Putin’s Scare Tactics
Even as Russia’s economy collapses, President Vladimir Putin retains an 85% approval rating. Putin has been able to take advantage of the fact that, though Russians fear their government, they fear being left to fend for themselves even more.
COSTA SMERALDA, SARDINIA – “Every nation gets the government it deserves,” observed Joseph de Maistre, the Sardinian kingdom’s diplomatic envoy to the Russian empire, some 200 years ago. He was commenting on Russians’ deep-seated political apathy – a trait that persists to this day.