(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Public support for Russia’s current president and prime minister has remained high throughout the year, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 72 per cent of respondents approve of Dmitry Medvedev’s performance, and 78 per cent feel the same way about the way Vladimir Putin has handled his duties.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Public support for Russia’s current president and prime minister has remained high throughout the year, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 72 per cent of respondents approve of Dmitry Medvedev’s performance, and 78 per cent feel the same way about the way Vladimir Putin has handled his duties.
Russian voters renewed the State Duma in December 2007. United Russia (YR)—whose candidate list was headed by then president 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 2008, 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.
Yesterday, Putin publicly chided Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska during a visit to the town of Pikalyovo, saying, "You have made thousands of people hostage to your ambitions, your lack of professionalism—or maybe simply your trivial greed. Where is the social responsibility of business? Why was everyone running around like cockroaches before my arrival? Why was no one capable of taking decisions?"
Pikalyovo has been hit hard by Russia’s worst recession in a decade, and workers have protested over lack of supplies and unpaid wages.
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s performance?
|
May 2009 |
Apr. 2009 |
Mar. 2009 |
|
|
Approve |
72% |
68% |
71% |
|
Disapprove |
23% |
27% |
25% |
Do you approve or disapprove of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin’s performance?
|
May 2009 |
Apr. 2009 |
Mar. 2009 |
|
|
Approve |
78% |
76% |
78% |
|
Disapprove |
18% |
21% |
20% |
Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from May 22 to May 26, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
