Russian state polling agency VCIOM has quietly stopped publishing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s confidence rating. Striking, because just now the popularity of the Russian leader has fallen to the lowest level since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In early April, Putin’s trust rating plummeted to 29.5 percent.
Journalist at HLN
Source: Le Parisien, The Moscow Times
The Russian Center for Public Opinion Research works with two different methods. In the ‘open’ poll, respondents can say which politicians they trust. The ‘closed’ poll asks directly whether respondents have confidence in Putin.
These ‘open’ figures in particular give a strikingly different picture of support for the Russian president. At the beginning of April, Putin’s trust score there dropped to 29.5 percent, the lowest level since the start of the war in Ukraine.
In the ‘closed’ poll he achieved 73.8 percent in the same period. In other words: when Russians are allowed to answer freely, far fewer people spontaneously mention Putin’s name.
Figures suddenly disappeared
Those ‘open’ figures have now suddenly disappeared. Normally VCIOM publishes these results every month, but since the March figures were announced on April 5, it has remained quiet. The data for April and May have also not been released for the time being.
Putin’s weekly approval ratings are still being published. They dropped to 66.6 percent on May 31, almost ten percentage points lower than at the beginning of 2026.
“War fatigue”
Analysts quoted by The Moscow Times speak of an “unprecedented combination of challenges” for the Kremlin. They refer, among other things, to rising inflation, economic pressure, internet restrictions and growing war fatigue among the Russian population.
At the same time, Russia is finding it increasingly difficult on the front. According to the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukraine has made the largest territorial gains in almost two years in recent weeks. Russia is also struggling with heavy losses and is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit sufficient new soldiers.