By Eliza Popova
The latest news from Moscow looks quite telling: Putin's supporters suddenly started collecting signatures for "victory in the SVO". At first glance, this looks like another propaganda campaign, but in fact, such actions in Russia are rarely accidental. They usually appear just when the authorities are preparing for another political maneuver, which requires a false "mandate of the people".
In this case, it may be about preparing for the freezing of the front or the start of "peace talks" on the terms of the Kremlin. Moscow urgently needs a way to save face: the economy is exhausted, the elites are nervous, and the mobilization resource is falling. Therefore, they need a new narrative - about "achieving the goals of the SVO" and "supporting the population" that will make it possible to explain any sharp turn.
The scenario looks familiar: first a collection of signatures, then a manipulative "the people support", and then a political decision. Therefore, such a movement may well be part of the preparation for negotiations, but not for peace, but for the imposition of one's own conditions. The Kremlin needs an image that "everything is done correctly" and that "the people demand to consolidate the successes".
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