Russian support for Putin solid despite economic woes
Russian opposition politician Leonid Volkov spoke on the program "The World According to Poland" about how the ongoing three-year war has affected the daily lives of Russians. "If the authorities have to choose between building a new tank or purchasing an ultrasound machine or an MRI, they always prefer to buy a tank," Volkov emphasized. Nonetheless, most Russians still support Putin.
According to March surveys by the Levada Center, an independent public opinion research center, the majority of Russians support Putin and look to the future optimistically, believing the country is heading in the right direction. Does this mean that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has not significantly impacted the daily lives of Russians?
Research by the Anti-Corruption Foundation from early 2025 indicates that the financial situation of nearly one-third of Russians has worsened. As many as 96 percent of Russians have noticed rising prices in stores. Moreover, inflation has forced 35 percent of citizens to change their eating habits, reports "Fakt."
Interestingly, only 8 percent of respondents hold Vladimir Putin responsible for this situation.
Leonid Volkov, an associate of Alexei Navalny living in exile in Lithuania, told "Fakt" that Russia is a very diverse country, making it difficult to speak of a "typical Russian." For example, Moscow is 13 times wealthier than the average Russian city. Nevertheless, some changes are currently visible throughout the country.
"For example, the impact of the war on healthcare. People feel terrible about this because all the money is spent on the war. If the authorities have to choose between building a new tank or purchasing an ultrasound machine or an MRI, they always prefer to buy a tank," Volkov emphasized.
The oppositionist also noted that the situation in Russian hospitals has worsened, and the waiting time for medical tests has significantly increased. "It used to take a week to schedule an ultrasound. Now it's about two months simply because there is no more medical equipment," explained the guest on the program "The World According to Poland."
Problems in civil aviation and the real estate market
Serious problems have also emerged in civil aviation, which has been heavily impacted by sanctions. Volkov explained that Russia has to "cannibalize" its fleet of Boeings and Airbuses, and domestic Sukhoi Superjet planes are of low quality and frequently break down. This leads to numerous delays and flight cancellations, further complicating the situation.
Problems are also visible in the real estate market. Since Russians are not volunteering for the army, the authorities — as an incentive — are increasing pay. To this end, as Volkov pointed out, they are printing a lot of money, which has raised the central bank's interest rate to 21 percent.
"And now mortgage interest rates are about 30 percent, which has obviously destroyed the real estate market and is a severe crisis in the Russian economy," Volkov noted.
Though there is no shortage of problems in Russia, the oppositionist has no illusions. As he emphasized, Russia is a fascist dictatorship where all decisions are made by Vladimir Putin. According to Volkov, the dictator believes he "can continue leadership for another 15 years."
