Putin’s Popularity Slumps As Navalny Calls Fresh Protests

Rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic set for Sunday
Crackdown deepens against opposition leader’s allies

Alexey Navalny speaks via video link at a Moscow regional court on Jan. 28.Photographer: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

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By Evgenia Pismennaya, Henry Meyer, and Stepan Kravchenko

January 29, 2021 at 4:00 AM UTC

Updated on

January 29, 2021 at 2:15 PM UTC

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Jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny is stepping up his battle with President Vladimir Putin, calling fresh mass protests this weekend as the Russian leader’s popularity slumps.

Putin’s confidence rating fell to 53%, according to a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation from Jan. 22-24, straddling the day tens of thousands of Russians rallied in cities across the country demanding Navalny’s release. That was the lowest the Foundation, which frequently works for the Kremlin, reported since it started asking the question in that form in 2013, according to its website.