Vladimir Putin, 23 April 2026. Photo: EPA/Alexander Kazakov / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
Almost a quarter (24.1%) of Russians do not trust Vladimir Putin, and nearly a third (31.1%) disapprove of the “activities of the Russian government”, a new poll by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM) reveals.
The figures are both up around seven percentage points since February, and show the lowest ratings for Putin and the Russian government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the independent news outlet Agentstvo.
The survey was conducted by telephone between 13–19 April, and responses were collected from at least 1600 respondents per day in 80 regions of Russia.
The poll marks the seventh consecutive week of falling approval ratings for the Russian government, amid growing discontent about internet restrictions, the blocking of Telegram, rising prices, and a recent controversial mass culling of Siberian livestock.
Despite the marked decline in support, a clear majority of Russians (65.6%) continue to approve of Putin’s actions as president. However, only 39.7% of those surveyed explicitly approved of the Russian government as a whole.
Another Kremlin-affiliated polling agency, the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), has not recorded any corresponding decline in Putin’s ratings over the past few weeks. Citing a source in the pro-Kremlin media, independent news outlet Meduza reported that Russian journalists have been told to use data from FOM, rather than VTsIOM, when reporting Putin’s approval ratings.
VTsIOM published the new polling with an unusual delay, two hours after the scheduled publication time at 10am. The agency’s press service attributed the delay to “technical problems”.
