Valya Egorshin | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Thousands attend an anti-Kremlin rally called by opposition leader Alexei Navaln in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on October 7, 2017.
For now, the real danger to Putin is not that Navalny’s supporters could immediately vote him out of power, but that they could mobilize and continue to recruit more to their cause, according to Mankoff.
That is, given the Kremlin’s domination of the media landscape and Putin’s high approval ratings, Navalny is unlikely to pose an electoral threat in the near future, Mankoff said.
However, “by trying to exclude Navalny from the formal political process, the Kremlin risks having him turn into a focal point for discontent across the country and amplifying his message about the corruption and repressiveness of the current regime,” he said.
In June, over a thousand were reportedly arrested in anti-corruption protests led by Navalny. A survey by the Moscow-based Levada Center revealed that 38 percent of Russians supported the rallies, Newsweek reported.
Sixty-seven percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption, the report said.
Putin has effectively held the reins of government since 1999.
Earlier this month, hundreds of supporters reportedly turned up for a nation-wide rally demanding that Navalny be allowed to run for president next year. More than 260 people were detained, according to reports.
