Western pundits confounded again as Putin’s popularity rises despite major shift in Russian news consumption from TV to online

For years we were

For years we were told that Vladimir Putin’s government relied on ‘control’ of TV networks to maintain its popularity. In reality, its support stems from its ability to reflect public opinion, rather than manipulate it.

Contradicting pundits who predicted that the Covid crisis would put a permanent dent in Putin’s popularity, the Russian president’s approval rating has bounced back to upwards of 69 percent, according to the latest survey by pollsters Levada.

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