Poll finds Russians' trust in Putin is decreasing
Over the past year, the number of Russians that trust President Vladimir Putin has decreased, according to a survey conducted by the Levada Center. According to sociologists, 21% "completely trust" Putin, 52% "somewhat trust", and 14% chose "somewhat not trust". Last year, the corresponding response options chose 26%, 57% and 14% respectively.
Thus, the index of confidence has decreased by 10% overall. Dozhd reported the results of the survey conducted in March this year.
When asked, "How would you describe your attitude towards Vladimir Putin?" 30% replied "fondly" against 37% a year earlier. 30% chose the option "nothing wrong" and 8% feel "delighted" with the President (compared to 10% last year).
The number of people with "a neutral or indifferent" attitude to Putin increased from 10% to 15% over the year. Eight percent described their perception of the Russian President as "cautious and expectant,” compared to 5% last year.
In March of last year, sociologists noted the higher response of those with a fond attitude towards Putin. Now the numbers of those that support the Russian president have returned to "pre-Crimean" levels, commented the Deputy Head of the Levada-Center, Alexei Grazhdankin.
"There has been a surge in positive attitude since the Crimean crisis passed, but this is still much higher than at the end of 2013," says the sociologist.
However, number of people ready to support Putin in the elections has increased. 65% of Russians would like him to become President again in 2018. A year ago only 57% expressed such a wish.
If Putin is nominated, he will win the Presidential election in 2018, says Grazhdankin. He explains that voters do not see any real opponents, which increases the number of people willing to support him.
The same situation occurred at the end of 2007, recalled the sociologist. "Then the people did not oppose to Putin’s run for a third term," he says.