Putin’s Popularity Soars to 87% in the Face of Adversity

[reorg]

Source: TIME

A new survey claims Russians are more than happy with their controversial strongman at the helm

Russian President Vladimir Putin has enmeshed his nation in civil war in Ukraine, faces international sanctions for allegedly contributing to the downing of a commercial airliner last month, and has been targeted by a fresh round of financial sanctions from the West. But Russia loves him all the same.

In fact, his popularity among his fellow countrymen appears to grow with each new controversy.

Read more: http://time.com/3088126/putins-popularity-hits-87-russia/

---

In related news:

Mickey Rourke May Attend Presentation of Brand Issuing Putin T-shirts in Moscow



Hollywood star Mickey Rourke may take part in a presentation of a clothing brand famous for selling T-Shirts with prints of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on August 11.

“Mickey Rourke may visit the demonstration of ‘Vse Putyom’ [Everything is Cool] T-shirts new collection in central Moscow’s GUM department store,” Fyodor Kastrov, a representative for the brand, told RIA Novosti.

The brand’s latest collection has 15 T-shirt prints, including a famous image of Putin riding a horse wearing military uniform and one showing him with sunglasses on, with slogans such as “The most polite man,” and “They’re not gonna get us”. ...

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140808/191852761/Mickey-Rourke-May-Attend-Presentation-of-Brand-Issuing-Putin.html

[onehandle]

1. Subtract up to 50% for poll fixing by the Kremlin. nt

[ballyhoo]

4. I don't think so anymore. My friend in Turkey who goes

to Russia on business all the time says Putin is very popular. Course, he could be a plant too.

[jamzrockz]

11. Bush's approval rating

was in the 95%+ after 911. When enemy is at the gate, the people rally to the leader. Its that simple, Russia is facing enemies left and right, her allies in North Africa and Middle east are facing attacks from western backed armies and their neighbor just faced a coup that replaced a sorta Russia friendly president.

This is not paranoia for them, they are facing serious threats from abroad

[olddad56]

55. and that was triple his IQ.

[kardonb]

32. polls

more like 70% , and you'l be close to the truth .

[Peacetrain]

2. Yeah right... when pigs fly

so is the leader of N. Korea as he starves his people to death.. and have over a quarter of a million in prison camps.. he gets 100%.. Putin can make up any number he wants.. he is in his own little world, where he rides around with no shirt, wrestling bears..

[reorg]

5. GALLUP disagrees

A new poll from Gallup shows that 83 percent of Russians approve of Putin's job performance, up nearly 30 points from his 2013 rating and tied with the previous all-time high from 2008.



http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-plane-crash/poll-putins-approval-rating-all-time-high-russia-n161161

[Cha]

35. Those "13%" must be Gay, Journalists who disagree with the dictator, and those on the internet

who are censored.. all squeezed into one little ol "13%".

Yeah, Putin is popular with America's rw assholes too.


Hey, Peactrain~

[Peacetrain]

48. Yep.. Since he is shutting down internet access

they really love him Scared to death is more like it..just reading the other day how like everyone else..they have sent people out to try and steer the conversation their way in a positive manner on boards like this.. I trust Putin and his goverment about as far as I can throw a cow.. Hey Cha!!!

[Cha]

63. Yeah, good ol dictator putin is really popular for a dic. If they call sending RT Propagandists

like the ones we have.. a "positive" step.. they missed the fucking boat.

Have a great weekend, Peacetrain~

[Billy Budd]

47. Only western propaganda

is worth believing...specially if a US official like Colin Powell goes to the UN to get down with catapulting the prop g

[McCamy Taylor]

3. Uniting in the face of adversity is the favorite pasttime of Russians. From Bonaparte to

the Mongol Horde, nothing gets a Russian's juices going quite like a huge foreign threat that allows its citizens to stand together shoulder to shoulder, preferably in the snow, starving and dying.

