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Eastern Europe
August 2, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
BYN600mn ($300mn), and that the losses might total $2bn by the end of 2024.
However, in December 2018, President Alexander Lukashenko's spokesperson said in a televised interview that Minsk already lost $3.6bn due to Russia's cut of energy subsidies to Belarus. Due to Moscow's tax manoeuvre Belarus will lose extra $11bn within the next four years, the spokesperson added.
The tax manoeuvre shifts the tax burden from export duty on oil and petroleum products to mineral extraction tax (MET) on oil production. It envisages a gradual reduction in the rate of export duty on oil and petroleum products from 30% to zero in the period from 2019 to 2024 and a proportionate increase in MET.
Two out of five Russians don't want Putin as president after 2024
Two out of five Russians (38%) do not wish to see President Vladimir Putin remain president after his current term in office expires in 2024, according to a Levada Center poll cited by Vedomosti daily on July 30.
Half (54%) of the respondents would want to see Putin remain president, while the number of undecided respondents stands at record-low 8%.
According to the Russian constitution Putin cannot stand as president at the end of this
term and must leave. However, a possible union with Belarus could be seen as creating a new country and thus providing an excuse to side step the constitutional term limit. Another possible dodge being discussed is changing Russia from a republic to a parliamentary democracy and appointing Putin as prime minister.
Putin's popularity is sliding post-Crimea boost, undermined by weak economy, shrinking incomes, and the unpopular pension reform cutting the re- tirement age in 2018. The discussions of "Problem 2024" or the (non)transition of power from Putin
in his last legal presidential term, which require a constitutional reform, are under way.
The number of those wishing to see Putin remain in Kremlin declined from the maximum of 67% in
August 2017. Record-high number of respondents (43%) explained the trust in Putin with lack of any alternatives.
At the same time only 24% said confirmed the statement "people hope that Putin will be able to cope with country's problems in the future", the lowest in 19 years of polling.
Lev Gudkov of Levada Center commented
that most critical to Putin are 25-30 years old respondents, which in the nearest future will
be the decisive demographics. The negative sentiment peaks in Moscow, he added, expecting to trend to continue, as cited by Vedomosti.
Gudkov also noted the minimal number of un- decided respondents as a sing of polarisation of Russian social space, which is characterised by the decline in the "loyal majority" of Putin's voters and activation of the unsatisfied.
However, other experts surveyed by Vedomosti reminded that most of respondents get active ahead of elections and otherwise do not consider the question of figure in power seriously. In 2016, two years ahead of the 2018 elections, Putin's ratings grew to 60% and only improved in the election build-up.