A study into repression under Putin Ekaterina Reznikova, Alexey KorostelevFebruary 22, 2024 года Russians are often criticised for not opposing the regime. In reality, however, the number of people convicted on political charges during Vladimir Putin’s most recent presidential term alone exceeded the figures recorded in the USSR under Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev. About 116,000 people have been subjected to direct repression in Russia over the past six years.