The proper response to Putin is to ignore him. The proper response to Russia is to offer them sympathy on having such a dick for a tyrant. Vilifying Russia plays right into Putin's hands.

[SunSeeker]

18. LOL. I do believe you've nailed it. nt

[MADem]

28. Not just the Russians, it's an element of nationalism.

Iranians aren't necessarily thrilled with their government, but if they ever came under attack the response would be unified, even from those who hate the repression.

Even Bush got high ratings after Nahn Wun Wun changed ever-thang.

And of course, this is TIME (GOP Central) gleefully reporting, and playing the Compare-and-Contrast game. Bush would have been lucky to hit forty percent after the country wised up to his bullshit.

[LisaL]

53. How would you have them react to a threat?

[conservaphobe]

6. The dipshits deserve the economy they're about to get. nt

[reorg]

7. it's not Russia that is hurting from the war of sanctions

it's Lithuania, Greece, Spain and even France - all of whom have demanded help from the EU already, the Greek opposition in unison demand from their government to distance itself from the EU stance regarding Ukraine.

EU sanctions against Russia will adversely affect Greece's economy, the head of the Greek commerce confederation ESEE Vassilis Korkidis on Friday said in a statement.

Greece may not be able to buy anything from what is included in EU's prohibitions, Korkidis pointed out, but it can sell Greek seasonal products, such as vegetables and fruits with a short production, transport and consumption cycle, to Russian enterprises.

According to Korkidis, every action causes a reaction and unfortunately Russia’s reaction will be at the expense of the EU economically weaker countries and therefore Greece and will be immediately felt in the fields of bilateral trade, road transport and energy and in the long-term tourism.

"The effective intervention of our economic diplomacy for a political solution at the highest level is now essential so as to defuse the crisis in the Greek-Russian economic relations and prevent a Russian embargo on our country. Europe and Russia have sown the wind and Greece is called to reap the whirlwind,” he noted.

http://www.amna.gr/english/articleview.php?id=6684

Lithuanian trucks carrying meat and milk products are not allowed to cross into Russia:

[candelista]

50. Great picture!

[DeSwiss]

65. WTH does that even mean?! n/t

[Journeyman]

8. As a proud member of the 10% who opposed George W. in late September 2011. . .

I believe Putin's popularity could very well be greater than 87%. But like George W., that graph will probably drop like a stone in clear water in the coming months.

[reorg]

10. Wanna bet? n/t

[cosmicone]

45. GW was dumb and incompetent

Putin on the other hand, is clever like a fox and efficient like a turbo-charged jet engine. He won't falter like Bush did in the Katrina fiasco.

While the reasons for their high popularity are the same ... people rallying around in the face of adversity, that is where the similarity ends.

We should never have taken on Putin and let him have his buffer states. The PNAC hardon for EUfiling buffer states is going to make the lives of a lot of people miserable -- mostly poor and hard working people. In Russia and EU.

[pampango]

58. "We should have ... let him (Putin) have his buffer states." Why? Do China, India and Brazil

(the other BRIC countries) get 'buffer states' too? Or is this only something that Russia 'deserves'. (Perhaps because it has a big military and an assertive foreign policy - in which case China may be wanting 'buffer states' in the near future.)

And what do we tell the people in the 'buffer states'? That regardless of what policies they may want their national government to pursue, the decision has been made elsewhere that they are a 'buffer state' and some policy choices are not available to them.

Putin on the other hand, is clever like a fox and efficient like a turbo-charged jet engine.

Sounds like a Putin press release. You may agree, however, that every leader who is clever and efficient is not necessarily good for his own people, his neighbors or the rest of the world. I can think of many historical examples of leaders who fit that bill.

[cosmicone]

60. Brazil has no hostile neighbors.

India has hostile neighbors but no buffer states exist because of geography. In China's case, there really isn't a border state that is capable of fighting China so a buffer state is unnecessary -- except perhaps on the Russian border where Mongolia has remained as a buffer state, not siding with either side, in peace.

