Reuters has a concise summary of a Levanda Center opinion poll on Russia’s leadership, which was released yesterday. Putin’s approval rating remains quite high at 59%. The catch: the survey was conducted before the disastrous wildfires stared.
On the positive side, 23 percent credited the premier, Russia’s paramount leader, with “strengthening Russia’s relations with the West” and 20 percent praised him for improving living standards. Nineteen percent liked him for “strengthening Russia’s positions abroad.”
But a much higher proportion — 37 percent — said Putin’s least successful action had been the fight against corruption.
A further 24 percent criticized him for not curbing the power of the country’s billionaire businessmen and 18 percent said he had failed to fight crime effectively.