Putin's approval rating is rising again

Vladimir Putin’s approval rating is rising again, according to a study conducted by the independent Levada Center in late August. The president’s score rose to 70 percent in the past week, after dipping to 67 percent in July. (In May, Putin’s job approval rating was 79 percent.) Pollsters from the Levada Center told the newspaper Kommersant that the president’s August 29 national address about pension reform had a minimal effect on their survey results, given that only a small number of respondents were contacted after the speech.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s popularity, on the other hand, continues to decline. In August 2018, his approval rating slipped to 28 percent — down 20 points, compared to a year ago. Medvedev’s “anti-rating” is now at an all-time high of 71 percent.

Russia’s two major state-run polling agencies have also reported a small rebound in Putin's numbers. A survey by VTSiOM shows the president’s approval rating rising from 62.8 percent on August 5 to 64 percent on August 19. The Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) found that the percentage of Russians who say they’d vote for Putin again was up two points in the past two weeks.

In June, amid rising gasoline prices and after Russia’s federal government unveiled a plan to raise the country’s retirement age, FOM reported that Putin’s reelection rating fell from 62 percent to 54 percent between June 10 and 17 — his lowest score since 2013.