Stephen Lendman

They aim to weaken Putin’s overwhelming popularity - acts of futility, always failing. Yet they erupt sporadically, again on Sunday. More on this below.

Over 80% of Russians want no one else leading them. He’ll likely run for reelection next year, easily winning overwhelmingly.

When occasional politically motivated protests erupt, foreign interference is the usual suspect.

Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen earlier cited an unnamed Eastern European intelligence source, saying the CIA, Britain’s MI-6 and George Soros finance anti-Putin dissident groups.

Staged protests and other tactics used to try weakening his public support never worked. He’s respected for straight talk, challenging US imperialism, and protecting Russian interests.

Political analyst Alexander Dugin called him “irreplaceable.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he’s the guarantor of the “Russian world.”

Russian media praise his ideological beliefs and commitment to protect state interests - jeopardized by US-led Western imperial objectives

His multi-polarity advocacy stands in stark contrast to America’s unipolar aims. Millions of Russians fear what will happen to them and their country if he’s not around.

On Sunday, a Moscow police spokesman up to 8,000 took part in an unauthorized opposition rally in central Moscow - on the pretext of opposing corruption.

More than 100 participants were detained, including Western darling Alexey Navalny - a phony anti-corruption activist, a convicted embezzler, a self-serving opportunist, a convenient Western stooge.

He’s likely getting State Department funding through the so-called National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - for disruptive activities.

It’s prominently involved in orchestrating color revolutions, wanting pro-Western puppet regimes replacing sovereign independent governments.

Earlier polls showed his popularity at 4%. He’s more politically dead than alive. Yet when incidents like Sunday’s protests occur, he’s usually part of them.

He was detained along with others. Moscow authorities rejected his rally application, saying its intended central city location would be disruptive.

They offered less congested locations. Navalny refused. Moscow’s Interior Ministry City Directorate warned residents against participating in Sunday’s unlicensed event.

It took place anyway. Participants failed to disperse when ordered. Navalny and others were detained, charged with an administrative code violation pertaining to public gatherings, then released pending further action.

They can be fined, ordered to perform community service, or administratively detained.

Smaller protests took place in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, evidence that the disruptive events were coordinated, likely foreign sources involved in orchestrating and funding them.

They’re part of longstanding destabilization activities, aiming for regime change, corruption allegations used as a pretext to launch them - authorities not fooled nor many Putin supporters.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at http://www.sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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