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President Putin demonstrated his willingness to protect team members, especially under pressure from opposition. A top level law enforcement official’s family turned out to be involved in multiple illegal activities, and the issue was brought up publicly to the President himself, yet there have been no consequences so far.
A bitter fight between the federal government and Crimean local authorities ended with a surprising stalemate, showing how important the local elite is for the Kremlin. Part of this deals with informal agreements stemming from the region’s inclusion in Russia, and the other part means that Moscow still lacks multiple reliable local partners there.
New regulations for road cargo transportation benefiting the President’s friends caused street protests from small industry players, yet no significant changes were made to the regulations. The liberal opposition’s attempts to turn them into a larger struggle proved fruitless due to lack of mutual support or general solidarity between those impacted by the economic challenges.
Increased preventive pressure against the opposition amidst economic challenges resulted in the resumption of criminal prosecution against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, despite the fact that he was legally pardoned by the President and remains permanently outside of Russia.
The Crimean population remains keen to stay with Russia despite economic challenges, inefficient governance and the energy crisis, according to polls. Close to one hundred percent of respondents say they would not support an energy deal with Ukraine if the contract listed Crimea as part of it.
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