The Main “Result” Of Putin’s Rule

• Abbas Gallyamov
• 25.09.2026, 8:41

Support for one of the "bonds" fell by nearly three times.

One of the most common criticisms leveled at Russians is their preference for a “strong hand.” Last year, VTsIOM asked the country’s residents, “What does Russia need most right now?” Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed chose the option “a strong leader.” In 2000, 72 percent preferred this option.

A drop of nearly threefold.

Of course, one can find a favorable explanation for this. For instance, a respondent might reason as follows: we already have a strong leader, so asking for another one is pointless.

And yet, the fact remains: after a quarter-century of propaganda narratives about the advantages of strong leadership, the need to rally around a leader, the harm of political competition, and the dangers of liberal democracy, only 28 percent now cite a strong leader as one of Russia’s primary needs.

Perhaps the main outcome of the era of “strong-hand” rule is that the very idea of a strong hand has come to seem significantly less appealing.

Abbas Gallyamov, “Telegram”