“As coronavirus hits record numbers in Russia, this is a dangerous moment for Putin”, - an article with such title publishes CNN.

“It adds up to a dangerous political moment for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a new survey published by independent pollster Levada-Center, less than half of respondents - 46% - said the Russian government had responded adequately to the crisis.

The pandemic has even hit Putin’s usually sky-high approval ratings. In March, as authorities acknowledged the spread of coronavirus in Russia, Levada-Center found that Putin’s approval rating had dropped to 63%. That may sound high, but it’s a level not seen since 2013, before Russia’s annexation of Crimea prompted a groundswell of public support for the president.

Coronavirus has hit Moscow, the country’s political center of gravity, particularly hard. According to official statistics, the capital accounts for around half of the country’s cases. Before the pandemic, Muscovites were politically active and mobilized, for instance, in massive street demonstrations that followed the country’s flawed legislative elections in 2011”, - writes the author.