You may think the US and its European allies are benevolent but US is a hostile state focused on the destruction of Russia for a long long time, by military buildup, sanctions, espionage and all available means. Americans are all too focused on "winning" rather than peaceful coexistence. When a coexistence is reluctantly and non-consensually observed (i.e. vis à vis Cuba), everything is done to undermine the other nation short of overt military invasion.

Ukraine had discontented people and Yanukovytch agreed to vote early elections. Why was it necessary for the CIA to stage a coup and effect regime change? Couldn't we have waited for the elections if we are so democratic and all?

The world outside of Western Europe, Canada and Australia knows that US cannot be trusted and has unclean hands. Go figure.

[pampango]

62. The "US is a hostile state focused on the destruction of Russia for a long long time".

Nice to know your world view.

If the US wanted to destroy Russia it would not have sided with the USSR against Germany in WWII. It could have focused on defeating Japan - the country that attacked us and let Germany concentrate on the USSR.

After the war from 1945 to 1949 the US had a monopoly on atomic weapons. If it really wanted to "destroy" Russia it could have done so.

After the collapse of the USSR, the subsequent political and economic chaos in Russia would have been an excellent moment for the US to "destroy" Russia, if it had any such desire.

Putin knows that the secret to his political success is the neo-con strategy of promoting fear of "others", specifically the US and Europe. He says to the Russian people "I'm all that stands between you and the "boogeyman". I may not bring you peace and prosperity but I am clever and smart enough to play off your fears for political power." Consequently, it should be no surprise that Putin is quite popular with the far-right in Europe, but not with the left.

That is exactly what our neo-cons do, too. (Of course, American neo-cons use different "boogeymen" in their "how to use fear to gain power" schemes. Their "boogeymen" are "terrorists", "illegals", gays, "European socialists". The "boogeymen" are different but the neo-con tactic is the same.

It is odd that Yanukovich after he had agreed to early elections, had agreed to run the government in the interim and still had full control of the military and security forces. It is also odd that he moved to Russia, which is the only country that has benefitted (see Crimea) from the chaos resulting from his premature departure from office.

[cosmicone]

66. Spoken like a true-blooded American towing the party line

Before 1945, USSR was an ally. If we had simply focused on Japan as you said, the war in Europe would have been prolonged and could have resulted in the loss of Britain. Remember Churchill begging FDR for a direct US military intervention?

Between 1945 and 1949, US was busy reconstructing Europe under the Marshall Plan and resettling returning vets in the US. There was no appetite for more wars and so a war against Russia was not feasible.

Since the 50's Americans invented and perfected the concept of "boogeyman" as you define. Remember "domino theory?" Remember "Saddam's WMDs and we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud?" Remember Manuel Noriega - a small time drug smuggler built up to be a threat to the US? Remember Granada? Remember Ahmadinejad? We always build up and demonize -- giving our potential enemies a big profile and then we look good when we defeat them.

We are only nice to people who help our corporations make a profit and completely ignore their behavior. Case in point - Pakistan and China. We are full of effusive praises for them and anything bad they do is considered minor or unsubstantiated. (Although recently we have become a wee bit tougher on the Chinese)

You forget that Yanukovytch was a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED leader and we had no right to depose him.

[tabasco]

67. Rah! Rah! Sis Boom Bah!

It's the Pooty Poot cheerleader!!

[Iliyah]

12. Also realize that Putin's administration have 24/7 pro-Putin media.

No opposition like here in the USA 24/7 from corporate media.

[reorg]

13. Except even prominent, oppressed opposition members

don't seem to have a problem with Russia's actions in the Ukraine conflict.

Only two years ago, Sergei Udaltsov, along with blogger and opposition politician Alexei Navalny, was one of the most eloquent speakers at anti-Putin protests in Moscow. He has been under house arrest since 2013 on charges he sought to incite mass riots. Despite his situation, even Udaltsov has declared his support for Russia's actions and its annexation of Crimea. "I am a supporter of direct democracy, and I welcome the Crimea referendum as an expression of popular government," he recently stated.

