Is Russian President Vladimir Putin losing power?

It sparked some of the biggest demonstrations Russia has seen in decades.

Thousands took to the streets over the summer in the country after some of the Kremlin’s fiercest critics were barred from a regional vote.

But despite Moscow’s attempts to silence them, the ruling party lost a third of its seats in the capital in Sunday’s local election.

President Vladimir Putin‘s United Russia stills holds a majority but the opposition Communist Party has almost doubled its number of seats.

So what does this mean for the national elections in two years’ time?

And how will Putin deal with this setback?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Viktor Olevich – lead expert at Moscow based think-tank Centre for Actual Politics

Ilya Ponomarev – founder of the political movement, Left Front, and former Member of Parliament from 2007-16

Anna Matveeva – visiting senior research fellow at King’s College London