Russian influencers and bloggers say they were offered as much as $100,000 to support Putin's bid to extend his term to 2036

Alexei Druzhinin/TASS via Getty

• Russia is holding a national referendum that could result in President Vladimir Putin being able to continue running for office through 2036. Wednesday is the last day of voting.
• Some Russian influencers told The New York Times they were offered money to urge their followers to take part in the vote. 
• The decision of some influencers to abstain from posting may suggest Putin's popularity is falling.
• The Times said it could not independently verify the claims, but said they were "an indicator of public mood."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Russian influencers claim they were offered as much as $100,000 to write posts calling on fellow citizens to vote in the country's national referendum, which could see President Vladimir Putin's grip on power tighten for more than a decade.

Russia is currently holding a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments that would allow Putin to extend his administration through to 2036. Under the current rules he is on his last term, which expires 2024.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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