Russians' level of trust in Putin exceeds 78% - poll

TASS
Fri, 30 Jun 2023 09:38 UTC

Putin, Kremlin, 27 June 2023. A total of 50.1% of those polled said they approved of the Russian government's work (a 0.6 percentage point drop) and 51.7% approved of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's work (a 1.6 percentage point decline)

The Russian public's level of confidence in President Vladimir Putin fell by 0.3 percentage points to 78.6% on June 19-25, according to a poll released by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center on Friday.

The poll involved 1,600 adult respondents.

"When asked if they trusted Putin, 78.6% of the poll's participants said 'yes' (a 0.3 percentage point drop). Meanwhile, the share of people who approve of the way the president is handling his job fell by 1.3 percentage points to 74.8%," the pollster said.

A total of 50.1% of those polled said they approved of the Russian government's work (a 0.6 percentage point drop) and 51.7% approved of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's work (a 1.6 percentage point decline). As many as 60.9% of respondents said they trusted Mishustin (a 0.9 percentage point fall).

As for the leaders of the parliamentary parties, 31.3% of those surveyed trust leader of the Russian Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov (a 4.4 percentage point decline), 31.6% trust leader of the A Just Russia - For Truth party Sergey Mironov (a 1 percentage point drop), 16.4% of the poll's participants trust leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) Leonid Slutsky (a 2 percentage point fall) and 7.6% said they trusted Chairman of the New People party Alexey Nechayev (a 1.3 percentage point drop).

The level of popular support for the United Russia party stood at 37.9% (a 1.4 percentage point drop). The level increased by 0.4% percentage points to 10.4% for the Russian Communist Party and by 0.6 percentage points to 9.2% for the Russian Liberal Democratic Party party. The A Just Russia - For Truth party saw a 0.2 percentage point decline to 5.6%, while popular support for the New People party dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 4.3%.

Comment: Statista 's June 1st 2023 report below supports the polls findings:

Vladimir Putin's approval rating in Russia monthly 1999-2023

In May 2023, over 80 percent of Russians approved of activities of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The popularity level was five percent higher than in September 2022, when it stood at 77 percent. The decline in that month was explained by the announcement of a partial mobilization in the country. After Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February 2022, the approval rating increased. During the COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020, the figure declined.

What has shifted Putin's approval rating?

Since his first presidential term started in 2000, Vladimir Putin's highest approval rating was measured at 88 percent, when he was the country's prime minister. In 2008, as a result of the war with Georgia, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In 2014, Russia annexed the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, viewing it as a historic reunification. Despite Western sanctions that were imposed on the country in response the violation of territorial integrity of Ukraine, the approval rating remained high over the following years. In February and March 2019, among the reasons behind the decline in approval were a pension reform and a retirement age hike.

What awaits Russia after 2024?

During his state of-the-nation speech in January 2020, Vladimir Putin suggested amendments to the Russian Constitution, some of which are aimed at restructuring the executive power within the country's administration. Regarding the amendments, 47 percent of Russians believed that they were designed to prepare the political system for the period after 2024, allowing Putin to stay in power in a role different from a president. In March 2020, an amendment was proposed to the Constitution to reset the previous presidential terms of Putin, allowing him to stay as a president until 2036. The amendments were approved in an all-Russian voting with nearly 78 percent of Russians supporting them.

An independently verified poll from 2022 again showed how popular and trusted Putin was amongst Russians, attaining a confidence rating no Western leader currently enjoys: Russians confidence in Putin surpasses 80% in latest poll