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Amid plummeting ratings and public criticism virtually unheard of during his 12-year tenure, Vladimir Putin has found himself doing something that doesn't come naturally: campaigning for support rather than taking it for granted.

Is the leopard changing his spots, or the tsar becoming a politician?

That may be the plan. Except that what has emerged in recent days from the podium doesn't quite look like politics, where battle cries are merely part of the rhetoric. Instead, they're beginning to sound startlingly like the real thing.

"They want... confrontation," Putin said Wednesday, referring to provocateurs in the opposition, Interfax reported. "I know this. They're even looking for a sacred victim, someone famous. They'll whack him, if you'll pardon me, and then blame the government."

Six days before his meeting with supporters from the All-Russia People's Front, Putin rallied tens of thousands at Luzhniki Stadium, where in a speech of eight minutes he said the word "death" four times ­ citing Russian soldiers in the war of 1812 who dreamed to die for their fatherland. "The battle for Russia continues," Putin said. "Victory will be ours."

The "sacred victim" comment Wednesday has been seen by some commentators as evoking parallels with the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya on Oct. 7, 2006. The death wasn't just blamed by the opposition on security officials close to Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov ­ but also, by some people, on Putin himself.

Just before Putin's comments on Wednesday, Dmitry Pavlyuchenko, the former police officer who is a suspect in the Politkovskaya case, suggested that exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky may have ordered the murder. In 2006, pro-Kremlin officials suggested that Politkovskaya's murder may have been instigated by outside forces to smear Putin.

Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that Putin was referring to specific information when he mentioned a "sacrificial victim."

"If Putin is talking about this, then he has a basis to do so," Peskov told Business FM. "The information that we have about this, of course, is sensitive, and it is unlikely to be divulged."

Putin's outspoken comments this week look like a defensive reaction from a leader under siege, said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist and United Russia member who took part in Wednesday's meeting with Putin as one of his campaign agents.

"There is a battle not just to win, but to destroy," Kryshtanovskaya told The Moscow News. "The opposition wants to destroy Putin. [He's] on the defensive."

But Kryshtanovskaya says the strategy is already working.

"Those who are apathetic about politics are rallying around Putin. It's starting to be perceived as a war. And he has to say to these people that he will protect them, because they are scared."

Putin has deliberately avoided political debates with opponents in this campaign, picking public figures to debate on his behalf.

Throughout Putin's political career, he has rarely had to campaign in a conventional way as most politicians do.

Prior to his appointment as prime minister in 1999, Putin's experience in campaigning was limited to his role as deputy mayor to Anatoly Sobchak during the 1996 gubernatorial race in St. Petersburg. Sobchak lost the race, and Putin moved to Moscow.

There, he was eventually groomed for the top job with the help of Boris Berezovsky and then handpicked by President Boris Yeltsin. In March 2000, he won the presidential race in the first round, with 53 percent.

Putin has often sought to be all things to all people, consolidating various political forces by rising above politics. But amid today's growing dissent and political instability, it is unclear whether that approach will continue to work, critics say.

"Putin doesn't have a program. His only program is to remain in power," political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky told The Moscow News. "To remain in power he appeals to sociological experiments. But he doesn't understand why the active part of society has turned away from him, because he believes he's done so much for them."

Putin has varied his approach toward the opposition, with questionable results.

After the first mass protest on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on Dec. 10, he praised dissenters for being active citizens. But then almost in the same sentence he called them "Bandar-logs" and accused them of demonstrating for foreign cash.

"Putin doesn't really want this confrontation," Belkovsky said. "He'd love to have the support of the active part of society on Bolotnaya. But he doesn't have it. He has the support of the conformist, conservative parts of society. He's rallying them, but he is disgusted that he has to do it."

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russia News - Russia

 

Amid plummeting ratings and public criticism virtually unheard of during his 12-year tenure, Vladimir Putin has found himself doing something that doesn't come naturally: campaigning for support rather than taking it for granted.

Is the leopard changing his spots, or the tsar becoming a politician?

That may be the plan. Except that what has emerged in recent days from the podium doesn't quite look like politics, where battle cries are merely part of the rhetoric. Instead, they're beginning to sound startlingly like the real thing.

"They want... confrontation," Putin said Wednesday, referring to provocateurs in the opposition, Interfax reported. "I know this. They're even looking for a sacred victim, someone famous. They'll whack him, if you'll pardon me, and then blame the government."

Six days before his meeting with supporters from the All-Russia People's Front, Putin rallied tens of thousands at Luzhniki Stadium, where in a speech of eight minutes he said the word "death" four times ­ citing Russian soldiers in the war of 1812 who dreamed to die for their fatherland. "The battle for Russia continues," Putin said. "Victory will be ours."

The "sacred victim" comment Wednesday has been seen by some commentators as evoking parallels with the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya on Oct. 7, 2006. The death wasn't just blamed by the opposition on security officials close to Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov ­ but also, by some people, on Putin himself.

Just before Putin's comments on Wednesday, Dmitry Pavlyuchenko, the former police officer who is a suspect in the Politkovskaya case, suggested that exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky may have ordered the murder. In 2006, pro-Kremlin officials suggested that Politkovskaya's murder may have been instigated by outside forces to smear Putin.

Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that Putin was referring to specific information when he mentioned a "sacrificial victim."

"If Putin is talking about this, then he has a basis to do so," Peskov told Business FM. "The information that we have about this, of course, is sensitive, and it is unlikely to be divulged."

Putin's outspoken comments this week look like a defensive reaction from a leader under siege, said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist and United Russia member who took part in Wednesday's meeting with Putin as one of his campaign agents.

"There is a battle not just to win, but to destroy," Kryshtanovskaya told The Moscow News. "The opposition wants to destroy Putin. [He's] on the defensive."

But Kryshtanovskaya says the strategy is already working.

"Those who are apathetic about politics are rallying around Putin. It's starting to be perceived as a war. And he has to say to these people that he will protect them, because they are scared."

Putin has deliberately avoided political debates with opponents in this campaign, picking public figures to debate on his behalf.

Throughout Putin's political career, he has rarely had to campaign in a conventional way as most politicians do.

Prior to his appointment as prime minister in 1999, Putin's experience in campaigning was limited to his role as deputy mayor to Anatoly Sobchak during the 1996 gubernatorial race in St. Petersburg. Sobchak lost the race, and Putin moved to Moscow.

There, he was eventually groomed for the top job with the help of Boris Berezovsky and then handpicked by President Boris Yeltsin. In March 2000, he won the presidential race in the first round, with 53 percent.

Putin has often sought to be all things to all people, consolidating various political forces by rising above politics. But amid today's growing dissent and political instability, it is unclear whether that approach will continue to work, critics say.

"Putin doesn't have a program. His only program is to remain in power," political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky told The Moscow News. "To remain in power he appeals to sociological experiments. But he doesn't understand why the active part of society has turned away from him, because he believes he's done so much for them."

Putin has varied his approach toward the opposition, with questionable results.

After the first mass protest on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on Dec. 10, he praised dissenters for being active citizens. But then almost in the same sentence he called them "Bandar-logs" and accused them of demonstrating for foreign cash.

"Putin doesn't really want this confrontation," Belkovsky said. "He'd love to have the support of the active part of society on Bolotnaya. But he doesn't have it. He has the support of the conformist, conservative parts of society. He's rallying them, but he is disgusted that he has to do it."