Vladimir Putin’s 20 years in power : The investigation of Vladimir Putin’s grounds of political legitimacy

Sammanfattning

This paper aims to investigate the grounds of political legitimacy on which Vladimir Putin relied and still relies to sustain his popularity and remain in power today. Special emphasis is placed on the period after the opposition protests in 2011-2012 and demonstrations on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. These protests had a dramatic effect on the Russian regime and showed that there is opposition to Putin's leadership, at least among a segment of Russian society. This study is based on Max Weber's three ideal types of legitimacy: civil-legal, traditional, and charismatic, which will be used to investigate, how Vladimir Putin has been able to stay in power for more than 20 years. This requires investigation of grounds for legitimacy that Vladimir Putin successfully exploited during his 2000-2008 period in the presidency that made him so popular among the majority of Russian citizens. It also means the investigation of the grounds for legitimacy that Putin began to exploit after the protests on the Bolotnaya Square 2011-2012, namely during the 2012-2020 period, to stay in power despite the dissatisfaction of some citizens with his rule. This study will use qualitative analysis to examine the corresponding empirical and analytical data related to the two periods investigated in this study. In addition, data from the currently disenfranchised Levada Center will be used to follow the development and changes in approval and disapproval of Putin's leadership.