MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Political opposition activist Alexei Navalny poses no political threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin because of the leader’s level of trust and ratings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.
“You know, as a whole, the president most likely with such a level of trust and popularity, with his electorate rating would not consider other politicians as a threat,” Peskov told journalists when asked if Putin believes Navalny to be a possible political threat.
Alexei Navalny, a Russian blogger and prominent political activist, heads the Party of Progress. In 2013 he finished second in the mayoral election in Moscow, with 27 percent of the vote.
On Tuesday, the Russian Justice Ministry stripped the Party of Progress of its state registration for failing to fulfill a requirement to register operations in a timely fashion in at least half of Russia's regions.
According to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center VCIOM, Putin’s approval rating increased by 2.1 percent since March and currently stands at 88.2 percent.