Doping scandal shakes the reputation of Russian sport, but Putin's popularity seems to be saved.
The latest doping crisis is still too recent to impact opinion polls. But even if the scandal tarnishes one of the key pieces of Vladimir Putin's legacy – hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi – research institutes predict that the case should not have a major effect on the Russian president.
By Andrew Osborn
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Having a country's athletes banned from competing in the Olympics because the government is accused of systematically covering up doping cases would generate political turmoil in many countries, especially affecting the position of that nation's leader.
But in Russia, which is months away from a parliamentary election and in the midst of an economic crisis, President Vladimir Putin and his allies skillfully deflected blame by portraying the episode as a Western plot, typical of the Cold War, to sabotage Russia's international recovery.
The latest doping crisis is still too recent to impact opinion polls. But even if the scandal tarnishes one of the key pieces of Putin's legacy -- hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi -- research institutes predict that the case should not have a major effect on Putin.
"This (the doping scandal) will not affect his popularity. It's not a matter of logic," Stepan Goncharov of the Levada Center, an independent research institute, told Reuters.
The most recent Levada poll, conducted in June, gave Putin an approval rating of 81 percent, down from last year's peak of 89 percent, but still stratospheric by Western standards.
"Voters don't link domestic problems, such as economic ones, to Putin," said Goncharov. "For them, the blame lies with others."
Putin, who points to Russia hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as a symbol of Russian success under his leadership, complained this week about what he called a dangerous return of Cold War-era political interference in sports.