> Vladivostok is one place in Russia where Putin genuinely struggles to get even single digits of approval ratings.
Citation needed.
In the last election in Primorsky Kray Putin got 65% up from 57% in the previous election. Pretty much the lowest in the country, but far from the single digits you claim.
Even Levada approval polls (pro-opposition “foreign agent”) shows he is the most popular politician (although they don’t provide a breakdown by region).
It's one of the only places in Russia a jury acquits a person 3 times, just for him to finally get jailed for the 4th.
2018 token provincial elections had Lutun's candidate lose despite ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE fraud. And yet they still pulled this at the end:
https://meduza.io/impro/LCjzlLaaoQX5pld_zlmxXqom_TRmlz9WhemQ...