Thread by @andrewsweiss

THREAD: Are you still scratching your head about the gov't shake-up in Moscow and Putin’s proposed constitutional changes? New public opinion research from @CarnegieRussia/@levada_ru sheds light on bottom-up pressure for change and the possible impetus behind the changes. 1/

https://twitter.com/AndrKolesnikov/status/1222910517603373056

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru According to a fascinating new report by @AndrKolesnikov and @dnsvlkv, there is much greater support today for decisive comprehensive change. But it’s important to dig deeper into what that actually means. 2/

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru @AndrKolesnikov @dnsvlkv Earlier polling by the same team back in 2017 showed that the Crimea effect and Putin’s success in “making Russia great again” had already worn off. Russians want their leaders to focus on improving living standards and raising salaries and pensions. 3/

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru @AndrKolesnikov @dnsvlkv Everything else (fighting corruption, etc.) garners little interest. Standing up to the West or dealing w external threats don’t even show up as key priorities for Russian respondents. People are more worried about poverty and price increases they see in their daily lives. 4/

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru @AndrKolesnikov @dnsvlkv So who’s supposed to deal with these issues? Thе Carnegie/Levada report, which touched off a bit of a political firestorm when it was first released in Russia, offers some interesting conclusions about that as well. vedomosti.ru/politics/artic… 5/

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru @AndrKolesnikov @dnsvlkv “When asked which Russian politician “can offer a road map for change,” the number of people who have no answer at all (39 percent) is the highest.” 6/

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru @AndrKolesnikov @dnsvlkv “Putin remains at the top of the list of potential modernizers.” Having cleared the landscape of political alternatives, the Kremlin has made Putin the sole remaining vehicle for most Russians’ aspirations for change. 7/

@CarnegieRussia @levada_ru @AndrKolesnikov @dnsvlkv Stagnation ahead.
The full report is available here: carnegie.ru/2020/01/30/rus… END/