 Moreover, for many years Putin promised not to hike the retirement age, and in several articles published by Russian media before the election, the existence of any intentions to change the pension age until 2030 were denied.In the aftermath, more than 60% of Russians interpreted his silence as a trick aimed at securing victory in the election, which would have been questionable if he had presented his plan in advance.All this has severely affected Putin’s reputation, Forbes estimated the whole story as cynical and heavily compromising the leader of the nation.