ABSTRACT
The protests that broke out after the Duma elections at the end of 2011 created a serious challenge for the Putin regime. But while looking at the political developments in today’s Russia, it would be an exaggeration to suggest that the Putin regime is under direct threat of a revolution, as claimed by some Russian liberal activists and experts. Economically, despite the world financial crisis the Russian budget again has a solid surplus. Politically, the Russian elites did not respond actively and directly with their own political acts to the protest movement.
