I don't think I will in this case. How do you know? I have yet to see any reliable data supporting it, and many dictators have claimed overwhelming public support with polls and elections to match.
I'm not sure how anyone could reliably poll Russian citizens. Who would dare say something negative about Putin? How do you know you can trust the interviewer? How could you rely on anyone keeping your opinion secret from the intelligence services? How much risk are you willing to take for something as trivial as answering a survey? What polling service would dare publish a negative result for Putin?
Lived there for almost all my life, among well-educated, well informed people mostly — and still depressingly big amount of them are sincere in their support.
You know why I despise the western anti-establishment activists who are afraid of US and Europe turning into totalitarian regimes? Because they have a very naive image of what totalitarian state is and how it starts. Today's Russia didn't start in former KGB or in government offices; it started in Stalin-loving hutjob papers. It started with ideology, and that ideology filled a vacuum that the cleptocratic elites desperately needed.
If you fear for your country's future, know that a self-serving capitalist asshole is not nearly as dangerous as a sincere actuvist who really wants to make the world a better place.
I don't think I will in this case. How do you know? I have yet to see any reliable data supporting it, and many dictators have claimed overwhelming public support with polls and elections to match.
I'm not sure how anyone could reliably poll Russian citizens. Who would dare say something negative about Putin? How do you know you can trust the interviewer? How could you rely on anyone keeping your opinion secret from the intelligence services? How much risk are you willing to take for something as trivial as answering a survey? What polling service would dare publish a negative result for Putin?