Vladimir Putin is Surprisingly Popular. Here's Why

Across much of the world today, leaders both left and right of center are a dismal approval ratings, but in the left office with 36% Macron sits in the mid-20s.

Scholes managed its 20% before his government collapsed, and yet Vladimir Putin, a man universally condemned by the international community for his authoritarian rule, is sitting at north of 80% after being in power for 25 years and the disastrous war in Ukraine.

For over two decades, Putin has perfected a political formula that transforms every crisis into an opportunity for popularity gains, every sanction into proof of Western hostility, and every military adventure into a patriotic triumph.