MOSCOW (AP) – With a year to go before Russia’s presidential election, there’s little room for intrigue. President Vladimir Putin is set to glide easily to another term against a familiar pack of torpid rivals – leftovers from past races.
But the Kremlin must figure out how to overcome one major problem in Russia’s political environment: public apathy.
Putin’s strategists are searching for ways to draw more people to the polls in March 2018 to make his expected victory as impressive as possible.
“The Kremlin is trying to encourage people, various population groups, to turn out for vote,” said Gleb Pavlovsky, a former political consultant for the Kremlin. “It’s a nervous moment for both Putin and his entourage.”
The date of the vote hasn’t been officially set, but pro-Kremlin lawmakers have proposed March 18, the day in 2014 when Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula officially was declared part of Russia in a move that bolstered Putin’s popularity.