(11/03/08) -

Medvedev, Putin Drop Slightly in Russia

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Support for Dmitry Medvedev fell slightly in Russia, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 76 per cent of respondents approve of their president’s performance, down seven points since September.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Support for Dmitry Medvedev fell slightly in Russia, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 76 per cent of respondents approve of their president’s performance, down seven points since September.

In addition, 83 per cent of respondents approve of the way Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin is handling his job, down five points in a month.

Russian voters renewed the State Duma in December 2007. United Russia (YR)—whose candidate list was headed by Putin—secured 64.1 per cent of the vote and 315 of the legislature’s 450 seats. On that same month, Putin endorsed Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate, and Medvedev said it would be of the "utmost importance" to have Putin as prime minister.

In March, Medvedev easily won Russia’s presidential election with 70.28 per cent of the vote. In May, Medvedev was sworn in as president. His nomination of Putin as prime minister was confirmed by the State Duma in a 392-56 vote.

On Oct. 27, Putin announced that Russia has no plans to isolate its economy from the rest of the world as a reaction to the global financial crisis, adding "Of course we must take today’s realities into account, but strategically, isolationism is not our choice. Our choice is building Russia further into the global economy. (…) We advocate consistently removing barriers to foreign trade and forming transparent rules of the game in the world economy and finance."

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s performance?

Do you approve or disapprove of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin’s performance?

Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Oct. 10 to Oct. 14, 2008. No margin of error was provided.