Crisis for Putin as approval levels plunge

MOSCOW, FRIDAY: Alarm grew in the Russian capital as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin‘s approval levels reportedly plunged to a record low of 104 per cent. The premier’s ratings have consistently exceeded 150 per cent for the past six years, and a Kremlin spokesman attributed the apparent dip to ‘statistical anomalies that would soon be corrected’.

Overnight polls recorded a sudden rebound in the public’s confidence in Mr Putin, with levels of those who ‘strongly agreed’ that the Prime Minister was doing a good job surging back to a healthy 200 per cent.

Georgia Rules? Vladimir Putin, and that book he doesn’t like

The plucky Georgians’ entry into Eurovision takes a bold stab at Vladimir Putin (We Don’t Wanna Put In, goes their puntastic entry). This may have caused a certain grim brow-furrowing at the Kremlin, but there’s another, less obvious topic that stokes an angry fire in the Russian leader.

The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber – Britain’s great white Eurovision hope – interviewed Mr Putin for a TV programme not that long ago. The 56-year-old judo ace was a great fan of Jesus Christ Superstar when it was a (banned) underground hit in Russia, but refused to take questions on the source material for one of the composer’s other abortive projects – Russian satire The Master And Margarita, which Lloyd Webber had once planned to turn into a stage production of some kind. Speaking to Radio 4’s Front Row, the composer said he had ‘an idea’ as to why, but wouldn’t say on air.

So, why was Mr Putin so sensitive about this particular book? Judge for yourself. (The answer may be in the themes section but is it that obvious?)