According to the Russia based Centre for Economic and Political Reforms (CEPR), the total number of protests so far this year, at over 2,500, is already over 1,000 more than the total figure for 2017. Approximately half of these were against the Russian government’s plan to raise the state national retirement age, a policy which has proven deeply unpopular with many Russians. The government is attempting to increase the retirement age to 65 for men and 60 for women, from 60 and 55 respectively.
As Russian male life expectancy is just 65.34 this would give the average Russian man just months to appreciate their retirement before dying.
As Russian male life expectancy is just 65.34 this would give the average Russian man just months to appreciate their retirement before dying.
The policy has dramatically reduced approval of both Putin personally and the Russian government as a whole over the last few months, sparking a wave of angry protests.
In September, over 1,000 demonstrators against the proposal were arrested during a series of protests across the country.
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Angry Russians chanted “Putin is a thief” and “away with the czar” as they moved through major cities.
A poll in September found 53 percent of Russians would be prepared to take part in street protests against the policy, up from 42 percent in July.
Protests have also been taking place over increased gas prices and new taxes.
Leon Aron, a Russia expert at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote about the growing protests and their threat to the regime in the Wall Street Journal.
He said: “The protests exposed a fissure in what might be called Mr Putin’s contract with the Russian people: You stay out of politics and I’ll give you stability.
“Incomes have declined for four consecutive years and the pain is self-inflicted.
“Russians feel that Mr Putin’s regime has stabbed them in the back.”
Nikolai Nironov, head of the CEPR, argued protests were becoming more united around a few issues making them more dangerous.
By contrast, last year “protests split up into a multitude of unrelated issues, and only occasionally did a relatively large topic unite the different regions”.
The IMF predicts the Russian economy will grow by 1.8 percent next year.