March 13:
Russians approve of Vladimir Putin’s job as president for now, but increasingly want new leadership in the future. Those are the findings of a new poll from Moscow’s Levada Center. The survey, conducted between March 7-10 from a sampling of 1603 respondent in 45 regions, found that Putin’s popularity rating remains high (72%), but that only 32% approved of Putin remaining in power after the 2018 elections. Nearly a quarter (22%) were amenable to a different candidate who would “continue the politics of Vladimir Putin,” while almost a third (31%) expressed their desire for someone who could offer “different solutions to Russia’s problems.”
[Editor’s Note: Given the effect of Russia’s increasingly authoritarian political climate on pollsters and respondents alike, the results of public opinion surveys in Russia should be viewed with some caution.]
Two-thirds of Russians now view Eastern Ukraine as “in essence Russian territory,” a separate survey by the Levada Center has found. That poll found strong support among respondents for Russia’s recourse to the use of force in Ukraine. But these findings reflect the Kremlin’s information efforts more than true Russian values, the pollsters have been quick to note. In comments to the RBK news agency, Lev Gudkov, the head of Levada, attributed the results to “a two-week long campaign of propaganda and disinformation unprecedented for the entire Soviet period.”
March 14:
Washington may be at odds with Russia over Ukraine, but the United States still needs Moscow’s assistance to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Reuters reports that U.S. officials have expressed the hope that the deepening crisis over Crimea and Ukraine, to which the West is currently formulating a response, “will not create issues” in the upcoming round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 powers over the Iranian nuclear program.
March 15:
Moscow is backstopping the upcoming—and controversial—referendum in Crimea on the world stage. The Washington Post reports that Russia has vetoed a UN resolution on the subject which, if passed, would have declared the vote “illegal” and “invalid.”
On the eve of Crimea’s referendum, Russian troops have pushed beyond the contested peninsula. According to the New York Times, at least 80 Russian soldiers carried out a raid to seize control of a strategically-located natural gas terminal located near the regional border. The move appears to be “part of a broader effort to strengthen control over the peninsula” by Moscow, thereby creating political realities to reinforce the upcoming Crimean referendum, the paper notes.
March 16:
Crimea has formally voted to secede from Ukraine. In a referendum policed by thousands of Russian troops, an overwhelming majority of regional residents chose to separate from Ukraine in favor of membership in the Russian Federation. Crimea’s election committee has reported that 97% of voters chose unification with Russia over the region remaining part of Ukraine with enhanced autonomy, USA Today reports. The development has spiked worries in southern and eastern Ukraine, where recent days have seen clashes between pro- and anti-Russian activists, that the stage may now be set for a Russian military advance further into the country.