough of a mandate
98% is more like a dictator
how did they come up with 85 and 74%?
I think it went something like this...

[edhopper]

16. According to Russia's own

Faux News.

[LanternWaste]

18. Half of Russians expect Soviet repressions to be repeated, suggests poll

A new survey in Russia suggests growing acceptance of Soviet-style political repressions as support declines for remembrance of victims of Stalin's Great Terror.

Forty eight per cent of Russians who acknowledged that mass political repressions took place in the Soviet era said they believed similar cruelties could be repeated in their lifetime, while 17 per cent thought such crackdowns can be justified, up from 12 per cent in 2012.

"In the conditions of an imperial-patriotic surge and the trend towards a total whitewash of our history, a part of society is irritated that liberals remind people about the Stalinist repressions," he said.

Earlier this month, Russia's justice ministry applied to the country's supreme court to "liquidate" Memorial, the Russian NGO which is known for its scrupulous documenting of Stalin's repressions, as well as for highlighting abuse of civilians in the North Caucasus.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11196587/Half-of-Russians-expect-Soviet-repressions-to-be-repeated-suggests-poll.html




"It is a brave new Russia with a new leader moving forward..."
Novorossiya, indeed...

[NCTraveler]

28. The telegraph doesn't have insider information into Russia like rt does.

Please don't muddy the waters with outside interference. Thanks.

[Nite Owl]

64. I think

the GOP voted in that poll. He is their ideal.

[Blue_Tires]

19. It's easy when Putin doesn't have a media that ever criticizes him...

Last edited Tue Feb 17, 2015, 06:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Since those who do criticize him are arrested/kidnapped/shot...

Sadly, that's not a story you'll ever see mentioned in Snowden's speeches or covered by The Intercept...And it's the single biggest factor in Putin's popularity that his groupies on DU won't ever dare acknowledge....

[stevenleser]

21. Yes, wish I had added that to my comment above and that's the other piece of the puzzle

I'm afraid to post comments or click like on any of the FB posts of my friends at RT, fearing that if they are associated with a known media critic of Putin, it will get them in trouble.

But yes, you are 100% right, it's easy to maintain a high popularity when the press is afraid to criticize you.

[RKP5637]

32. Exactly! For example, what he did supposedly to the one reporter that

challenged him, wound up mysteriously poisoned. Dictators like Putin always do well in basically state run polls with little investigative insight by outsiders (or insiders).

[greatauntoftriplets]

22. Putin's been president or prime minister of Russia for the last 15 years.

He's not exactly a "new leader".

[NCTraveler]

27. Ahhh. You caught that. lol.

Didn't think the sarcasm tag was necessary.

[greatauntoftriplets]

34. I did wonder.

Whew!

[rocktivity]

23. Candidate for This Year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

Time to exhume that Cold War era joke: "Russian elections: There's only ONE candidate -- and you'd BETTER vote."


rocktivity

[Takket]

24. Hard to have a bad approval rating when...

The only information the people have to decide on is what you (the leader) choose to show them. Same thing happens here to an extent. How do you convince a bunch of poor people to vote republican? By using Fox news to show that the reason they are poor isn't because of the billionaire that wants to pay you the same wage someone got 30 years ago, its because of the person "raking in" a few hundred a month on welfare to feed 3 kids.

[KamaAina]

25. He must be getting the Asperger's Bump

[LittleBlue]

29. The west's plan is falling apart

They thought they could engineer a quick overthrow in Ukraine and sneak them into NATO. That backfired. So now sanctions and a ham-handed scheme to collapse oil prices are supposed to drain political support from Putin. So far it appears that isn't working.

The west has run out of ideas. Bully tactics, as it turns out, just don't work against a bigger bully.

[RKP5637]

33. And ex KGB. n/t

[polly7]

39. You're right.

Russia and China have dared to complete an energy deal outside the petro-dollar and are feared to be preparing a new, possibly gold-backed, currency that might replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Ukraine is just part of the geopolitical struggle this creates, and getting it into NATO to step up the military threat against Russia is crucial. But, as the EU (and Germany in particular) aren't yet willing to join forces in an all-out war against Russia (not out of humanitarian concerns, but because of their dependency on Russian gas and oil and their anticipation of a new monetary world order no longer dominated by the US) the west and IMF’s main purpose in Ukraine is to deepen and widen the already existing economic, social and ethnic conflicts. By doing so, they hope to force Putin into a long-lasting and costly war that will weaken his position at home and eventually pave the way for the installation of new rulers in Moscow.
Yatseniuk and his investment banker cronies in Kiev with their IMF loans will lead to horrible suffering, just as it did in Greece and Spain.

Hussein's switch to the euro, Quaddafi's gold dinar plan, anyone threatening the petro-dollar, who also sits on resources and is not yet indebted and ruined by the IMF is in trouble. Anyone who can't see that has got their head in the sand.

The Russian people aren't stupid. They know what's going on as well as most others in the world.

[LittleBlue]

44. YES!

[polly7]

30. I think from the replies here, we can gather that the Russian people are all

stupid and too ignorant to be allowed a voice in their own political system.

Typical. Only the west is intelligent enough to elect leaders that don't make war, kill, make homeless, maim, torture millions and remove leaders that once kept terrorism in check - except for those who help pay for it of course, like the Saudi's.

The arrogance and hypocrisy is astounding.

[NCTraveler]

46. There can truly be no good reply to you.

Yours is based somewhere other than reality.

" Only the west is intelligent enough to elect leaders that don't make war, kill, make homeless, maim, torture millions"

Some of us are actually well read enough to understand that the evil west makes war, kill, make homeless, maim, torture millions and remove leaders that once kept terrorism in check. We are also well read enough to understand the far right wing government under the hands of Putin for over a decade have done the same. It is called intellectual honesty. The arrogance of Putin supporters truly is astounding.

