SO MUCH WINNING!:

The demonstrations represent the biggest public challenge to Vladimir Putin's two-decade rule since protests interrupted his campaign for a third term in 2012. Then, his decision to return to the presidency combined with allegations of widespread fraud in parliamentary elections the previous December set off a wave of anti-Kremlin actions that brought tens of thousands into the streets. The six-month opposition drive eventually wilted under pressure similar to that now being applied to demonstrators.

Not long afterward, Putin's approval ratings surged amid a patriotic wave inspired by the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, reaching highs of almost 90%. Last year, however, his popularity plummeted to 64% after he pushed legislation through the State Duma that increased the retirement age by five years, to 60 for women and 65 for men, which will cost the average Russian 900,000 rubles ($13,800) in lost benefits.

Incomes in Russia have fallen for five straight years because of the persistently low price of oil, Russia's main export, and the grinding impact of U.S. and European Union sanctions imposed over Crimea. Simmering discontent has periodically boiled over into protests-- in the heartland, as well as in the politically energized capital. The complaints tend to be about local issues such as plans to build a trash dump or low salaries for state workers, but anti-Kremlin slogans aren't uncommon.

"It's all part of the reaction to the overall sense of injustice: the lies on television, the unfulfilled past promises," says Sergei Belanovsky, a Moscow sociologist who was among the few to predict major protests in the 2011-12 political cycle. "The repressions will help [the government] in the short term," he says, "but there will be more flare-ups all over."

In a few cases, the authorities have given in. Spontaneous demonstrations against plans to build a church on a popular park in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg this spring attracted the attention of Putin, who called for a local referendum on the idea. After the plan for the church was rejected, authorities dropped the idea.

The stakes are higher for big national issues in the capital. While the Moscow City Council has limited power, the election is seen as a warm-up for parliamentary voting in 2021. Controlling that vote is critical for the Kremlin as it looks for ways to ensure Putin's rule extends beyond the end of his current term in 2024. Term limits prevent him from running for re-election. Top officials are already talking about possible constitutional changes as the deadline looms.

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