Backed by state TV, Putin regularly enjoys approval ratings of around 80 percent, and his decision to run for re-election – which he announced at a car-making factory in the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod – was widely expected. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is unlikely to be allowed to run against Putin due to what he says is a trumped up criminal conviction, said Putin was overstaying his welcome. No obvious successorThe challenge for Putin though is not other candidates – nobody, including Navalny, looks capable of unseating him. Putin, once re-elected, will have to choose whether to leave Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister, or to appoint someone else. State TV, where many Russians still get their news, affords Putin blanket and uncritical coverage while ignoring or denigrating his opponents.

Source: Egypt Independent December 06, 2017 16:18 UTC