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Putin Maintains High Approval in Russia
- More adults in Russia are satisfied with their president, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 79 per cent of respondents approve of Vladimir Putin's performance, up two points since September.
Putin was elected to a second term as president in March 2004 with 71.31 per cent of all cast ballots. In April 2005, Putin ruled out seeking a new mandate, saying, "I will not change the constitution and in line with the constitution, you cannot run for president three times in a row."
In December 2004, Putin signed a controversial bill that effectively eliminates the election of Russia's 89 governors by popular vote. The provision allows the president himself to nominate every governor, and await confirmation by regional legislatures.
Yesterday, Putin met with the leadership of the pro-Kremlin United Russia (YR) party. The president urged the political organization—which secured 222 members in the 450-seat State Duma in the last election—to pursue changes to immigration rules, saying, "Russia is interested in attracting workers and experts from abroad, and we will consistently develop civilized relations in the labour migration field."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Vladimir Putin's performance as president?
Oct. 2006 | Sept. 2006 | Aug. 2006 | |
Approve | 79% | 77% | 79% |
Disapprove | 13% | 15% | 14% |
Source: All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Oct. 7 to Oct. 29, 2006. Margin of error is 3.4 per cent.