Putin's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the war
Russian state polling agencies continue to report a decline in support for President Vladimir Putin amid the blocking of Telegram, restrictions on VPNs, and internet outages across the country.
This is reported by Russian media.
According to VTsIOM, during the week ending April 5, Putin’s official “approval rating” fell to 67.8%—the lowest figure since February 20, 2022. During this period, the president’s approval rating dropped by 2.3 percentage points; over the past four weeks, it fell by 4.9 points; and compared to the end of last year, it has dropped by about 10 points.
New lows have also been recorded for other state institutions: the government’s approval rating stands at 40.3%, the State Duma’s at 41.7%, and the Federation Council’s at 41.8%.
It is also noted that open-ended VTsIOM polls, in which respondents are asked to name a politician they trust or do not trust, showed an even sharper drop in trust in Putin—to 29.5%. This is also the lowest level since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Compared to the peak figures of recent years, when this indicator reached 48.8% in March 2024, trust has fallen by more than a third.
As political analyst Abbas Gallyamov notes, in 2015, the level of trust in Putin reached 71%, and since then, according to his estimates, the real rating has dropped significantly—by more than half. He also suggests that in the future, such data may cease to be published altogether.
In addition, the expert notes that the official “approval rating” figures, which VTsIOM maintains at around 70%, do not reflect the full picture of public sentiment. In his opinion, these figures reflect respondents’ level of fear rather than their actual attitude toward the government, as some people do not dare to openly express a negative stance toward the president.
As a reminder, Putin announced an Easter truce.
Zelenskyy proposed an energy truce brokered by the U.S.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that if Russia ceases its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine will respond in kind. At the same time, he expressed doubt regarding the possibility of Russia announcing a general mobilization in the near future, noting that he does not have complete information on this matter.
