{"id":3264,"date":"2021-06-21T09:24:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T09:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/kremlin-announces-date-for-putins-live-call-in-show.html"},"modified":"2021-06-21T09:24:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T09:24:18","slug":"kremlin-announces-date-for-putins-live-call-in-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/kremlin-announces-date-for-putins-live-call-in-show.html","title":{"rendered":"Kremlin Announces Date For Putin’s Live Call-In Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Kremlin has announced the date of President Vladimir Putin’s live, nationally televised call-in show, an event that will fall about 10 weeks before the flagging popularity of the ruling political party is put to the test in national elections.<\/p>\n

Such events — when average Russians are ostensibly able to ask Putin questions directly — have been held regularly in the past.<\/p>\n

But this year’s event, set for June 30, comes with the country’s dominant party, United Russia, suffering from record-low public approval.<\/p>\n

That’s potentially problematic for the Kremlin, which last year engineered changes to the constitution, opening the door for Putin to stay in power potentially until 2036.<\/p>\n

If other parties gain seats at the expense of United Russia, or if there is lackluster turnout in the September 19 election to the 450-seat State Duma, that could make the next presidential election, in 2024, more troublesome.<\/p>\n

Putin, who is already the longest-serving Russian leader since Josef Stalin, has not indicated whether he will run for reelection.<\/p>\n

While Russians are increasingly anxious about stagnant wages, growing inflation, and declining quality of life, Putin remains an all-but-unrivaled political figure, with high approval ratings.<\/p>\n

At a party congress on June 19, Putin, who is not formally a party member, announced that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu would head United Russia’s candidate list– a move aimed at increasing voter enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

The government has also taken steps to quash opposition political movements, including that of Aleksei Navalny, the anti-corruption crusader who built a formidable national organization that has dented Putin’s public image.<\/p>\n

He survived a near-fatal poisoning last year, then was jailed upon returning to Russia in January after recuperating in Germany.<\/p>\n