The Kremlin will leave the war “in the background” in the 2024 election campaign

In the new presidential campaign of Vladimir Putin, there will be an “emphasis on foreign policy” – instead of the ongoing war. Putin is supposed to present himself as a politician who made the country an “island of tranquility.” Two sources close to the administration of the President of Russia told “Meduza” about this.

According to them, the Kremlin is confident that the Russians have an invitation to criticize the “collective West”. One of the interlocutors of the publication asserts that as soon as the president speaks on this topic, “the rating increases are visible.”

“Meduza” does not have reliable confirmation of these words. At the same time, the Russian sociological services, which directly depend on the current government, do indeed record a similar effect. According to the FOM, in November, after Putin’s critical remarks against the United States in response to the Hamas attack on Israel, his approval rating increased by 3%. At the beginning of November, 80% of polled Russians regarded Putin’s work as “rather good”.

In addition, as the interlocutors of the publication said, closer to the election, the Kremlin’s propaganda will “strengthen the line” to publish news about “difficulties” in Western countries. As an example, a “Meduza” source close to the administration of the President of Russia cites numerous publications by pro-Kremlin mass media about the “bedbug infestation” in Paris.
“The USA is about to break because of the fact that they now have to support not only Ukraine, but also Israel. They will definitely come to an end,” this interlocutor described the general narrative of Russian propagandists for the near future.

At the same time, the state and pro-government media should emphasize that, despite the sanctions, Russia “looks good against the background of general chaos.”

Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has been going on for almost two years, will be “in the background of the campaign”, Meduza sources in the Kremlin emphasized. These plans, according to them, have not changed even after a series of publications about the situation at the front. In particular, the articles of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny in The Economist about the transition of the war to a positional phase that is beneficial to Russia.

According to one of Meduza’s interlocutors in the Kremlin, in order to introduce “war” into the campaign, “very serious successes are needed [на фронте]not a positional war”.

The other day, the Reuters agency, with reference to six unnamed sources, claimed that Vladimir Putin has decided to remain in the post of President of Russia and will run for office in the upcoming presidential elections, the victory of which will ensure the extension of his powers until 2030.

According to the sources, Putin’s supposed decision is due to the fact that he considers the current events, including the war in Ukraine, as Russia’s conflict with the West and feels that he needs to “lead Russia through the most dangerous in several decades.”

In response to the publication, the press secretary of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Putin has not announced his decision to run for office and the elections themselves have not yet been scheduled. According to the law, the Federation Council must determine their date in the first half of December, the elections themselves will presumably be held on March 17.