Putin’s approval rating is highest in 5 years

The Moscow Times, citing data from the Levada Center based in the Russian capital, said that about 83% of survey respondents supported Putin’s actions. This is up 12 percentage points from the previous month, and is the highest level since 2017.

The percentage of respondents who agreed that Russia was on the right track also increased by 17 points to 69% – the highest level since Levada started conducting the survey in 1996. Besides, the percentage of people who approved of the The activity of the Russian State Duma (Russian lower house) also increased from 47% to 59%.

President Vladimir Putin at a large rally at the Luzhniki Stadium on March 18. Photo: Reuters

This is the first survey since Russia opened Special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, and was conducted from March 24 to March 30 with more than 1,632 people across the country, with an error rate of no more than 3.4%.

According to Denis Volkov, Levada’s director, “the situation is very similar to 2014 amid the conflict with the West, when Putin’s approval rating rose to an all-time high following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.” He also said that even those who care little about the Russian president agree that “he is doing the right thing” in Ukraine, because they believe in the official view that Russia is threatened by NATO.

“Russians believe that the West is trying to destroy Russia,” said Gleb Pavlovsky, a Kremlin political adviser during Putin’s first 10 years in power. “Strict sanctions from the West against Russia will only unite people behind Putin’s back.”

The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than a month. After the round of talks between the two countries held on March 29 in Turkey, the Russian side announced that it would “strongly reduce” military activities near the northern regions. Ukraine because the two sides had a “meaningful” discussion.

However, Kiev and the West have been skeptical of these moves, and believe that the Russians are redeploying forces to focus their fire on the fronts in eastern Ukraine.

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