RUSSIALINK: “No Left Turn in Russia; A protest vote is growing in Russia. But this is not a pivot toward socialism; rather, it is an expression of anger that the government has torn up the Putin-era social contract.” – Carnegie Moscow/ Andrei Kolesnikov

“… The success of opposition candidates in September’s regional elections across Russia was much more a vote against the Kremlin-backed ruling party, United Russia, than in favor of the Communists. It wasn’t just that people were angry with the government about its pension reforms; they were angry that the government had revoked a fundamental item in the unwritten Putin-era social contract-do not touch the social benefits system. Paradoxically, United Russia’s ratings are falling, but the left is not gaining popularity at its expense. According to a Levada Center poll, 37 percent of the voters were ready to vote for United Russia in December 2017, but only 28 percent supported the party in August 2018. And yet support for the left-leaning Communist Party and A Just Russia Party remained the same-9 percent and 3 percent, respectively. The LDPR’s poll numbers haven’t changed either-they were around 11 percent. …”