MOSCOW (AP) — Donald Trump’s statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoys an 82 percent approval rating among his people wasn’t hyperbole.
Russia’s two main polling agencies consistently give the man in the Kremlin ratings that would be the envy of Trump or his rival in the U.S. presidential election, Hillary Clinton.
After the West announced sanctions against Russia over its involvement with armed separatists in Ukraine, Putin spun the restrictions as an opportunity for Russia to develop its domestic production.
Putin has leveraged his popularity into good relations with Hungary’s autocratic and nationalist president Viktor Orban and Russia also is building its …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
