Putin's approval rating has fallen for seventh consecutive week, Russian state polling institution says

Oleksandr Shumilin - 24 April, 13:37

Vladimir Putin. Photo: RIA Novosti

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's approval rating among Russians has fallen to its lowest level since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Russian media outlet Agentstvo

Details: Updated trust and approval ratings released by the state-run All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) show that Putin's rating has fallen for the seventh week in a row.

Putin's approval rating has dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 65.6%. Trust in him has fallen by 1 percentage point to 71%. Both indicators are at their lowest levels since 2022.

Overall, since that time, Putin's approval rating has declined by 7.3 percentage points, while trust in him has fallen by 6.5 percentage points.

The Kremlin leader's disapproval rating has risen to 23.3% (+1.4 percentage points), while distrust has reached 24.1% (+1.3 percentage points). These are also the highest levels since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

However, another polling organisation working with the Kremlin, the Public Opinion Foundation, has recorded no decline in Putin's ratings.

Background:

Bloomberg recently reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the Kremlin may slow the tightening of internet controls due to user dissatisfaction and a decline in Putin's approval rating, particularly over restrictions affecting the Telegram messaging app.
Internet shutdowns in Russia have persisted since May 2025. By the end of last year, Russia ranked first globally by the number of shutdowns. According to Top10VPN, outages totalled 37,166 hours and affected almost the entire population – 146 million people. On average, restrictions are introduced in 63 regions every day.
On 14 March, residents of Moscow Oblast began receiving warnings about "temporary difficulties" with mobile internet. Similar text messages were sent out in St Petersburg on 17 March and in Moscow on 18 March.
The restrictions are supposedly being introduced "to ensure security measures".

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