This special video is dedicated to you, dear whiners. For the third week in a row, it’s been impossible to read articles speculating about what uniquely special way Putin managed to get his 76%.
And to see crowds of anguished people in the comments under these stories: My God, how terrifying, 76%. Oh, the horror, what an awful people we have—76% voting for their own poverty and their own servitude.
Emigration is the only option, we have to run. And all that.
So this is specifically about those “huge percentages” and the “most popular politician.”
Let’s understand and remember once and for all: at this stage in the development of an authoritarian state, any fool or idiot running as the government’s candidate gets 80%.
Literally. And all these percentages do not mean a thing.
Putin’s huge result fills you with dread? Then why aren’t you wringing your hands over governors’ approval ratings? Do you realize you’d have to look hard to find a governor who got less than Putin?
Don’t believe it? Well, here’s a table with the results of the latest elections. Try to find the “national leader—the champion of popular support” in it.
If asked, “What is the 89% support for former Oryol Region governor Potomsky worth?” (the one who claimed Ivan the Terrible had somehow turned up in St. Petersburg), you answer without hesitation: nothing. Zero.
There is no support at all, you say with a laugh, waving your hands.
Then why does Putin’s support terrify you? Or do you suppose there is some different mechanism at work there?
Of course not: 1) barring real competitors, 2) lies and propaganda, 3) fraud.
These are the three factors that turn any boss in Russia into a very popular politician. Remove even one of them, and our “rating champions” will end up where all the previous champions are now—from Shantsev and Merkushkin to Tuleyev. The moment they were removed from office, their ratings turned into a pumpkin as if by magic.
At the elections, Tuleyev was “supported” by almost all voters in Kuzbass (the Kemerovo coal-mining region) in one great burst of unity. 97% of the vote. How many people came out to support him after he resigned? Zero.
Now those 97% will belong to Governor Tsivilyov.
In this system, replace Putin tomorrow with his most unpopular official—Medvedev or Rogozin—and you’ll get the same record-breaking 76%.
So there’s no need to panic. And no need to wail.
You need to hold your line. Get involved in every political argument. Expose lies. Tell and spread the truth. Fight for your country and your future.
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