Blogger and attorney Navalny has also been placed under house arrest and is banned from using the telephone or the Internet. That didn't stop him from writing an interview with himself, which was then distributed by his family. In it, he claims that Crimea was given to Ukraine in an act of "unlawful arbitrariness" by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 that is still offensive today, even to normal Russians. He also offers some pseudo consolation to Ukrainians: "To hell with Crimea. Why do you need it, anyway?"

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/in-moscow-propaganda-war-even-opposition-is-singing-kremlin-tune-a-965487.html

[MADem]

29. People who are under house arrest, and tire of the condition, might say/do anything to make it stop,

mightn't they? That article sure postulates that a state-run propaganda machine is ginning up the poutrage, drama and "with us or agin' us" memes--Putin, like Porgie, is "catapulting the propaganda" it would seem:

Today, Moscow's territorial claims in Ukraine have unleashed a sense of nationalism so aggressive that it has silenced virtually all critical voices. Indeed, it is a singular official view that appears to have prevailed in Russia -- namely that a clique in Kiev, with American support, is seeking to destroy Ukraine despite heroic efforts by millions in the eastern part of the country. And that these people need Russia's support.

The ability to differentiate appears to have evaporated and the state propaganda machine has become as effective as it is comprehensive. The media seem to be following it in lockstep, as evidenced last week. "Ukraine Is Waging War against Its Own People" read the front page of one issue of Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the official Russian government newspaper, in response to the decision by the interim government early last week to send troops to the eastern part of the country. The "Kiev junta" wants to "bombard the Donbas," commented Russia's largest-circulation daily, Komsomolskaya Pravda, adding: "Our people are mourning the dead and injured." "Sloviansk is covered in blood," claimed the tabloid Tyov Den ("Your Day&quot . None of these reports is true.

Have Russians Become Gullible?

The problem is that people in Russia these days seem to believe almost every false report that comes out of Moscow, and few are questioning their accuracy. New channel Russia 24 unceasingly shows Ukrainians in the eastern part of the country holding machine guns and grenade launchers. But nobody in Russia bothers to ask where they are getting their arms from.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, the man ostensibly rushing to the aid of Russians in Ukraine, is the hero of the day. Finally, Russians seem to believe, he is paying the West back for years of humiliation. And yet the justifications Putin has provided could hardly be more cynical. ....

[Cha]

36. Putin is popular with America's rw too..

[MADem]

37. Ain't that the truth!

I guess they're working that "enemy of my enemy" thing.

[Cha]

44. And, he's a bigoted dictorial asshole.. they eat that stuff up.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. I suppose next we'll hear everyone wants Pussy Riot beaten up and jailed.

[reorg]

15. Punk performances in cathedrals have never been very popular

not in Russia and neither elsewhere. Except if they happen in foreign countries and you can use it as a stick to beat up on the others.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. My point is one poll does not make for widespead support for all policies.

And I am sure Liberals there didn't suddenly start wearing his face on their chest.

Their ass,...I'll believe.

[reorg]

17. who cares about T-shirts

the point of the current rise since the coup in Ukraine (the number in 2013, his lowest ever in 13 years was 54-61 percent, depending on the source) is that the Russian position towards Ukraine is obviously very popular in Russia, even among hard-core opponents of Putin.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. "even among hard-core opponents of Putin."

I don't buy that AT ALL.

[reorg]

21. not hard-core enough?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=866277

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. So, as proof you provide a link to another of your posts about a Putin critic?

Show me where a LIBERAL who wants PEACE in Russia has switched to loving this thug.

Not someone from a rival political party who would rule pretty much the same way.

[Amonester]

19. Hitler also became very popular in Germany.

We all know what followed (starting in Austria...), and he didn't have nukes at his disposal (yet).

