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Russian Public Support for Putin Remains High Despite Concerns About Ukraine War: Poll [1]
['Paul D. Shinkman', 'May', 'At P.M.']
Date: 2023-05-31
A new poll shows Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained public support, despite the growing devastation of his invasion of Ukraine and the near-term dangers to Russia and its troops of new offensive measures by Kyiv.
The poll released Wednesday from the independent Levada Center asked Russians at the end of May whether they generally approve or disapprove of Putin’s activities as president, and 82% responded that they did approve of the Russian leader. Another 15% said they did not approve and 2% declined to answer.
The numbers represent a stark consistency for Putin among the Russian public, having hardly changed in recent months – 83% said they approved of him in April, with that number rising and falling by only a point or two each month since last winter.
The lowest public approval for Putin was 77% last September, the month Ukraine launched a massive offensive that retook significant territory from a beleaguered Russian military. Domestic support for Putin has, in fact, surged and remained steady since his invasion in February 2022, before which time the percentage of the population who supported his rule was in the low- to mid-60s.
The Levada Center is considered among the most accurate sources of Russian public opinion inside the country, though analysts generally see the results – as with any autocratic society – as skewed since respondents are likely distrustful of openly criticizing the government.
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Its pollsters also employed open-ended questions, asking respondents to name several politicians they trust the most. As in recent months, respondents in May offered support for Putin, with 42% citing him first, up from 40 percent last month. Other top officials they cited included, in order, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Notably, Yevgeny Prigozhin was in the top 10 for the first time – apparent evidence that the leader of Russian mercenary front the Wagner Group had succeeded in garnering widespread attention through social media for his campaign to publicly bully top military leaders and Putin himself into providing his front-line troops with more weapons and supplies.
Prigozhin had to deny rumors he’s considering launching a military coup against Putin’s regime, saying his paramilitary force is not strong enough to do so. He also said he remains on good terms with Putin himself.
Reports have emerged that the Kremlin has ordered state news to stop covering the Wagner Group and Prigozhin’s public spats with uniformed military leaders.
The latest data comes at a critical time for Russia as the world awaits a spring offensive by Ukrainian forces.
The Kremlin appeared stunned this week by reports that attack drones struck several apartment complexes where senior Russian leaders live – strikes that Ukraine openly denied but which several analysts suggested could be part of “shaping operations” to disrupt Russia’s military plans in advance of Kyiv’s spring offensive.
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[1] Url:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2023-05-31/russian-public-support-for-putin-remains-high-despite-concerns-about-ukraine-war-poll
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