Russian Non-Governmental Polling Agency: "Putin's Approval Rating at 64%, Still Strong"

46% of Young People Say "I Do Not Support Putin"
Limits of Navalny's Influence... "Navalny's Support Rate Around 5%"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] A Russian non-governmental polling agency recently revealed that despite political unrest such as protests demanding the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's approval rating remains strong, exceeding 60%. Critics within Russia pointed out that this reflects the reality that Navalny's political influence is not as significant as perceived.

According to local Russian media including The Moscow Times on the 4th (local time), the Levada Center, a Russian non-governmental polling agency, conducted a survey of 1,616 Russian adults from the end of last month to the 2nd of this month. The survey showed that President Putin's approval rating remains solid at 64%.

Since last month, protests demanding the release of opposition leader Navalny, who was imprisoned, have continued in over 100 cities across Russia. Thousands have been arrested or detained due to police crackdowns, causing ongoing political instability. Nevertheless, President Putin's approval rating reportedly has not seen significant changes. The Levada Center announced that compared to the survey conducted in November last year, Putin's approval rating dropped by only about 1 percentage point.

However, among younger generations, President Putin's approval rating showed a significant decline. In the Levada Center's survey, among Russian youth aged 18 to 24, Putin's approval rating was only 54%, while 46% responded that they do not support him. The percentage of those not supporting Putin increased by about 15 percentage points from 31% in November last year. Trust in President Putin declined across all age groups, recording 29%, down about 5 percentage points from 34% in November last year.

The Moscow Times, citing Russian political critics, reported, "Western media coverage makes Navalny's political influence appear very large, but in reality, his influence is not significant," adding, "In most polls, the support rate for him among Russian citizens is around 5%."