Most Russian's Approve of President Putin's Performance

The overwhelming majority of Russians (77%) approve of President Vladimir Putin's performance, and only 19% disapprove. These are the results of an opinion poll carried out by the All-Russian Centre for Public Opinion Research.

Half of Russians (52%) approve of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's performance, and 42% approve of the Russian government's performance as a whole. A third of those polled (34%) also approve of the performance of the President's regional plenipotentiaries, and over half (54%) gave a positive assessment of their regional governor's work.

The most trustworthy politicians in the country were President Putin (trusted by 49% of respondents), Minister for Emergencies Sergei Shoigu (15%), Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov (15%), Prime Minister Kasyanov (10%), and the co-chairpersons of the Union of Right Forces (SPS), Irina Khakamada (8%) and Boris Nemtsov (7%).

When asked how they would vote if State Duma elections were to be held next Sunday, 31% replied that they would vote for the Communist Party. United Russia would receive 28% of votes cast, the SPS 11%, Yabloko 8% and the Liberal Democratic Party 7%.

1600 Russians from 83 towns and cities in 33 different regions took part in the poll, which has a statistical margin of error of 3.8%.