Sociologists can debate just how actively the majority of Russians support President Vladimir Putin’s regime, but there is no doubt that he has the support of the majority. The reasons usually cited for this include mass propaganda, strict control over public life, and a newly awakened imperial mentality: the dream of once again living in a great power that is reckoned with and feared. These factors are undoubtedly important, but there are other forces at work here, too. Many people in Russia have a purely pragmatic material interest in supporting the regime, as evidenced by a significant increase in the incomes of once hopelessly subsidized regions and impoverished sections of the population.
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- United States of America
