Putin lost his confidence and the Kremlin is gripped by fear; Russian cities against the dictator

The Times reports that an insecure Vladimir Putin has dramatically increased his travels around Russia and hopes they will help boost his sagging popularity. This comes amid the Kremlin's fears over his declining approval ratings and support for his war against Ukraine. If at the beginning of the year he rarely left Moscow, perhaps fearing an assassination attempt, then in the last 3 weeks he has already visited six cities. Analysts estimate that such trips should bring the president closer to the people and boost his approval ratings. According to the Kremlin-affiliated polling company FOM, Putin's approval ratings fell to 66% in July, the lowest since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine. Analysts believe that real support may be even lower. One such visit took place in Novosibirsk. Before Putin's arrival, the city was hastily tidied up. Roads were repaired, sidewalks were mended, and the grass was mown. Local residents joked that the authorities were literally rebuilding the city in a matter of days. "They're practically rebuilding the city in 3 days," one resident wrote on social media. Opposition journalist Farida Rustamova says approval ratings have long been Putin's primary indicator of the state of the system. "For a long time now, Putin's approval rating has been his primary indicator of the state of affairs in the country. It's the pulse of the system and the entire machine works to maintain that level. He sincerely believes that his public appearances reassure people that it's long been proven that this isn't the case, but he believes it," she said. Russian opposition journalist Mikhail Fishman believes that Putin's shift in rhetoric indicates the Kremlin's uncertainty about the level of public support for the war. According to the Levada Center, although 66% of Russians say they support the war, 62% would like peace talks and only 28% favor continuing hostilities. One in five Russians [music] said they don't follow news about the war at all. Media says that Putin is as fearful as Hitler was of any [music] threat to his regime. He hopes that technology and his many overlapping security organizations will neutralize any opposition. Back in March, the Amsterdam-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project identified a high alert in the Kremlin centered on the risk of a plot or coup attempt against the Russian president. In particular, the fear of drones for a possible assassination attempt by members of the Russian political elite. The bodyguard that protects Putin and his cronies is the 50,000-strong Federal Protective Service. Their inner core, all handpicked and politically reliable, has announced a rise from 785 operatives to 812. Wise minds have concluded this is a 27-strong detachment of skilled drone pilots. These extra measures were caused by the assassination of Putin loyalist and former veteran of Chechnya and Syria, General Fanel Sarvarov, who died in a car bomb in Moscow last December. Immediately, staff working near Putin were no longer allowed to take public transport or use mobile phones. Cell phone signals are now routinely jammed when he is in the vicinity and key staff issued with Kevlar umbrellas. To further obscure his movements, Putin employs up to a dozen body doubles and has several identically furnished offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, his various dachas, and aboard his train so that his location remains secret even during video conferences with officials and journalists. >> Woo. >> [music]