August 25, 2008
The Trumpet
According to recent polls, a majority of Russians back the Putin-Medvedev government and are excited about the return of Russia as a superpower. Seventy percent of Russians say they are “in full and complete agreement” with the statement that the Russian leadership had “done everything it could to prevent an escalation of the conflict [with Georgia] and to prevent bloodshed.” Only 4 percent of Russians believe Moscow precipitated the crisis in Georgia.
Photo: Russians enthusiastically support President Vladimir Putin. (Charles Dharapak/ AFP/ Getty Images)
The perspective of the Russian people on the war contrasts sharply with that of the West, which, for the most part, believes Moscow started the war.
Vladimir Putin might be getting a lot of death stares from international leaders, but at home, he’s greeted with smiling faces and pats on the back. “Many Russians are hoping the pair [Putin-Medvedev] will continue leading the country back towards superpower status,” reported Germany’s Der Spiegel on Friday, “and that they will pursue that aim more energetically.”
Indeed, it appears the conflict in Georgia and the wedge it’s driven between Russia and the West has done nothing but augment the peoples’ trust and solidarity with their leaders, especially Mr. Putin. Der Spiegel continued (emphasis ours):
The powerful Putin is still held in higher esteem than his successor in the Kremlin. According to a recent survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), which is closely aligned with the government, 58 percent of Russians put their faith in Prime Minister Putin. Only 40 percent say they prefer President Dimitry Medvedev.
When asked who they think has the upper hand in Russian politics, only 14 percent agreed that it was Medvedev, according to the Levada Center poll, with 26 saying it was Putin. But the majority said they believed the two are sharing power equally. In the minds of some Russians, Medvedev didn’t go far enough in the conflict. Listener Anotoli from Tver, calling into Echo [a radio station] of Moscow, said: “Medvedev is a weakling. We should have trampled on Georgia and, while we were at it, taken over the Crimea again.”
While it’s true that media polls in the Putin-controlled Russian media ought to be taken with a grain of salt, there are other factors suggesting the polls might be accurate in this case. Russia’s economic upswing under Putin has come with many benefits for the Russian people, for example.
More importantly, Bible prophecy forecasts the dramatic rise to power of Russia and China in these latter days. This is the surest indicator that Vladimir Putin enjoys a majority of support from his 140 million constituents and that the emerging Russian empire is not likely to slow down any time soon.
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