New Poll Hints Russia Preparing for Life After Putin

A new poll that is being conducted in Russia hints that the public is preparing for life after Vladimir Putin, according to a former speechwriter for the Russian president.

Abbas Gallyamov, who held that role from 2008 to 2010, said on Monday that the oldest polling institution in post-Soviet Russia is asking the public what life would look like after Putin is no longer Russian president, and who could replace him as leader.

It comes as Russia's 2024 presidential election looms, with the first round scheduled to be held on March 17. Putin is expected to announce his bid for another term soon. Per constitutional changes made prior to the war in Ukraine, the leader may remain in power until 2036. Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) is asking Russians via a new poll whether Putin's resignation would "improve, worsen, or not change the situation in the country" and "could someone replace Putin as president? If so, who exactly?" This is according to Gallyamov, a political consultant who is now living in exile in Israel.

"As I already said, subscribers regularly tell me about the public opinion polls in which they take part. So, VCIOM launched a new study with two interesting questions," Gallyamov wrote on his Telegram channel.

Gallyamov added that this is very interesting, as, previously, such questions would not posed to the public. "There are at least three possible options here," he wrote.

The first option is that the Kremlin is considering whether to "put on a show" with Putin's statement that he will not go to the polls, "and the subsequent nationwide cry about this, accompanied by calls not to leave," wrote Gallyamov.

He was referring to Putin's remarks this month that he will respond to questions about whether he will run for reelection in 2024 only after the ballot is officially announced later this year.

The second option is that "Putin is really considering whether to launch Operation Successor," added Gallyamov.

And the third is that Putin "is thinking about tearing off the head of someone who is close to him in popularity."

In August, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying that Russia's presidential election is "not really democracy" and forecast a 90 percent victory for Putin next year.

"Our presidential election is not really democracy; it is costly bureaucracy," Peskov told The New York Times in an article published on August 6. "Mr. Putin will be reelected next year with more than 90 percent of the vote."

Independent Russian outlet Meduza reported in May 2022 that Kremlin insiders were privately discussing a list of potential successors in the event Putin is ousted over the Ukraine war.

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