Putin seeks new social contract with Russian people ahead of elections - Ukrainian intelligence
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
As part of preparations for the elections in Russia, Kremlin strategists are executing a campaign aimed at forging a new social contract, which Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to establish with the population of the Russian Federation, states Andrii Chernyak, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate.
"The gloomy backdrop of the so-called election campaign in the Kremlin has been decided to be 'brightened up' by Putin's engagement with the so-called 'deep people' - representatives of local self-government," he explained.
The intelligence officer noted that due to the lack of results on the front, as well as the international isolation and economic difficulties caused by the war against Ukraine, the standard of living in Russia has declined, and support for the continuation of hostilities has diminished.
"The holding of the All-Russian Forum 'Small Motherland - Villages of Russia' in January 2024 is one of the illustrative examples of the regime's attempt to reduce social tension and justify the criminal actions of aggressive Moscow," added Chernyak.
According to the intelligence data, at this forum, Putin made promises to allocate funds to regions for development (gasification, roads, hospitals, schools), and he also pushed the rhetoric about:
- support for participants of the so-called "SVO" ("Special Military Operation");
- "victories" of Russia;
- "ineffective" sanctions;
- "unity" of the people.
The main tasks of the Russian dictatorship in current conditions, as Chernyak pointed out, are to pacify the population, maintain full societal support for the war against Ukraine, and prevent destabilization within Russia, signs of which are becoming increasingly difficult to conceal.
At the same time, the Kremlin relies on both the security forces and representatives of municipalities (about 7% of all voters in Russia) to implement internal policies aimed at maintaining control over the situation and avoiding social "explosions" during the electoral cycle.
Elections in Russia
Presidential elections in Russia will last for three days, from March 15 to March 17, 2024. On December 8, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin officially announced his intention to run for re-election.
As reported by Reuters, in this case, Putin could remain in power until at least 2030. Moreover, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, has already stated that Putin is being re-elected with a result of 90% of the votes.
As part of the preparations for the elections, occupiers have already begun to bring "agitators" to temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
