The popularity of a politician is an important indicator of the quality of his work. Russian President Vladimir Putin has always had a very high rating, even in the most difficult times, not falling below 50%. But by mid-August, according to some polls, he first fell below this mark.
A survey on trust in Vladimir Putin was conducted on August 10-13 by the Levada Center (Yuri Levada Analytical Center), a non-governmental organization that regularly conducts opinion polls and enjoys a good reputation. According to the center, 48% of the respondents favorably assess the work of the country's president, and 25% adversely. It is worth noting that in May these figures were 60% and 21%, respectively, and in the first two terms of the presidency of Vladimir Putin were even higher, in the region of 65% and 15%.
Surveys conducted by the Levada Center show that the confidence rating of the country's president is steadily declining. Why is this happening? As 56% of respondents said, they are tired of waiting for positive changes in the country from Putin. The confidence of Russians in the level of its influence on what is happening in Russia is also declining. In addition, the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, who took away part of the voters’s sympathies from Vladimir Putin, also influenced the downgrade of the current president.
Some recent high-profile scandals have affected the decline in popularity of the incumbent president, in particular, the trial of Pussy Riot. Despite the fact that most Russians do not support the blasphemous trick of the group in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, many of them do not approve of the too harsh sentence imposed on the group members. Considering that during the so-called punk prayer they performed the song “Mother of God, Drive Putin away, ” the trial of the group for many Russians was connected with Putin’s name, which negatively affected the president’s rating.
The economic development of the country, or rather, its extremely low pace, had a great influence on the decline in popularity of Vladimir Putin. Amid high inflation and the absence of any distinct prospects for improving living standards, confidence in the president cannot be held at a high level. The country is still firmly seated on the oil and gas "needle"; in many economic indicators, it is hopelessly behind the Western countries. Even in areas where Russia was traditionally strong, there has been a decline - in particular, in the space industry, which has faced a number of unsuccessful launches of spacecraft. A country may even lose its status as a “space cab”, not to mention the inability to solve large projects, such as the MSL laboratory (Curiosity), which the Americans successfully sent to Mars. Together with other problems - still a high level of corruption, imperfection of the judicial legislation, problems of the pension system and many others, the confidence of Russians in the current government is steadily declining.
