The criminal war waged by the Kremlin against Ukraine makes the election campaign of the Russian dictator and war criminal Vladimir Putin much more difficult.
What is known about Putin's plans for the elections
According to the newspaper's journalists, the presidential elections in Russia in March next year will be very important for Putin, as he is almost guaranteed to participate in them.
However, the upcoming presidential election will be important. This is the first election since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This was Putin's most important decision since he first entered the Kremlin as the leader of his country two decades ago, the publication said.
It is noted that the elections are directly related to the strategy of the Kremlin dictator regarding the war against Ukraine next year.
For now, it remains exciting whether Putin will order another large-scale mobilization that will not have widespread support among Russians.
However, mobilization can be announced even after the dictator once again assumes the post of president of the Russian Federation.
What hinders Putin's undisputed conduct of pseudo-elections
Andrei Pertsey, an analyst of Russian politics for Meduza, said that war and mobilization are becoming increasingly unpopular among Russians. They cause people "concern".
According to Grigory Golosov, professor of political science at the European University in St. Petersburg, the Kremlin dictator wanted to ensure that no one could question his power's legitimacy. First, we discuss various factions within the country's ruling class.
Golosov emphasized that ordinary Russians and politicians realize that Russia has had no real political rivalry for many years. At the same time, there is no significant difference between real legitimacy and its imitation in the country.
The analyst noted that even visible legitimacy will help Putin survive an internal crisis if one occurs.
It is expected that several more candidates will take part in the elections, in particular representatives of the Communist Party and the nationalist LDPR, which in the past played the role of convenient "rivals" for the Russian president. The Kremlin may also allow a liberal candidate to enter the race. Although, according to experts, this question remains open, since any such candidate will most likely oppose the war in Ukraine, the publication says.
Andriy Pertsev emphasizes that the war hurts Putin's presidential campaign. The Kremlin knows about the change of mood.
According to the analyst, although the Russian dictator remains deeply interested in the war, his administration is noticeably shifting its agenda towards more mundane issues, such as developing the country's infrastructure.
It is noted that before the election campaign's start, the Russian Federation government organized a considerable exhibition called "Russia" in Moscow.
A 500-meter video tunnel has been created to showcase the country's various achievements under Putin, such as building apartment buildings and highways.
Notably, there is no mention of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine in this video tunnel.