I suppose his anti-LGBT thugs don't wear brown shirts...

[reorg]

22. good point

but that's where the parallel ends.

[Amonester]

23. No.

That's where it just begins (usually).

Never forget even most of his opposition started to praise him after he "re-took" Austria.

Those who forget....

[reorg]

31. well

First, Hitler never received a majority in any vote. Second, he immediately saw to it that this necessity was done away with for good. Third, the takeover of Austria was welcomed by a huge majority of Austrians, yes, just like the general policy of "returning" ethnic Germans in neighboring countries "heim ins Reich". But, while he did gain popularity in his first few years, after 12 years he was down and under and dead - very much unlike Putin, who has managed to come back from his all-time low of 54-61 percent last year to 83-87 percent right now.

Hitler started an aggressive war against all of his neighbors, just 6 years after he had (not) "won" the election. Putin never started an aggression against another country, as opposed to his current adversary, the US, who did so very recently and could have stopped the current lunacy by simply not accepting the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine. It is the embedded US military and intelligence personnel that are currently involved in bombing the resistance in the east, not Russia. Despite all the propaganda noise, there is no evidence whatsoever that Russia is directly involved in the fighting or that they provide material support.

Putin is certainly a "cultural conservative", but I'm willing to bet that you will find more conservative politicians even among Democrats. He is certainly not more conservative than most conservatives in Europe, not to mention the crypto-fascists who call themselves "Republicans" in the US.

[JackRiddler]

41. Oh FFS this is not an argument.

It can be applied against ANY popular leader ANYWHERE.

Try the specifics, they're bad enough without doing the Nazi thing.

[Amonester]

56. I'll stand with what I've written, and I'll keep on watching where...

it leads.... (hoping it doesn't lead to anything *as big as* YKW).

So far, it's only "kind of scary to watch the similarities" and I will not stop watching.

Thanks, but no, thanks...

[msongs]

24. Putin received 120% of all the votes cast in the latest polls lol nt

[DonCoquixote]

26. The sad fact is

The common man loves a leader that is an asshole, especially when said leader can make people fall neatyly into an us or them. It was what GWB did, it is what some wish Obama would do, and what some will hope the Clintons do. The reason is, everybody likes to think that if their leader is an asshole that can get away with things, they will get respect.

[Major Hogwash]

27. Correction of title of OP -- Putin's Popularity Breaks Out in Sores for 87% Who Will Face Adversity

While living with Putin as their leader!

Is Putin a good leader?
Nyet! Nyet! And once again Nyet!!

[tridim]

30. How did you find that video? It only has 600 views and the title is in Russian.

What did you search for?

[reorg]

34. Only 600 views - and you are one of them?

Last edited Sat Aug 9, 2014, 08:43 AM - Edit history (2)

LOL, I didn't even notice. In my defense: I know from experience that the counter is often way behind the actual numbers ...

More specifically, since I am now intimidated by your uncompromisingly harsh line of questioning: (no, no, no, please don't hurt me, I didn't post it myself) I am an ardent follower of Catherina's Twitter account. She doesn't post here anymore, or at least not very often, so I had the impulse one of these days to search for her on Twitter, where she posted this video tonight.

And I thought it was quite funny, perhaps even ironic, I'm not quite sure.


on edit: searching for other versions of this song, I found one with English subtitles:

[tridim]

49. Lucky she tweeted it last night, I guess.

It worked out very well for your post on the specific subject. I am anxiously awaiting your next post.

[MADem]

42. That song is an oldie...they were singing it years ago.

It's the "I want a man like Putin" song. It's twelve years old, all part of the propaganda myth:

http://www.pbs.org/soundtracks/stories/putin/

...The techno-pop tune by the duo Singing Together first appeared mysteriously in 2002 and quickly topped the charts in Russia. It went on to become a Putin theme song, still played at his rallies. Catchy and ironic, this was a new kind of propaganda song. Reporter Alexis Bloom arrives in Moscow to investigate the making of the song, and how it was used in Putin's rise to power.

