Image by Artem Svetlov

As Russian personal income is set to fall again in 2019, less than half of the Russian population of voting age said they would vote again for President Vladimir Putin if the election was held today.

Russians’ incomes will fall for a sixth consecutive year in 2019, experts from Moscow’s Higher School of Economics (HSE) and Russia’s Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) said, reported The Moscow Times.

“We shouldn’t expect the population’s real disposable income to grow in 2019,” Igor Nikolayev, HSE professor and head of FBK’s strategic analysis institute, was quoted as saying.

“It’s a simple rule: if the economy isn’t growing, there’s no reason for incomes to increase,” said Vladimir Gimpelson, head of HSE’s center for labor market studies.

Putin won reelection with nearly 77 percent of the vote in March 2018, extending his presidency for another six-year term. If the elections were held this Sunday, only 48 percent of Russians said they would vote for Putin, according to the state-run FOM polling agency’s survey cited by RBC on Wednesday, reported The Moscow Times.

Many analysts believe the Kremlin’s overseas adventures in Crimea, East Ukraine, Syria, and Venezuela have been an effort to deflect the population’s attention from difficult economic times. This poll shows attention is shifting back to so-called ‘kitchen table’ issues and highlights the risk that Moscow may look for other offshore endeavors.