As economic and social problems persist, so do Putin’s moves to consolidate power in the security sphere and political arena. Severe financial constraints prevent him from solving the economic crisis in advance of the 2018 election, so he seeks to suppress and control economic unrest through increased security measures. For now, the protests are still small, numbering in the low hundreds at most. However, Putin has signaled that he has no intention of tolerating dissent through his reshuffling of internal security bodies and governorships. To learn more about how Putin plans to deal with growing unrest in Russia and how that unrest may intersect with political opposition forces, check out our recent Deep Dive, “Russia’s 2018 Presidential Election.”
The Geopolitics of the American President