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I don't think Putin would unroll this new wave of repressions if he actually had popular support in society.
What they're doing now is disaster recovery mode when they know losing power is inevitable in long term, they're just trying to minimize the harm.
Assuming Putin is not 100% autocratic ruler (and I believe he's not), and the ultimate goal of the clan is to preserve their privileges, they'll come up with a reasonable solution by the next presidential term.
