Putin's popularity slips as Alexei Navalny's political equity rises

Vladimir Putin became Russia's President at the turn of the millennium and hehad two tasks before him: handling the war in Chechnya and the Boris Yeltsin-era oligarchs;he weathered both.

In 2002, a Moscow theatre was seized by Chechen militants who took 912 people hostage, of which 129died. Putin handled the siege ruthlessly andearned a 'strongman' reputation with an approval rating of 83 per cent.

In 2014, Putin annexed Crimea andRussia was slapped with sanctions. However, four years later, Putin appeared to mock the sanctionswhen he managed to get the world to Russifor the football world cup.

Vladimir Putin is used to silencing dissent. In 2006, journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered on Putin's birthday. She had written about corruption in the Russian army. However,Putin denied any involvement.

Now, 15 years on, every critic of Putin has either met the same fate or has been silenced or sidelined in one way or another — be it former federal security service officerAlexander Litvinenko, former intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, activist-journalistVladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza or Ukrainian leader Viktor Yushchenko.

Alexei Navalny, however, has emerged as an exception after he survived a nerve agent poisoning. Heused his recovery timeto investigate attacks on journalists.

He exposed corruption in Putin's system, which he detailedin a two-hour documentary. Now, Navalny has kickstarted what Putin fears the most:a Ukraine-style Maidan revolution.

From Moscow to St. Petersburg, protesters have taken to the streets across Russia with demonstrations in at least 100 cities. While Russia has earlier, too, seen anti-Putin protests, something of this scale is unprecedented.

Putin knows the history and he understands the threatsuch protests come with. He knows that protests eventually toppled the Tsarist rule too.

On paper, Putin's dream of being a president for lifeis clear, but on the roads of Russia arehurdles abound. Many protesters are calling Putin a thief andmost are calling for a Russia without him.

Putin's worst fears have come true because of the 44-year-oldAlexei Navalny.He is popular and has support abroad.

Navalny's poisoning made him a household name and his dramatic arrest heightened his profile andmade him the face of Russian opposition —a position that was lying vacant for over two decades.

He has done his research andknows how the Kremlin works. In fact, Navalny has outmanoeuvred Putin.

After Navalny was poisoned, he duped Russian agents into spilling the details of the attempted assassination andreturned to Russia despite the threats of an arrest. Indoing so,Navalny became a hero.

When he was jailed, he told the worldthat he has no intention of committing suicide. So, Navalny has basically put Putin in a catch 22 situation as letting Navalny walk out of prison comes with a huge cost, butkeeping him behind bars is not helping either.

Silencing him inside prison is not even an option. The world is watching what's happening in Russia and the call for "freedom"has reached Berlin.

Europe is calling for Navalny's release andthe EU is mulling sanctions.

Navalny has not just challenged Putin's leadership, but also his strongman image. Navalny has been exposing Putin and labelling him as a fragile and corrupt leader. He has forced Putin to clear his name in public. Putin is so threatened by his fiercest critic that Navalny is not even allowed to contest elections.

Three weeks ago, Putin's popularity had slipped to 65 per cent. Onecan only imagine what the protests have done to that number. The change in leadership outside the home has made matters worse.

The US President Joe Biden is not Donald Trump and his White House is not looking away. It has already asked for the release of Navalny and his supporters.