(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Vladimir Putin maintains a high level of public support in the Russian Federation, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 80 per cent of respondents approve of their prime minister’s performance, down three points since June.

In addition, 70 per cent of respondents have a positive opinion of the way Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is doing his job, also down three 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 Jul. 31, Medvedev expressed concerns about the country’s investment climate, saying, "We’ve had enough of inspections and all sorts of raids. (...) In general, our law enforcement and state institutions should stop terrifying business."

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 Jul. 18 to Jul. 22, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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