The publication said Russian society directs most of its
frustration at United Russia, rather than at Putin himself, who is not a party
member. The party’s rating hovers around 30%.
This year, however, the Kremlin took the unusual step of
tying Putin even more closely to United Russia.
At the opening of United Russia’s 23rd congress on June 28,
posters displayed the slogan “Being for Putin is the basic minimum,” and the
party called itself “the president’s party” for the first time since 2007.
But fuel rationing and internet shutdowns have damaged
morale among Russians. Putin’s claims that Russian occupying forces are
allegedly making progress are beginning to irritate the public, while Ukrainian
drones are now reaching Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The FT quoted Moscow political scientist Andrei Kolesnikov
as saying Putin’s attempts to reassure people sound like “a mantra — as if he
is trying to convince himself that everything is fine.”
Kolesnikov also said that by rejecting Ukraine’s proposal to
stop long-range strikes through a limited cease-fire, Putin signaled that “he
is rejecting all options for a peaceful solution because he is afraid of losing
the initiative.”
The analyst added that “this is a bad sign.” Putin will not
agree to any concessions, even to his own detriment, Kolesnikov said, because
“he is full of resentment and resolve.”
Although the Kremlin keeps voting in Russia under tight
control and allows only selected candidates onto the ballot, parliamentary
elections remain an important barometer of discontent. When anger over internet
shutdowns began building in the spring, United Russia representatives started
distancing themselves from unpopular measures they had previously supported,
the FT wrote.
The publication also cited Ivan Filippov, author of a
forthcoming book about Russia’s Z-blogger community, who said the shift in
strategy toward United Russia reflects Putin’s growing isolation.
Filippov said that, under current conditions, making Putin
the face of the country’s most unpopular political force is “an incomprehensible
decision that could be made only by someone living in a parallel reality.”
At the same time, Russian political scientist Mikhail
Vinogradov believes the Kremlin is betting that it can wait out rising social
discontent and return to the previous status quo.
On June 26, The New York Times, citing polling by the
pro-government Russian Public Opinion Foundation from June 19–21, reported that
Putin’s support had fallen to its lowest level since Russia’s full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The drop in approval accelerated after prolonged and intense
strikes by Ukraine’s Defense Forces on military infrastructure in Crimea
destroyed the occupied peninsula’s normal rhythm of life, forcing local
collaborationist authorities to impose a state of emergency.
In a June 28 report, analysts at the Institute for the Study
of War said Putin, during his speech at his United Russia party congress,
confirmed his intention to pursue Russia’s war aims in Ukraine by military
means and rejected diplomatic paths to ending the aggression.