Jul
19
Putin’s Pensions Gamble
ByTrust in the Russian leader fell after the government proposed raising the pension age as the World Cup started
Vladimir Putin hasn’t inspired so little confidence among Russians since the country was on the cusp of rallies over alleged ballot-rigging in 2011, which snowballed into the biggest protests of his rule. The president is paying the price for the government’s rollout of a proposal to increase the pension age just as the World Cup started. Trust among Russians in Putin fell below 38 percent in the first two weeks of July, the lowest level since December 2011, according to state-run polling company VTsIOM…