Your reply is all over the map and very strange.

[polly7]

47. Truth hurt?

It doesn't hurt as much if you accept it and try to make things better. I know Canada's part in the destruction of Libya - it hurts me a lot, because I see what it did to that country, but I'll do whatever the fuck I can to stop it from happening somewhere else, even if it's only writing my MLA, signing petitions or posting on a message board.

Your reply is just plain stupid.

[NCTraveler]

48. We are in full agreement.

Look at that. Like two peas in a pod.

[polly7]

49. Except for your 'Putin supporter' fairy tale.

I support the people of Russia (and Ukraine, of course) who no doubt are living in fear right now and who completely understand the motivation behind all of this. They've lived through horrible wars before and no doubt have grandparents and parents who were killed (as millions were), maimed or still with them that have told the horror stories. They KNOW war. It's not rocket science.

That they are suddenly going to not support their leader (whether you or I or anyone else outside of Russia hates him or not) at this crucial time for them makes absolutely zero sense.

You're obviously the pea that stopped growing at the end of the pod and nobody eats.

[NCTraveler]

50. Once again, we are in full agreement.

So sorry you feel that way about my intelligence. It kind of hurts. I'm somewhat crying. I am going to shut the doors to my business where I pay above industry standards at every position, call the free clinic down the road and tell them they won't be receiving thousands from me as they did last year, throw my college degree out my office window, and then set fire to the place. Do you think I should also burn my award for being the most advanced science student in high school in my county of over one million people? I think I will. I feel so ashamed that you are writing letters and blogging and I am getting nothing good done because of my stupidity.

"That they are suddenly going to not support their leader (whether you or I or anyone else outside of Russia hates him or not) at this crucial time for them makes absolutely zero sense."

I do agree with that. Like you rallying around W after 9-11. It is what some do. Rally around their leader during times like that. I don't agree with it but I do understand where you logic is coming from.


Your cold truth has changed my life.

We are two peas in a pod. I am the smaller wilted one.

[polly7]

51. I don't care what you do, little pea. nt.

[NCTraveler]

52. That could be no more clear.

Care to the point of blindness with respect to those outside of our borders and not give a shit about someone right down the road. Why are so many like that. I would love to see a study on it. Respectfully, your stupid little wilted pea.

[polly7]

53. I never called you stupid or anything else.

You labeled me a 'Putin supporter'. I corrected you. The blindness outside the borders of anyone in the west justifying any of this is willful, imo. There is NO excuse, we've seen it happen time after time to nation after nation. If you want to play martyr for something I never said, go ahead.

And sorry, it's been a slice, but I need to sleep.

[NCTraveler]

54. Awww. You kind of did and it hurt.

Be careful. It's starting to look like you do care about me after all. Not the only things changing in your posts.

Sincerely,

Your little wilted pea.

[stevenleser]

60. Nope, that is your straw man. What you CAN gather is that the same tactics that

Worked in the US by George W Bush, work in Russia under Putin and have worked a myriad of other places. Humanity hasn't evolved beyond criminal rulers appealing to their populations with wars of conquest and the scapegoating of a vulnerable minority.

[Sheepshank]

62. Having been born to two Communist refugees

I gotta tell you, how ignorant (without knowledge) is your reply. In my circle or family and aquaintances, they only know what they have been spoon fed by their government, and the rest of their political opinion is NOT up for debate or discussion. Too many still remember the old ways, and they know better than to answer any survey, respond to any on line questionnaire with their own personal preferences. They WILL tow the line and say what is expected fo them. If they answer with their own preferences, they will either answer for it now, or at a future date when it's convenient for the government.

I think people here on DU realize that.

[MineralMan]

31. What a surprise from RT, eh?

Sheesh!

[Terra Alta]

35. From RT, of course.

[Sheepshank]

36. I think North Korea had almost the same approval numbers for their fearless leader.

Can't say I trusted that poll either.

[SidDithers]

38. Kick for the Putin boot-lickers...nt

Sid

[zappaman]

40. I'm sure Dubya had great poll numbers from Fox as well.

[NCTraveler]

42. About ten years ago...

About ten years ago W was polling around 85% with respect to those in the White House Briefing Room. They loved him.

[applegrove]

41. I've said it before but how would you vote if you 'got a call' from 'a pollster' in Russia, asking

you if you like Putin? I think people fall back to a totalitarian mindset and act/vote in ways to keep themselves safe.

[NCTraveler]

43. "to keep themselves safe" nt.

[HappyMe]

45. What a shock!

Who in their right mind would say 'meh, he's fuckstick!' if they called the house. Besides, rt could have just made that up.

[tridim]

55. They must have polled American teabaggers. nt

[NCTraveler]

58. I think they just polled management in the newsroom.

One guy is unfortunately going to lose his head....er I mean job.

[HERVEPA]

56. Why are you posting this Russia Today trash?

[NCTraveler]

57. Is that what we are calling hard hitting journalistic outlets these days? nt.

[Agschmid]

61. Lol RT.

Okay...

[denbot]

63. Pfffffft, Stalin's numbers were higher.

I'm pretty sure he also captured 99.999 percent of the vote too.

[William769]

65. Well when a gun is pointed to the back of your head (the Russian people) What do you expect? nt

[FrodosPet]

66. RT Poll: How much do you trust President Putin?

1. A Lot
2. A Whole Lot!

Would you vote for President Putin if the election were held next weekend?

1. Of Course I Would
2. Absolutely!