Kirill Budanov has caught up with Valery Zaluzhny in terms of public trust
Public confidence in Kirill Budanov, head of the Office of the President, has reached 60.3%.
According to the results of a recent poll by the Socis Center conducted in March 2026, he shares the top spot in the rankings with Valery Zaluzhny, ahead of other key political figures.
The study shows that the difference in trust ratings between Budanov and Zaluzhny is only 1.3%, which effectively falls within the margin of statistical error.
Kirill Budanov’s popularity has shown steady growth recently.
While in February 2026, according to Ipsos, 55% of respondents trusted him, this figure increased by more than 5 percentage points in just one month.
“The level of trust in the Head of the President’s Office, Kirill Budanov, stands at 60.3%. These are the results of a survey conducted by the Center for Sociological and Marketing Research ‘Socis’ on March 12–18, 2026,” the authors of the study note in the report.
This high level of trust directly translates into political prospects for the head of the Presidential Office.
In simulations of a hypothetical presidential race, Budanov already receives 13.7% support among voters who have decided on their favorite candidate and are ready to go to the polls.
Sociologists paid particular attention to the “second choice” indicator, where Budanov emerged as the clear leader.
Nearly 22.7% of respondents are ready to cast their vote for him if their primary candidate does not participate in the election for certain reasons.
As a reminder, Budanov took over as head of the Council for Entrepreneurship Support, replacing Yermak.
Additionally, the head of the President’s Office, Kirill Budanov, expressed hope that a new prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine will take place on Easter, April 12.
