Putin acolytes have offered their conclusions about Putin’s continued popularity: “Our people always unite in difficult times, so many thanks to some leaders of Western states, which I will not name, and which also contributed to the consolidation of our people,” stated Ella Pamfilova, head of the CEC. This type of observation would be unthinkable coming from an equivalent Western official, one who painstakingly must avoid any semblance of favouratism because he/she controls the electoral process, and is known to be absolutely unbiased toward any candidate.
A more telling commentary was made by Alexei Pushkov, chair of the Interim Council of the Federation Council on Information and Interaction with the Media, an opinion that has been repeatedly echoed by numerous Russian officials and public personalities, and also Putin apologists in the West: “Putin’s demonization in the West has had an opposite effect in Russia, an unprecedented rallying of citizens around his figure. The elections confirmed this fact.” (Read more: Estonian Life No. 12 2018)
Laas Leivat, Toronto
