Putin popularity rises

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MARCH 31. Russia's President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, is winding up his first year in power on a peak of popularity, with 70 to 80 per cent of Russians supporting their leader, according to different polls.

This makes Mr. Putin Russia's most popular leader after Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev in the early years of his rule.

Popular support for Mr. Putin has in fact increased since March 26, 2000, when he won presidential elections with 53 per cent of the votes. A recent poll found that if new elections were held today, Mr. Putin would get five times more votes than the second strongest contender, the Communist leader, Mr. Gennady Zyuganov.

Mr. Putin's high popularity ratings are largely due to Russia's economic and foreign policy successes. In the first year of his rule, the country's GDP rose by almost 8 per cent, industrial output by 10 per cent and capital investment by almost 20 per cent - something not seen in Russia or the Soviet Union for the last 30 years. Mr. Putin has been widely acclaimed in recent months for reducing the political clout of the business oligarchs.

Russia's assertive foreign policy under Mr. Putin has gone a long way towards rebuilding people's pride in their country. The year 2000 saw the assertion of a foreign policy aimed at upholding Russian national interests, said Mr. Sergei Markov, a political analyst.

People also keep comparing Mr. Putin with his predecessor, Mr. Boris Yeltsin. Whereas Mr. Yeltsin was seen essentially as a destroyer, Mr. Putin has a strong image of a creator, a leader called upon to rebuild what has been ruined in the years before him.

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Section  : International
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