She meets the songwriter, Alexander Yelin, in a rehearsal studio with his all-girl heavy metal band. Yelin says he wrote "A Man Like Putin" on a $300 bet to see if he could create a hit. "All I needed was the right message," he says. "What can a girl sing about? She can't sing that Putin is great. That would be stupid and it wouldn't be funny. But she can sing that everything around her sucks, and she needs a man like Putin."

Yelin enlists his old friend, producer Nikolai Gastello, who was working in the Kremlin as head of the press department for the Russian federal courts. They recruit singer Yana Daneiko and dancer Irina Kozlova, who say Putin is not only their chosen leader, but also their ideal man. Once they find a Putin impersonator, Anatoly Gorbunov, to portray their president, the stage is set to create their music video.

Not all Russians find the song amusing. Sergei Buntman, the founder of Echo of Moscow Radio and an outspoken Putin critic, says the song plays into Putin's control of the media. "There's no TV station broadcasting to the whole country, where something serious might be said about politics," he says. "In this country there is no alternative thought."

[Ash_F]

33. This is why the State Department should have eased off the rhetoric

Did they think they were helping?

[Rapillion]

38. Czar Putin

21st Century Stud Savior. Hilarious.

Still, it is important to improve relations with Russia.

[Pauldg47]

39. Propaganda.

[awoke_in_2003]

40. Mickey Rourke...

the white Dennis Rodman.

[greatauntoftriplets]

51. And both were washed up a long time ago.

[DallasNE]

43. Pretty Soon He Will Be As Popular At Home As Kim Is n/t

[Ex Lurker]

46. That poll is as irrelevant as it would be if the numbers were reversed

As long as the oligarchs are relatively content, Putin stays. If/when he becomes a liability to them, he's a goner.

[Amonester]

57. He's an oligarch himself

He's not going anywhere, but he will do what's good for both them and him.

[bahrbearian]

52. " Soar like the Hindenburg "

[zonkers]

54. And this is without the Colbert bump.

[Union Scribe]

59. The West has played into Putin's hands

These nonsense sanctions have allowed him to play the martyr and have rallied people behind not just him but a trend of insulation and nationalism. Obama rightly understood the negativity of that effect in Iran and has worked to loosen it, but somehow his administration doesn't understand the same process happening in reverse in Russia?

[cosmicone]

61. We have the uncanny ability to create

enemies out of potential friends.

After 9/11, we had come closer to Russia because we had a common enemy - Islamic terror. We blew it.

[soryang]

64. America's losing strategy in Ukraine

http://www.thenation.com/article/180930/americas-losing-strategy-ukraine

The Western Consensus of an Imperialist Russia is Flawed. Philippe Lemoine

...The fact is that every Russian action over the last few years that has been presented as part of Putin’s imperialist agenda has merely been a reaction to the interference of the United States into its sphere of influence. Moscow’s concerns about NATO’s expansionism are quickly dismissed in the West as paranoia. Those who think that should ask themselves how the United States would react if Russia was seeking a military alliance with its neighbors and installing military bases at its borders. This requires no great effort of imagination...

Americans are buying their government's propaganda hook, line, and sinker, just like they did before so many other elective wars.

[reorg]

68. Steven Seagal brandishes Putin t-shirt at Crimea concert

I don't know who that is, but he seems to like it:

[Blue_Tires]

69. Why wouldn't they?

Especially when outspoken dissident journalists in Russia tend to be fatally "accident-prone", or simply vanish without a trace...Hell, 87% of Russians also probably believe Malaysian 17 was some CIA-engineered hoax set up for the sole purpose of diminishing Putin's standing on the world stage...

Snowden, Greenwald, Assange and the Paul boys absolutely lurrrve themselves some Vlad, though...