Poll suggests more than 80% of Russians approve of Vladimir Putin’s policy

Society & Culture October 28, 2016, 12:14

The government’s approval rating has also improved from 53.6% in August to 58.3% in October

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has climbed to 81.8% in October from August’s figure of 78.7%, a poll conducted by the All Russia Public Opinion Research Center showed.

According to the pollster, in June the president’s approval rating had dropped to 78.7% but in September it grew to 80.5%. The survey conducted in October showed that 81.8% of Russian citizens approved of Putin’s activities which is close to the current annual average.

The government’s approval rating has also improved from 53.6% in August to 58.3% in October.

From September to October, the State Duma’s approval rating rose from 39.7% to 45.5%, while the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) approval rating grew from 42.1% to 46.4% during the same period.

According to the All Russia Public Opinion Research Center Head, Valery Fyodorov, in the wake of the deteriorating economic situation from January to August 2016, Russians’ social sentiment was languishing so state bodies’ rating had also gone down. However, in Fyodorov’s words, "during the summer, the economic situation started to stabilize causing an improvement in social sentiment."

"In September, with day-to-day life stabilizing, things started looking up and it took hold on political sentiment, so the trend turned positive and the president and government’s ratings were the first to begin growing," Fyodorov noted.

The poll was conducted on October 22-23 among 1,600 respondents in 130 locations across Russia’s 46 regions, with a margin of error not exceeding 3.5%.

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