I'm tired of replying to western Putin stans so I'll just say it here. I get why non-Russian leftists appreciate Putin's opposition to NATO/the US/ the EU and many Russians appreciate his foreign policies too. But if there's someone to judge his inner policies, it's the Russians.

Those people protesting against United Russia are not doing so because they've been brainwashed by NY times propaganda, but because of the economic and political conditions that they've been subjected to in their lives. Are they all leftists though? Absolutely not.

A large part of Putin's "opposition" are right-wing liberals (just like Putin) but with slightly more pro-western views, which make them very popular amongst younger Russians. That being said, Russian communists (actual communists, not nazbols or CPRF) also oppose United Russia.

I understand it's a complicated topic for outsiders, so I'm not saying you should stop supporting Putin. But I want you to apply the same criticism to him as to western politicians, and don't follow him blindly when millions of Russians are telling you not to.

I particularly don't understand western communists fully supporting Putin. Putin was promoted by Yeltsin, and he had a very anticommunist position right from the beginning. And mind you, anticommunist doesn't anti-Soviet, since he used Soviet nationalism in his own favor as well.