Loved, hated and still boss – Putin near 60th birthday
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin turns 60 on Sunday, his grip on power weaker than in the past but under little immediate threat if the oil price stays high.
Adoring supporters will celebrate in cities from Siberia to Rostov-onDon in southern Russia, where the ruling party’s loyal Young Guard will unfurl a banner on a bridge they say symbolizes Putin’s role by uniting Asia and Europe.
Opponents will make their feelings known much closer to home, protesting near Moscow’s Red Square under the banner: “We’re sending the old man into retirement.”
The man himself will be relaxing with his close family and plans no special celebrations, a Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.
After 12 years as Russia’s paramount leader, opinion polls show Putin enjoys higher ratings than most western politicians.
In August the independent Levada polling group said 48 per cent of Russians had a positive view of him compared to 60 per cent in May when he began a new six-year term.
But a poll published this week showed one in five Russian women would still be happy to marry him, even though he is about to reach an age at which he can collect his pension.
As far as tributes go, state-run television channels will celebrate his years in office with what are expected to be glowing profiles.
Putin has cultivated an image as a strong leader never shy of criticizing the West, embraced the resurgent Russian Orthodox Church and used Russia’s oil revenues to dampen discontent. Populist policies include generous increases in public sector pay, extra social benefits and regional development programs.
Among the many fawning words written about Putin in the Russian press this week, a few articles have also appeared asking questions about the lack of an obvious successor or a transparent succession process.
“In Russia, Putin now stands alone at the summit of a mountain with steep slopes which no climber can get a grip on,” the popular Moskovsky Komsomolets daily wrote on Friday.
If all goes well for Putin, he can seek another six-year term when his mandate runs out in 2018. This would keep him in power longer than Leonid Brezhnev, whose 18-year rule in Soviet times is often criticized for economic and political stagnation.
Economists and political analysts say the greatest immediate threat to Putin is not the opposition, which remains divided, but the Russian economy’s dependence on energy exports.