Putin's approval rating drops 5 points in week, hitting wartime low
Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval rating fell by five percentage points in a single week, marking the fastest decline in public support for the Kremlin leader since 2022, according to independent Russian news outlet Agenstvo, citing polling data.
According to data from the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), which works with the Kremlin, the share of Russians who positively assess Putin's performance in office fell by 5 percentage points.
The polling organization had not recorded such a sharp decline since autumn 2022. The state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) also recorded a continued fall in approval of Putin's performance. According to the polling organization, the figure has now declined for a third consecutive week.
A total of 66% of respondents positively assessed Putin's performance in office, compared with 71% a week earlier. According to FOM, the last time Putin's performance rating fell by 5 percentage points in one week was in late September and early October 2022, amid the mobilization.
The 66% figure is a new low since the start of the war in Ukraine. Another 16% of respondents assessed his performance negatively, also marking a new high since the invasion.
Trust in Putin also declined, though less sharply, falling by 2 percentage points over the week. A total of 67% of respondents said they trusted the president.
Another 20% of respondents said they did not trust him, up 2 percentage points over the week. Both figures reached these levels for the first time since the start of the war.
The share of respondents who positively assessed the government's performance fell by 4 percentage points. It reached 41%, approaching the share of those who assessed the Cabinet's performance negatively, at 37%, up 3 percentage points.
The share of respondents who positively assessed the performance of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also fell by 3 percentage points to 49%.
According to VCIOM, Putin's approval rating fell by 0.9 percentage points over the week to 65.1%, compared with 70.4% in mid-June. Trust in the president declined by 1.3 percentage points to 71%, compared with 76.7% in mid-June.
The approval rating reached a new low since the start of the war, while the trust rating matched the previous low recorded in April amid internet restrictions.
At the same time, VCIOM recorded an increase in approval of the government's performance to 45.6%, up 0.7 percentage points, and of Mishustin's performance to 47.3%, up 3.5 percentage points.
Why Putin's rating is falling
The main reason for the decline in Putin's rating is the fuel crisis in Russia. For a second consecutive week, the largest share of respondents, 19%, named fuel shortages as the event of the week.
The war in Ukraine, at 18%, and attacks on Russia, at 14%, ranked second and third, respectively.
The broader economic situation may also be affecting public sentiment in Russia. In June, Russian consumer sentiment deteriorated to levels last seen in autumn 2022, according to a study by the Levada Center.
Putin's rating
Last week, it was reported that trust in and approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin among Russians had declined for a second consecutive week. The reason was Ukraine's long-range sanctions.
In a poll conducted from June 29 to July 5, 66% of respondents approved of Putin's performance. This was 0.9 percentage points lower than a week earlier.
A total of 72.3% of respondents said they trusted Putin, 1 percentage point lower than the previous week.
Meanwhile, attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure continue. As a result of Ukrainian drone strikes, Russia may have lost between 20% and 40% of its oil-refining capacity, while the fuel crisis has affected about 50 million citizens of the aggressor country.
Nearly 50 regions had introduced restrictions on gasoline sales by the end of June.
